Frankie’s Inner City
Sunday, April 26
Editor’s Note: Jordan Johnson of Toledo's My Family Needs Food interviewed internationally renowned rap stars
Astronautalis & Bleubird.
The dynamic duo known as Astronautalis & Bleubird are vets in the underground prog-rap game— both partially responsible for reformulating the very idea of what it means to be an emcee today. In a time when radio rap has regressed to monosylabic “heeeys”, “ooohs” and “yeaahs,” Astro and Bird dig deep and drop truths, hoping the rest of us will catch up.
Penning angular verses crammed with authenticated raw honesty — channeling the thesaurus gymnastics of Kool Keith, the finality of Chuck D., and the brash confidence of early Anticon, Astro and Bird are making it safe for rappers and their audiences to have a lexicon again.
Checkout what makes them “go hmmm” in this soul stirring interview:
Jordan Johnson: You gentlemen met at Guantánamo Bay, right?
Astronautalis & Bleubird: Yes, due to Bleubird’s rigorous touring schedule in the Middle East, and his spring-break-sienna-skin, he was arrested on suspicion of 14 counts of ‘talaban-esque-nicity.’ He was detained at Gitmo, where I was, at the time, working as a wake/water-boarder. I knew from the moment I took off his black hood, and gazed into his smokey Spanish eyes, that this was no ordinary detainee. Instead of interrogating him like I was trained and ordered to do, we spent our time learning from each other. I taught him how to rap, and he, in turn, taught me how to love again. Now we are superstars.
JJ: What dollar menu item has most influenced your rapping?
A&B: Noam Chomsky.
JJ: “F*ck the Police” vs. “The Star Spangled Banner,” which is more from-the-heart?
A&B: That is a tough call, cause Francis Scott Key was also a teenager, with a little bit of gold and a pager. And any kid who paid attention in elementary school (like us) would know that Eazy-E died fighting taxation without representation.
JJ: Okay, take us out with a slow jam, what makes y’all cry nowadays?
A&B: The fact that every 30 seconds, a child is born in Darfur without a fixed gear bicycle. And that very same child has an 80% chance of living its entire life without hearing an M.I.A album.
Astronautalis and Bleubird play Sunday, April 26 with My Family Needs Food and Ormo. $7. 9 p.m. Frankie’s Inner City, 308 Main St. 419-693-5300/
www.frankiesinnercity.com.
—JJ
