The clear-cut, offbeat hip-hop duo Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot formed EarthGang in 2009. Growing up on Atlanta, Georgia's south-side, they share the same hometown area as Future and Outcast, and are influenced by artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Ms. Lauryn Hill, and Gil Scott-Heron. EarthGang have just dropped a tease single 'Ready to Die', from their forthcoming debut album Mirrorland. It uses hefty, sampled stoner beats like that of Slum Village, J dilla or Q-Tip, but paired with a modern, persistent trap inspired hi-hat and a pulsing sub-bass that has a psychoactive, seductive effect. Production is dark and ghostly, with haunting synth sounds and creepily classical piano. The rhymes are frantic and delivered with a painful urgency, but then develop into something more melodic, as philosophical questions are pondered: "Are we born to live, / Do we live to die, / Will our soul survive, what's beyond the sky?" The debut album from EarthGang is out on 6th September, keep your eyes peeled! - Ellie Davies