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EARTHGANG AVENUE

Atlanta hip-hop duo EARTHGANG are proving to be an exciting explosion of the creative mind. Their debut album Mirrorland was inspired by The Wiz, the all-black 1978 adaptation of The Wizard of Oz featuring music produced by Quincy Jones for Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Lena Horne. The use of their unique visuals really creates an iconic aesthetic which has grown with and around their music. One half of the duo, Olu explains "Atlanta is the Land of Oz...It’s black people just being unafraid and unapologetically creative. Just running around being themselves.". One segment of Mirrorland has just landed in the form of a music video for album track 'Avenue'. It's atmospheric, experimental production, is enhanced by frenzied energy rap "I got wants, I got needs, I got PTSD I got suicidal fantasies". Bass-heavy atoms collide with experimental choppy beats. The music video is an incredibly intricate sci-fi animation. Trippy scenes see EARTHGANG sat by a pool of water in a deserted landscape, their reflection in the water saturated in an acid pink, moving in tie dye patterns. Ancient imagery mixes with modern and sci-fi themes: temples, ferris wheels, grisly-faced flying bats, spaceships and mounds of debris lay among each other in an apocalyptic scene. The video ends with EARTHGANG ride on a spaceship with their mean-looking companions that include a tiger, a robot zombie and a woman, with the final message intriguingly stating "to be continued...". -Ellie Rose-Davies

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