Guante in the Progressive, Big Cats' new mixtape!

Big news for both of us today:

Big Cats! and The Tribe just put out a FREE mixtape! Download it here. You even get to hear Big Cats rap, and it's amazing.

ALSO:

The Progressive, a great... well, progressive magazine, is doing a feature series on spoken-word. They chose my piece, "The Family Business," (filmed by Justin Schell) to feature. A big honor for me.

Here's a link.

Big ups to Josh Healey for the hookup. Old friends from way back; he's doing big things now, and is a phenomenal poet. Check him out.

Radio K in-studio plus other shows

We'll be playing live on Radio K, the University of Minnesota's great student radio station, on Friday, March 5 at 3:30pm.

We'll also be in DeKalb at the House Cafe on March 12, plus playing Kristoff Krane's CD release party on May 15 at the 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis. Both should be a lot of fun, and we'll have other shows here and there between too. Working on some really cool stuff, both in and out of town. To keep up, check Guante's MySpace calendar.

We're up to #26 on the CMJ Hip Hop Charts

So that's cool. "An Unwelcome Guest" debuted at #31 I think, so we're moving up. Big ups to all the DJs!

Red States video

Justin Schell made a video for our song "Red States," using some live footage and some rehearsal footage. Check it out:

'Red States' (Music Video) - Guante + Big Cats! from Tru Ruts on Vimeo.

Thanks Justin!

more positive press!

The reviews keep rolling in. A few new ones:

Here's one from Dane101, the premier online media source in Madison, WI.

"... has worked hard to create a style and flow uniquely his own. He has also made a habit of exploring issues at greater length and depth than most rappers ever do. On his newest record, An Unwelcome Guest, Guante somehow manages to push the envelope even further... The production work shows influences from many different traditional and modern musical genres. Everything from water warped blues, opera, folk, hip hop, R&B, rock, and the various flavors of what’s come to be called “world” music find a place in the seamless soundscape."

And here's one from Reviler, an upstart Twin Cities music site with some great stuff.

"...one of the best rappers in the Twin Cities today, not to mention its best spoken word poet."

Also, here's Guante's interview in the MN Daily, the University of Minnesota's student paper.

"Over bandmate Big Cats!’s layered, dark beats, rapper Guante is an avalanche of words... dense beats brood powerfully, interconnect meticulously and sample diligently. Lazerbeak and Ant are the Twin Cities’ go-to dudes for beats, but Big Cats! makes a convincing case for his inclusion in local production prominence."

if you missed us on the Current, you can stream it here (four live songs!)

This is pretty cool. Click here to listen.

We played four songs-- three of them (Red States, Dragons and Welcome to the Border w/ Chastity Brown) are on the radio show, and one of them (The Damp, Foggy Midnight) is in video form. You can listen to all of them through the above link.

Video of Guante & Big Cats performing live on the Current

Here's footage of our live in-studio on the Current. We're playing "The Damp, Foggy Midnight," backed by the band. Cool.