first reviews of the new album!

Justin Schell at the Twin Cities Daily Planet:

"Part Cormac McCarthy, part Woody Guthrie, and part Public Enemy, An Unwelcome Guest is an intricately woven poetic and sonic excursion through landscapes mental, emotional, and physical, cementing Guante and Big Cats!'s status as two of the best emerging artists within Twin Cities hip-hop."

And here's a write-up of our CD release party (12/12 at the Bedlam) in City Pages:

"Fortunately, Guante has a deft sense of humor and style in his arsenal, along with a battle-hewn tongue that rattles off sharply-spit rhymes and high-concept narratives. His upcoming album An Unwelcome Guest tells the story of a traveler's fight against a zombie horde (stop me if you've heard that one before), but Guante's lyrics go deeper than the familiar comic-book premise into an authority-questioning meditation on violence that'd do John Romero's most allegorical moments proud. And Big Cats, his production partner on the new album, has the kind of chops that can only add to the atmospheric resonance."

OH NO!

Guante raps. Big Cats plays MPC (video)

Since the new album doesn't have any rapping-about-rapping punchline stuff, we thought we'd give you a little something in video form to make up for it:

full album tracklist

Just another appetizer:Say what you want about the songs themselves, but I write better song titles than anyone.

more release party news!

Here's the new flyer, with supporting acts and sponsors. We're all really excited about this lineup. We'll be playing with our band, plus a few more special guests.

Also, here's the Facebook event page, if you do that sort of thing.

CD RELEASE PARTY: 12/12 AT THE BEDLAM THEATER!

I can tell you with no ego: this is my finest album. If on your journey, you should encounter God, God will nod his fucking head.

Saturday, December 12 at the Bedlam Theater. 10pm. 18+

Opening acts and sponsoring organizations will be announced soon. For now, just mark your calendars. It's going to be a great show. For real.

AN UNWELCOME GUEST is a hip hop concept album from Twin Cities producer BIG CATS and rapper GUANTE. Over fifteen tracks, the album tells the story of one man moving from east to west in the wake of a man-made disaster and his own personal tragedy. Also, there are zombies.

The album features guest appearances from HALEY BONAR, PROLYPHIC (of Strange Famous Records), BIG QUARTERS, CHASTITY BROWN and ERIC BLAIR (of Hyder Ali and No Bird Sing). Through the album’s unique narrative frame, these artists join Guante in exploring issues of displacement, authority and the difference between the violence of the oppressor and the violence of the oppressed. Also: zombies.

Stay tuned. Much more (including the first single, some exclusive video stuff and more announcements) coming soon!

Preview the new album! (Noam the Drummer megamix)

CLICK HERE (and scroll down for the MP3 download)

Noam the Drummer put together this megamix of our new album, An Unwelcome Guest, essentially condensing an hour-long zombie-superhero-love-story concept album into 15 crazy minutes. In it, you’ll hear some flashes of the story, a few of our guests (Haley Bonar, Chastity Brown, Eric Blair of No Bird Sing; the album also features Big Quarters and Prolyphic, though they’re not in this mix) and an idea of how the album as a whole sounds. We’ll be releasing the LP in December on Tru Ruts/Speakeasy Records. Think of this as the trailer.