Alternative hip hop two-piece Hippie Tribe consisting of dp.thuH and blond.bomber go stratospheric with their new ethereal project ‘Gullah Punk: mod 1’ which is surely set to see them gain widespread acclaim.

Vibrantly original and un-tethered to a specific genre, Hippie Tribe’s latest Gullah Punk: mod 1, consists of two blood bubbling, punk-rap-Afro-Cubano fused anthems, Billie Dream and S A N T A N A. The first tantalising capsule of the next musical experience from Hippie Tribe.

The upcoming instalments will be coupled with a series of film shorts, drawing on the warm glow of the 70’s afro-kung fu film craze that swept through Black America, (Pam Grier, Kareem & Jim Kelly inspired a generation of Kung Fu Fighters), to depict some of the micro and macro-aggression’s plaguing the Black community. These will be released via their own record label, OTOLO Records.

Hippie Tribe sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

dp.thuH: “We were both bred in the church. Going through gospel choir trenches definitely required a strong love and curiosity...and thick skin. ‘Cause you mess ‘round and leave the pocket or miss a break - they will definitely come to pluck ya Lil ass off the seat. But yea, I can’t imagine it any other way. I’m still not sure how my sister and brothers made it through all the services in the pews. I lowkey looked forward to church ‘cause I knew I was going to be behind the drums the whole time. Even if I wasn’t on the kit, I was still right behind the senior drummer, studying his movements and techniques. And luckily I was so far behind everyone, I even got to get in a quick nap whenever the preaching started.“

blond.bomber: “All of my family members are musicians too so I was born into music…..I mean, We literally sing in harmony at all childbirths. Me and dee both grew up playing in the church so the first exposure, our foundation was Gospel. Gospel incorporates a lot of different genres and it’s eccentric but it’s still subtle in a lot of ways, still familiar. There’s a lot of dynamics within the compositions - that’s all relevant in our music and productions. We try to keep the instruments minimalistic and shape it around the voice - incorporate those little moments, especially with the vocals, that pop out to the listener.”

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

dp.thuH: “It’s really too many to name. Some people I don’t even know their name, just their songs. I’m also hella bad with names and the weed prolly doesn’t help too much but I feel like if I had to choose, I’d much rather someone know my work than my name. But just know the range is from producers like Take A DayTrip, KennyBeats, and Mike Dean to songwriters like Jack Antinoff, to performers like Kanye, Doja, Travis, Lil Nas X, H.E.R, Chloe & Halle, Vory, Young Thug, Smino. I’m attracted to unique voices and instrumental textures.”

3. What are some of the problems you have faced making and releasing the music during the corona virus pandemic?

The biggest problem was probably avoiding being in my head, I focus a lot on mental health, so I try to make sure my music contains an emotion or message or both, so I had to get comfortable with the situation and get creative.

4. How would you describe your sound?

“Cosmic. Ethereal. Otherworldly. Refreshing. Alive.”

5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?

Selling out NYC’s Knitting Factory and Mercury Lounge venues.

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

blond.bomber: “Do what feels best. Study your craft. Practice your craft. Give thanks to Yah”

7. Are there any artists on your radar at the moment that we should check out?

dp.thuH: “Maiya Blaney is incredible. She’s a multi-talented performer, the voice on TEN THOUSAND - I think she’ll most likely wind up with an illustrious Broadway and film career.

Ishmael Raps outta Rochester has been putting out some heat recently too - his team seems to be moving really well.”

blond.bomber: “BuK is another one - just dropped a short film for his first EP Satori.”

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

blond.bomber: “Donda hasn’t stopped spinning.”

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

dp.thuH: “Damn - this question is an ass. Not because it's a shitty question, but because it makes us realise that we actually don’t really do shit. We really live very boring lives. Like we make music and when we aren’t making music, we’re talking about or plotting making more music. I guess we like to go to the park and shit.

This is the type of question that’s gonna make fans realise we’re not cool at all. Actually, you know what - just tell them we reserve all of our cool just for the music. How selfless of us, right?

10. Name three things you can't live without when in the studio?

Incense / Candles, Mood Lighting, Loud Pack.