Underground Fossils was an indie rap focused blog run by myself (Dimxsk) and by Trylemma, who passed August 3rd, 2024 from liver failure of unknown origin at the age of 34. We mostly posted week or twice weekly, the bulk of which were rare rips we made, found on old blogs, he acquired through his insanely broad connection to the scene, etc. We did all we could to make sure we didn't post stuff that (1) You could still reasonably buy from the artist directly, (2) You could reasonably buy secondhand for cheap, (3) You could download easily elsewhere, (4) The artist(s) asked us not to for any reason. Being involved in this blog was some of the most fun I ever had, even if at times it was time consuming, challenging or intimidating (having a readership). It was the product of one of the best friendships I've ever had. If I could say one last thing, it's to encourage all of you: if you have the time and desire, make your own UGF. Find a friend who loves this shit like you do and build it together. It will bring you incredible joy, enhance your connection to this amazing community, and change your life in unexpected and exciting ways. I know it did mine. Love you all!

Friday, April 26, 2019

Theory 77 (fka Theory) - The Rules of Rust (2007)



This week's release is one close to my heart for sure. Theory 77 is / was a producer / DJ / emcee from Brighton, UK who's signature mix of acoustic folk and blues with indie rap always reminded me of Buck 65 (in a good way). His songs tend to be about things like being in nature, witchcraft, old movies, stories about unique people and of course music itself. His raps are decent, however to me what really shines is his production and especially his skills behind the turntables. Theory is an amazing battle DJ. Not being one myself I may not be the best judge of what is easy or difficult, but in the video below he looks to be absolutely killing it.



Note: The above song is not from The Rules of Rust. It's featured on his last full length vocal work Let's Be Friends. Not my favorite of his but still a fun listen, if you're interested in it let me know, it's not available retail anymore.

I discovered him through CDBaby around 2010 and managed to find all of his albums (excluding Preface, if you have this let me know!). CDBaby sells two of his full length releases here. For All It's Worth is amazing and probably a good place to start, however since it doesn't fit the UGF definition of a 'fossil' as described on our banner, I decided to go with The Rules of Rust.

This album is short but gives a good feel for Theory's personality and sound. Fun, whimsical and introspective, lots of acoustic guitars and blues oriented sampling. As mentioned above, it should appeal to fans of Talkin' Honky Blues era Buck 65, as well as Sage Francis, Adeem, Josh Martinez etc.

Where he is now I don't know. It seemed like for a bit he was going to land on Strange Famous Records, he curated and produced the D(eat)h Mix they have up on SoundCloud. Unfortunately he seems to have stopped recording, I've been on the lookout but a lot of his stuff has disappeared from the net and there seems to be nothing else coming. I know he had a kid, I guess he's a full time dad now. If he sees this he should know I've enjoyed his work, hopefully you will as well!


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