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!
Well pictures aren't working so... Let me paint a picture for you.
A Buddha statue
with some keyholes in it, plus a few flying keys.
The statues chest is open and you can see a
shining heart that looks a bit like a strawberry.
The sky is kinda cloudy and sort of green.
At the bottom of the painting are
some leaves and roses. And
the name of the album
which is of course Marked for Breath.
Sometimes I really hate the internet. Anyway today's upload is the aforementioned rarities collection by Hawaii's incredibly talented and amazing Neila. Marked for Breath was I believe available by request on Facebook before disappearing and is as far as I know extinct except for when people like myself are nice enough to upload it.
Both Trylemma and myself have extensively (if I remember right) written on the dopeness of this rapper, so I can dispense with that and just give you some music.
Real quick write-up this time. As far as I can tell this isn't available anymore. SubMerge is Wormhole, Qreus and 3.14, shamanistic hip hop with dark overtones and sinister lyrics. Nice piece of Hawaiian hip hop culture. Enjoy!
Well, as I hinted at last week our good friend Th' Mole over at Weird Rap was kind enough to drop us a promo advance of this. I've been needing Estuary in my life ever since I heard Rift (which was a new take on the instrumental / acapella formula essentially, they released those ahead of the album and worked them into spoken word pieces and a beat tape. You can read my review here). Staplemouth's lyricism is IMO some of the best we have these days, and his hiatus from hip hop left a huge hole most folks weren't even aware of. 3 Sunz Eclipse with Nameless Myst was his triumphant return; Estuary is where he grabs a hold of that ring he had in his grasp in 2012 and smashes it to pieces.
I did a fairly extensive and wordy promo post for Rift. So basically I knew what to expect with this one and I was not disappointed. We have here a sort of companion piece to Ruler of Desperate Measures. Dark as hell, chock full of eschatological imagery and hidden meaning with unorthodox production that manages to be simple enough to allow Staplemouth to take center stage with his amazing vocals while also showcasing musicianship and the true ear for composition that Th' Mole's been able to claim since he first dropped out of the sky wearing a super hero outfit (although he's come a long way since that Christmas album).
If you've never heard Staplemouth let me give you a quick rundown on one of my favorite rappers. Coming up in the Oahu scene of Hawaii along with his crew ...of Proliteariots, Staplemouth boasts a voracious appetite for lore and the ability to spin it into rambling and daring looks behind the veil. Not only can he approach subsonic syllabic speed in the blink of an eye (no his recordings are not digitally sped up as everyone who I played "Hanging Gardens 2012" keeps trying to claim. If you want to watch him do it look right here) when you slow down and pick apart what he's saying a truly formidable talent and intelligence emerges. Add to that the ability to balance brute lyrical force with an almost delicate and beautiful vocal range, there is truly no one like this man dead or alive.
As far as this current release, Staplemouth has this to say:
"Estuary to me is about allowing change and learning to exist between
what was and what currently is. My life went from white to black... I'm
the complete opposite of who I once was. But I was able to evolve in
that process. It's about being able to adapt and live in brackish
water... or Estuary."
Like all true art, Staplemouth's poetry does truly lend itself to interpretation through the lens of individual experience. For me the album takes a snapshot of the world in flux, with the pandemic and the reluctant baton passing from the Boomers and the gun crisis in the USA and the war in Europe all creating a sense of uncertainty and barely manageable panic. As he says, we are now struggling with the idea of merging what the world was with what it is now in a way that allows us to thrive and feel safe again, something not easy to do in the post(ish)-Covid era.
I do have the lyrics in a beautiful promotional package, and the following passage from "Wounded Soldier" (a remake of an older song I don't believe was ever released in case it sounds familiar) is a great example of the bleakly beautiful poetry on display with Estuary, and although it is an older work it captures where we are in starkly ugly imagery.
"We make the world a sin • Now • That’s an educated guess • There isn’t like a fountain or tiny button to make it happen type of gadget • But maybe we can hatch it with just a warm thought • Covered by the torn end of a moth-eaten blanket • Don’t pose a threat to the man with a macabre smile • Run amuck in a sacred domicile where the priest dissects a child • Now what the fuck is this planet melting into?"
I really have zero complaints. But in some ways I think the Rift idea should have been released AFTER the official album, although in it's uniqueness I sense at least some courage from Weird Rap and as an indie music fan I value that a lot. But I think if I had never heard these words before, combined as they are with this beautiful music it would have had a very huge impact on me. Such as it is the familiarity was already there although it was cool to finally experience the full blown might that is Estuary.
Watch the above, and then buy Estuary on vinyl or digital or as a tape deal with Rift from Weird Rapover yonder. That's an order, let's make these dudes famous.
Agonizing over what to write for my turn on UGF this week I went back over the huge amount of really dope material we've been the lucky recipients of already this year (we as in all of us, not just UGF specifically) and I came upon this email from early January that in a haze of work stress, relationship worries and health problems (no not Covid) I had completely forgotten about. Jonah Mociun aka Th' Mole of Weird Rap was kind enough to offer up an advance listening copy of this one and I've gotta say a full length Staplemouth album of this caliber is exactly what I need right now to deal with all of the above.
For those of you who may only be dimly familiar with Staplemouth, his rap career stretches back decades to ...Of Proliteariots, one of my personal favorite groups of that era and some of the earliest members of the Plague Language Fam. Since then he's been a member of New Cocoon, Tree Dusk Muir, Cane Corso Records and now Pen Thief Records. Basically everything this guy had an influence on was at least at some point pure gold. Not only does he have the most impressive rapid fire lyrical chops I've ever heard (or seen, I love showing folks who claim his recordings are impossible and must've been digitally sped up a video of him rhyming with fellow Kansasians [Kansians? Damn...] The Blos, his voice is powerful and in some ways really beautiful ("Hanging Gardens 2012", Q.E. M.F. D.) and his lyricism is labyrinthine, requiring hours of patient listening to tease out.
I am much less familiar with Th' Mole I have to admit. I love the work he's done on production, and his zany appearance and on stage antics make him one of a kind in no uncertain terms. I have often been interesting in hearing more from him (I pretty much enjoyed his album with Demune and a lot of that was his beat making) but I find his literal mountain of material seriously intimidating and I have no idea where to even begin. I will say I know enough about him to be really excited by the prospect of these two weird rap vets collaborating for the first time.
I did have a chance to listen to Rift all the way through. Initially, and I believe many of you will probably agree, I was disappointed to find out we were getting this schizoid rework of the original songs before the full length project (schizoid as in split). Side A of this tape is Staplemouth's lyrics, Side B is Th' Moles beats although both sides have had modifications made to make them more listenable as seperate entities. I was truly excited to hear this in finished form, but it seems it may be months before we get that opportunity.
BUT. To those of you who feel the way I did, I highly recommend if you're a fan of either of these artists to give this album a listen. You can already hear Staplemouth's contribution on the Weird Rap Bandcamp and it is some of the heaviest, most incredible songwriting he's ever done. As usual he devotes much of his breath to rapid fire meditations on eschatology and other darker spiritual topics, and as usual his gorgeous singing voice finds itself lent to melancholy rhymes, but without the benefit of beats (just some sonic tinkering, sound effects etc.) his words become more stark somehow, easier to understand, and easier to truly empathize with. I feel, maybe I'm wrong, but that much of these lyrics are at their core articulations of a worried father watching what I think we all probably worry is the beginning of the end of the world. And there is probably no one better than Staplemouth to drop such serious topics in a way that keeps the songs both thought provoking and dope AF.
Also, the part that you won't hear until the day of it's release, the production is something else. It was a cool experience to go back and forth and hear what will be the sonic backdrop for these musings and find out how unexpected they actual are in many ways. Th' Mole is a very talented musician, and these beats are intricate, head noddingly dope and progressive to the point that they sound more Danny Carey than Scott La Rock. Heavily layered drums and tripped out, spacy synths make these songs a drum circle on Pluto, and I gotta say I CANNOT wait to hear this album in it's finished form. It promises to be one of the best rap albums of the year.
And real quick, since I have access to the press photos, let's meet the players.
Now, if you find yourself as excited about this as I am, here's a little audio / visual project they put together for the album as well.
Now, I'm not going to say everyone will like Rift. This is not for the casual fans of hip hop. If you think the best indie rap out there is on RSE you're going to want to skip this (no judgement, just don't want to waste anyone's time). Maybe wait for the final offering when these songs finally meet and achieve their true form. But if you're in the mood for something different, something that truly demonstrates the skill of two consummate professionals, and is definitely worth the extra work to pick out the hidden treasures it offers...
Hello friends, and a happy 2021 to you all. I'm writing this on Monday night, and I usually get this stuff done ahead of time... So I figured I'd just throw up this gem by Neila, who I've already written on and named one of my top emcees of the decade, so just click the tag for more. Thanks go out to an OG blogger who pretty much introduced me to indie rap, so props! I'm sure if you see this you know who you are. Anyway, this is a collection of Neila's older material that sounds great and showcases all of her ingenious rhymes and one of a kind personality on the mic. Basically just download this, don't even think about it just do it.
I'm in a weird place tonight and I wanted to write on it a bit. A coworker of mine who I work closely with (not necessarily friends but I did like him) just lost his wife to Covid. Friday she was fine, Saturday she woke up with a fever, Sunday she was in the ICU and Monday we get the news that she passed. Covid is not a joke if you're still one of those living in denial. This shook me the fuck up and I hope it does you as well. We do strictly music here but Trylemma and I also don't live in a vacuum, so I'm perfectly okay sharing this with all of you. Appreciate your loved ones, keep them safe and keep yourselves safe as well. And enjoy music because I think we can all agree it's one very big reason to stay above ground.
Happy Friday! Trylemma had a busy week so I'm covering the Friday offering for today, with When Past is Present by the peerless Neila.
This album appears to be a greatest hits sort of collection of her earlier (not earliest, Vertical Trees with Eternal Leaves and When the Bells Crow mostly) released for the Japanese market only by Swamp Records. It showed up on Discogs recently and as a huge fan of everything Neila does I had to pick up a copy.
While a lot of these tracks may be familiar, having them all in one place is convenient and the album also features two songs ("Laugh a Little" featuring Lord Zen and "Paper Airplanes") that weren't released until 2012's beautiful Marked for Breath which a lot of you may be missing. We will post that one eventually, but for now after combing the internet for this album and realizing it was totally OOP and nobody seemed familiar with it I figured it would make a good Friday Fossil. UGF rip in 320 kbps, naturally. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
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