This week’s release from the In/Stability album will feature The Rawhide Kid. To set the right vibes, Rawhide put together some behind-the-scenes footage from the “Xan4merz” music video. Watch below, and listen to the new track “I Suck” when it drops Friday at midnight.
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This week you’re not just getting a song, but also a video directed by my good friend Emcee Graffiti for One Ton Soup Productions!
Or just stream the audio on Spotify
Role in the Album Concept
On every album I like to do one song that’s just bars. No real conceptual depth, just fire punchlines and syllable vomit. Some examples are “So It Begins” from Whiteout! 2, “Midnight Snack” from Fear of Success and “Campus King” from Cracks on Memory Lane. I enjoy making songs like this from time to time, but it feels like it’s becoming less and less acceptable. So I decided to tie the three verses together with a hook about how the industry doesn’t care for this backpacker-esque form of hip-hop any more. As I mentioned in the In/Stability post, every song on this project represents an element of my life falling apart so it should be no surprise that this one goes out to the music industry.
Production
The instrumental was produced by Chris Prythm, whose beats I’ve crushed numerous times. The first Chris Prythm beat I ever used became “Hell of a Time” on Alternate Ending. Knowing this album would be a sequel to Alternate Ending I wanted at least one Chris Prythm instrumental (spoiler: it’s not the only one). I already felt like this would be a song worthy of an extra push, but when I sent the unmixed demo to Rawhide and he said the same thing, I knew the video had to happen.
Video
This is really what you’re here for, right? The video was directed by Emcee Graffiti for One Ton Soup Productions. We actually ended up rescheduling the shoot twice because of rain. I chose the locations myself. I wanted the video to be an ode to Schenectady, especially considering the line “When I say Schenec- you say -tady” as well as “Place Beyond the Pines” being the song immediately before it on the tracklist. Here’s a rundown of the locations and why I chose them:
Sunshine Auto Parts
As you can tell from the video, I’ve put on a few pounds over the past several years. Back when I didn’t need to emotionally prepare myself for a flight of stairs, I used to go on 15 mile bike rides through Schenectady and Rotterdam. I would pass Sunshine Auto Parts and think about how cool it would be to shoot a video there. Well, when In/Stability was finally mixed and mastered and Emcee Graffiti had agreed to film, I called them up and they were excited to have us do some scenes on their property. The specific vehicles appearing in those scenes were chosen by Graffiti, but I didn’t exactly need my arm twisted when I saw the Firebird.
The Schenectady Stockade
Graffiti suggested the Stockade, but as soon as he did I thought of the cannon monument. This is because cannons are dangerous but also phallic and my two favorite things in this whole world are violence and dicks. Speaking of things that go in my mouth – the cigar I’m smoking in this scene is a limited edition Undercrown Shady XX, released to celebrate 20 years of both Undercrown cigars and Shady Records. Lastly – fun fact – I often go to the Stockade when there is a Community Day in Pokémon GO.
General Electric
This is basically the heart of Schenectady. At night, the GE sign lights the skyline. It was built in the same complex as the original Edison building and was the primary source of employment for Schenectady residents throughout the 20th Century. Due to its significance, I needed it in the video. All I cared about was having it in a single shot, but Graffiti killed it grabbing the scene of me from behind (probably so he could look at my ass). The shot of me standing under the bridge looking thuggish was filmed right next to that as well.
Savoy Taproom
Okay, this part wasn’t shot in Schenectady. I performed “These Things Happen” live for the first time in October. Graffiti actually booked me the show the day I asked him to do the video, so I suggested he bring his equipment and get some shots. It got some great feedback from the crowd, and I’d like to believe that’s not just because I asked them to pretend to have fun for the sake of the video. Coincidentally I’m wearing the same shirt right now while I’m typing this. Yes it has been washed.
That covers the four main locations. There are a couple of shots we did in other places but their backstories aren’t that interesting. Just make sure you stay through to the end of the video. We’ve got a surprise for you…
Rawhide Report
“This song goes hard. Every part of it, from the beat to your lyrics to the attitude in your delivery, is top notch. That chorus is so goddamn catchy I’ve been singing it in my head all day. It was a wise choice to choose this song to be the video and the main single from the album; this is a hit. Even though this song might seem like a standard rappity-rap/boasting rap song it still fits in perfectly with the concept of the album, and that’s truly impressive. ‘So ahead of my time Moses had my quote in his obit’ had me transforming into the living version of that battle rap gif. So far this is my favorite song on the album.”
The rollout begins! Every Friday until my 31st birthday on January 19th I’ll be releasing a song from my upcoming album, In/Stability: The Ultimate Ending. The songs will be released in the order they appear on the project and each will be accompanied by a Rootbeer Report right here on rappinrootbeer.com.
To kick things off, here is the album cover along with the intro, which is called “Return of the Failure.” It’s an instrumental track produced by The Rawhide Kid. Technically that makes it his song, but possession is 9/10ths of the law and I doubt he’ll want to spend the gas money to come here and take it back. The cover was shot by Andrea Malatesta and the album was mastered by Scoops Dardaris.
The origins of In/Stability date all the way back to 2013. By the time I developed an outline for Fear of Success, it was clear some songs would not fit the concept. I continued writing until the songs felt connected and wrote even more until the story was complete.
Each song on this project represents some aspect of my life falling apart. It sounds depressing but I promise you, every song taps into a completely different emotion. We face struggles every day. Sometimes we stumble, sometimes we take it in strides, sometimes we can even laugh at ourselves. So while the 11 songs are linked through the general concept, they are each very different from one another perceptively, thematically and sonically. The same could be said about my 2009 album, Alternate Ending, so In/Stability also functions as a sequel – hence the subtitle “The Ultimate Ending.” Long time fans will recognize plenty of call-backs to that project while newer fans can simply enjoy some authentic 518 hip-hop.
Coming this Friday: “Place Beyond the Pines”
Today is October 4, meaning Whiteout! 2 is finally here after more than 8 years! Stream from any of the following places:
All songs written by A. Wells & M. Gardner
All songs produced by The Rawhide Kid except track 2, 10 & 11 produced by Anno Domini for Anno Domini Nation
All songs mixed by Nick “Scoops” Dardaris
Cover art by David Alliger
If you would like to learn more about the album, check out Rootbeer & Rawhide Rate Rappers – Episode 16 which is the official Whiteout! 2 companion podcast. It covers such topics as:
- working titles
- the meaning of the number 8 1/2
- more Boonville traffic noises
- taking the “P” too far from the “V” and the “I”
- Rawhide learns how to pronounce “amalgamation”
- Rootbeer reveals (and faces) his greatest fears
- the ghost of Rawhide’s grandfather tries to kill him
- chess innuendo
The Budget-Ass video series returns with “Xan4merz: Tha Xanimated Series” by Rootbeer & The Rawhide Kid. Or should we say Bae da Male & NyKwill MadeIt?
You can also stream just the audio here:
Spotify
Soundcloud
Xan4merz is part of the forthcoming album, Whiteout! 2 which will be available to stream October 4, 2019.
It’s time to get misty eyed. Rootbeer & The Rawhide Kid are proud to reveal “Rain,” the second single from Whiteout! 2. Stream it from any one of the following links:
“Rain”
Written by A. Wells & M. Gardner
Produced by The Rawhide Kid
Mixed by Nick “Scoops” Dardaris
Single art by Andrea Malatesta
Whiteout! 2 will be on streaming services October 4, 2019!
In Episode 10 – which is also the shortest episode because there was an immense amount of dumb-fuckery to edit out – the guys make their official predictions for the 2019 XXL Freshman cover. They are almost convincing as they attempt to prove they understand modern hip-hop. Some highlights include:
- Rawhide makes last-minute choices based solely on what the rappers look like
- Rawhide picks someone who was already a XXL Freshman (sort of)
- More of Rootbeer’s dog barking
Be sure to listen to the end as Rootbeer discusses a surprise guest who will be appearing on his upcoming solo album, In/Stability, as well as some other details about the album itself.
If you’ve been listening to the Rootbeer & Rawhide Rate Rappers podcast (and if you haven’t, you should), it was announced in Episode 9 that a promotional single from the upcoming Rootbeer & The Rawhide Kid collaboration album would be released May 3, 2019 to commemorate the 8th anniversary of their first collaboration album.
Hey, that’s today!
So…coming live to you and yours:
This song was produced by Anno Domini for AnnoDominiNation. It was mixed by Nick “Scoops” Dardaris. Former fans of nu-metal (Rootbeer and Rawhide are the only current fans of nu-metal) will quickly recognize that the song is a take on Limp Bizkit’s “Getcha Groove On.” That hilarious artwork was put together by none other than the talented Andrea Malatesta. How can you not want to listen to something accompanied by a starfish squirting mustard into a hot dog’s mouth? If you’re humorless sack of shit, that’s how. So take your head out of your chocolate starfish and give it a listen.
If you’d like to be among the first to hear new songs as they’re released, there’s a new Soundcloud you can follow as well as a new Spotify artist page which hasn’t been approved yet because Rootbeer did everything at the last minute like always. But that link will get posted below as soon as it exists.
After a weeks-long wait, Rootbeer & Rawhide Rate Rappers, Episode 3 is available to stream, download, turn off and delete. In this episode, each of the guys discusses five albums they consider underrated and why. Plus, Rawhide announces a new EP titled Beyond Belief which includes some songs cut from Reason to Believe as well as an alternate version of the album’s title track, a new song with Rootbeer & Inspectah Spark called “Axis of Axes” and more.
Some other highlights include
- Rootbeer reflects on how his time in therapy affected his creative approach
- The duo discusses two “funny” songs on their upcoming collaboration project which have “different energy” from one another
- They both drink 44oz sodas very loudly
- Rootbeer forgets his fourth pick
- And of course:
Rootbeer accuses Rawhide of incest
Shout outs: Inspectah Spark, Speedway gas stations, The Suffering for Xbox
Oh, also there’s a Podcast hub in the main nav now so you can bookmark that if you want to.
Episode 2 of Rootbeer & Rawhide Rate Rappers is live! In this episode, our heroes discuss their dream collaborations. Also the duo gives an update on their upcoming collaborative project, reflect on the release of Reason to Believe, Rawhide reveals the origins of his rap name and he finally shares his hostility toward a guy who worked at Best Buy in 2002. Give it a listen!