No one can deny how taxing 2021 was, and though we can’t make any guarantees for 2022, we’d be remiss if we didn’t recognize some gems that made the Winter season a little less bleak. Case in point: two of Austin’s most outspoken hip-hop creators, Ben Buck (who’s had a fruitful solo career as a rapper-beatboxer-producer on top of endeavors with Aux Cutter and Big Wy’s Brass Band) and BoomBaptist (a sample-based producer who’s taken Bandcamp by storm with his Rick James and NBA Jam themed beat tapes in addition to his work as one half of The Vapor Caves).
Both masters of their craft in their own right, these equal-and-opposite personalities collided once again for last year’s The Marquee, a seven-song balance of bops, braggadocio, overall a cavalier conquest of their preferred musical styles. The Marquee is short and sweet, but still packs plenty of firepower from these two B.B.s, enough to get you out of your 2021 stumble and somersault straight into the new year just like “Gene Wilder”!
–Jack Anderson
