As we count down the days until Saturday’s big ol’ party at Native Sound Stage, Oxford Karma’s Endless Summer (tickets available here), we’ll also be profiling each of the artists performing and, most importantly, why they need to be seen. Next up: MilitantxMindz.
Set time: 4:45 p.m.
Hometown: Oklahoma City
Members: Anu, Chip Mantooth, Derek Cantu, Original Flow, Teflon Jon
Follow them on: Facebook, Bandcamp
Why you need to see them: MilitantxMindz have been lurking in the underground since dropping K.O.E. (Knowledge Over Everything) in 2013. But the OKC five-piece has officially positioned itself among the cream of the Oklahoma hip-hop crop with this year’s Parallel$, a musical experience bubbling to the brim with deft lyricism, contagious hooks, and a shimmering, jazz-informed substratum that reveals a more immersive sonic depth with each subsequent listen. Music this meticulously and expertly crafted doesn’t stay locked in the basement too long nowadays, and MilitantxMindz are about to burst through the shackles.
What others in the know are saying: “These songs open eyes and minds with their messages clutched and championed, pleading for change. Ears perk up too, with the production tendencies the crew so willfully embraces through heavy nods to A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, and Digable Planets. Parallel$ hearkens back to the golden era of hip-hop that might just be dawning again.” – Joshua Boydston (Oxford Karma, July 9, 2015)
Essential listening: Parallel$
