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An Unwelcome Guest

by Guante + Big Cats!

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1.
Stories 00:56
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
No Capes 04:06
7.
8.
9.
10.
Red States 03:22
11.
Dragons 03:27
12.
13.
14.
15.
End Credits 00:59

about

"Earnestness can go wrong in hip hop. On this album, it goes very right." --Sage Francis

“Part Cormac McCarthy, part Woody Guthrie, and part Public Enemy.” – TC Daily Planet

"Guante could very well follow Atmosphere and P.O.S. in the long-line of outstanding rappers to break from the Midwest." –CMJ

"Whether writing of lost causes or zombie apocalypses, El Guante demonstrates impeccable artistic control; in performance, he has the audience's undivided attention." -City Pages Best of 2009

"Chock-full of biting political commentary, and with all due respect to Slug, this guy is attempting to carry the Twin Cities on his back...." -URB Magazine Next 1000

AN UNWELCOME GUEST is a hip hop concept album from Twin Cities producer BIG CATS! and rapper GUANTE. Over fifteen tracks, the album tells the story of one man moving from east to west in the wake of a man-made disaster and his own personal tragedy. Also, there are zombies.

The album features guest appearances from HALEY BONAR, PROLYPHIC (of Strange Famous Records), BIG QUARTERS, CHASTITY BROWN and JOE HORTON (of No Bird Sing). Through the album’s unique narrative frame, these artists join Guante in exploring issues of displacement, authority and the difference between the violence of the oppressor and the violence of the oppressed. Also: zombies.

Together, Guante and Big Cats! have created an album that is unapologetically political, unflinchingly descriptive and undeniably ambitious. Never content to settle for rapping-about-rapping clichés, easy, faux-revolutionary pandering or abstract, pseudo-intellectual gibberish, the duo instead have focused on storytelling. While most hip hop stories are confined to one song, the concept album structure gives Guante room to really push the boundaries of hip hop narrative; close listens reveal multiple instances of foreshadowing, recurring motifs, subtle character development, multiple meanings and much more. This is hip hop as high art, but it’s also high art as love story about zombies and superpowers and post-apocalyptic America.

credits

released January 12, 2010

AN UNWELCOME GUEST (2010)
GUANTE + BIG CATS!

1. Stories
2. If It Bleeds, It Leads
3. The National Anthem (ft. Haley Bonar)
4. The Stockholm Syndrome (ft. Prolyphic and Big Quarters)
5. Raindrops In A Hurricane
6. No Capes
7. Welcome To The Border (ft. Chastity Brown)
8. With Great Power
9. A Hug From A Stranger
10. Red States
11. Dragons
12. Like The Dead Running
13. Yes, God Is A DJ; No, Not A Good One (ft. Eric Blair)
14. The Damp, Foggy Midnight
15. End Credits

Words by Guante (K.Myhre), except as noted,
Music by Big Cats! (Big Jerks, ASCAP), except as noted.
Executive Produced by e.g. bailey + Sha Cage.

Recorded by Ben Durrant at Crazy Beast Studio, Eric Blomquist at Seven Eight Studios, and Big Cats! at the Beat Fort. Mixed by Eric Blomquist at Seven Eight Studios. Mastered by Scott Radke. Art + Layout by Big Cats!.

Prolyphic raps on “The Stockholm Syndrome” and appears courtesy of Strange Famous Records. Haley Bonar sings on “The National Anthem” and appears courtesy of Afternoon Records. Brandon Allday (Jesus was a Commie, ASCAP) and Medium Zach (Real Proper Like, ASCAP) rap on “The Stockholm Syndrome” and appear courtesy of Big Quarters. Chastity Brown sings on “Welcome to the Border.” Joe Horton raps on “Yes, God is a DJ; No, Not a Good One.”

Baby Gracious plays additional drums on “The National Anthem.” Eric Blomquist plays guitar and keys on “If It Bleeds, It Leads,” and guitars and saxophone on “The Damp, Foggy Midnight" and probably some other stuff.

Management + Booking: Oni Management for Tru Ruts Endeavors
info@truruts.com | booking.truruts@gmail.com | www.truruts.com
Available on iTunes, Napster, Amazon + other download sites.

Brought to you by Tru Ruts Endeavors: Harvesting the Tree of Life. © 2009 Tru Ruts | Speakeasy Records, 1224 Quincy Street NE, Suite 140, Minneapolis, MN 55413. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. © 2009 Tru Ruts Endeavors, Inc. All songs published by Verbal Reparations Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. "Speakeasy Records" "Tru Ruts | Speakeasy Records" "Trú Rúts Endeavors" "Oni Management + Booking", Speakeasy Records Logo, Trú Rúts Logo are trademarks of Trú Rúts Endeavors, Inc.

www.bigcatsbeats.comwww.guante.infowww.truruts.com

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Guante Minneapolis, Minnesota

a love song, a death rattle, a battle cry.

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