#brian ennals

[pattern-recognition]

Nation of Islam is feds Malcolm X found out and that's why he's dead Told my shrink he's gotta change my med Go to D.C. and chop heads Killed all the buffalo and burned the teepees Resurrect Nat Turner with a bong and a Ouija Kids with the squeegees givin' 'em pistols So they can rob crackers instead of cleanin' your windows

[beatsforbrothels]

Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals - A Melancholy Boogie

[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to rapper and musician Brian Ennals and Tariq Ravelomanana AKA Infinity Knives. Originally from Annapolis, Maryland and Tanzania respectively, Brian and Tariq made music separately for years, and after reading about Brian in the Baltimore Sun, Tariq reached out to him and eventually asked Brian to feature on his album Dear, Sudan. This led to their debut Rhino XXL in 2020. While the album was a local hit, it did not prepare them for the reception their second album King Cobra would receive. Released on Phantom Limb in the middle of 2022, it became a word of mouth sensation, organically making everybody's end-of-year lists, deservedly so, as it's fantastic!

(Photo by Shae McCoy)

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[jacobwren]

A City Drowned in God's Black Tears by Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals

[iamlisteningto]

Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals’ A City Drowned In God’s Black Tears

[hotdogmexicano]

Tagged by @justclownin to spell my username out with songs:

Hana - Asa-Chang & Junray Option - ††† (Crosses) The Overly Dramatic Truth - El-P Devil is Fine - Zeal & Ardor Outside - Injury Reserve Gopher Guts - Aesop Rock Misery - Author & Punisher Everyone I Love is Depressed - Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals Xerces - Deftones It's Relative - Andy The Doorbum & Justin Aswell Crow - Moodie Black Alternate Side Parking - Armand Hammer Notes to You - Sleep Party People Our Ride to the Rectory - Team Sleep

I'll tag: @creepysourpup @mulher-que-corre-com-os-lobos2 @emomasnaomuito @ann-gell @sirengoddess @mesonoxian-maxx @monicalestrange4 @starryeyedsabertoothtiger @luvlikeblood

I'm not great at remembering people's @, so feel free to say that I tagged you

[runthepockets]

The kids and staff are off school today so I can listen to music while I work. :]

[defjux]

I made a post yesterday asking if anyone would be interested in a playlist of lesser known hip hop, essentially only artists that have under 50k monthly listeners. Over 5 people seemed to at least have a passing interest which was good enough for me, so here's the playlist. The playlist has over 80 different artists at the moment, 3 songs each. I'll add more as i think of/discover them but figured this is good enough for now. Let me know if you discover anything new from this, or who you would add. I'll put the full list of artists at the bottom of this post too. Peace.

AKAI SOLO | Ace Cannons | AJ Suede | Amani | Anwar HighSigh/Has-lo | Archibald Slim | Big Kahuna OG | Bloodmoney Perez | Blue November | Bxnjamin | Brainorchestra | Brian Ennals | Cambatta | Cappo | Cavalier | Cunabear | Daniel Son | Day Tripper | Defcee | Demahjiae | Denmark Vessey | Duncecap | Fatboi Sharif | Gabe 'Nandez | Googie | Greensllime | Hemlock Ernst | Henny L.O. | IAMGAWD | Ill Conscious | illingsworth | Ja'king the Divine | Jack Jetson | Joshua Virtue | KILLVONGARD | Kashmere | Kipp Stone | Koncept Jack$on | The Koreatown Oddity | Lando Chill | Lee Scott | Lord Kayso | Lt. Headtrip | Lukah | Lungs | Maassai | Mary Sue | maassai | Mattic | McKinley Dixon | Melanin 9 | MidaZ the BEAST | Moses Rockwell | Nakama | Nappy Nina | Na$ty | Nickelus F | Noveliss | OKnice | Obijuan | Oliver the 2nd | Onry Ozzborn | Papo2oo4 | Paranom | Phiik | Qthree | Rap Man Gavin | Rhys Langston | Rich Jones | Rob Cave | SHIRT | Shemar | ShrapKnel | Skech185 | SolarFive | Soop Dread | Stik Figa | Sunmundi | SWAMPTHUG | Teddy Faley | Teller Bank$ | Theravada | Tree | UGLYFRANK | Unsung | Vic Spencer | Von Pea | Waterr | Willyynova | Zeroh | Zilla Rocca

[osidius-el-enfatico]

Nico's best albums of the year so far

Only Dust Remains by Backxwash

genre: experimental rap

this is by far the best release i have listened in at least 2 or 3 years, the way she melds the usual feeling of damnation of her past 2 albums with a sliver of hope in the darkest of times is just masterful. production wise she leans more into the rap side instead of the industrial like in i lie here. truly incredible album. 10/10

stand out song: Black Lazarus

2. Friends in Real Life by Friends in Real Life

genre: folk punk

pat the bunny is basically jesus for the folk punk community. in more ways than one as of this release. in 2015 he released a good bye album (probably nothing, possibly everything). he was done with the scene, he was done with music, he wanted to heal, he wanted to leave triggering risks for his rehabilitation process, so he was gone. for 10 years he was gone. and suddenly, friends in real life. he was back, he had long hair and a beard now, he was fatter, and he was happier. this is not straight up folk punk, he brings more keyboards, and a electro sensibilities to it. he sounds like a mix of his old stuff and the beach boys. he talks a lot about the beach, he talks about surfing. he has a lo fi sound in there. top notch return. 10/10

stand out song: buckeye

3. A City Drowned in God's Black Tears by Infinity Knives and Brian Ennals

genre: experimental rap

holy shit, this fucking album is a wild ride. it goes from the usual experimental rap they are known for, to fucking ambient noise, to 2012 era indie folk, to cumbia, and it all revolves around introspective and angry lyrics. knives and ennals are what people thought kendrick was in that super bowl performance: socialists angry at the status quo. i have posted at lenght about the iron wall, the opener, a fuckin scathing song about israel. i love it very much. 9/10

4. 石の糸 (Thread of Stone) by Ayano Kaneko

genre: indie rock/singer Songwriter

ever since 2018 ayano has always released the same album twice a year, one full band release and one stripped down guitar only version, in this full band release she lets out a lot more experimentation, a lot more jazzy and funky at times, faster beats too. real good straying from her usual formula. i love her so much. 9/10

stand out song: 太陽を目指してる

5. lonely people with power by deafheaven

genre: blackgaze

since sunbather, deafheaven had taken a detour to explore more of the shougaze side of their music than the black metal side. this is a return to form. harder guitars, going ham onf the blast beats, just third wave black metal in its most destilled form. pretty good 8/10

stand out song: doberman

6. Goyard ibn Said by Ghais Guevara

genre: experimental hip hop

ghais had a hell of a moment when kendrick used one of his songs as waiting music for his super bowl performance, and then when someone said he was the dancer with a palestine flag in the background. alas, he was on tour in the uk at the time. anyways, he tones down the chipmunk sampling in this one. he is still his sharp, political self in the bars and the structures. he also towns down the spongebob samples, not a fan of that part. 8/10

stand out song: camera shy

7. Amidst the Ruins by Saor

genre: atmospheric black metal

amidst the ruins runs almost an hour, and it only has 5 songs. just pure atmospheric black metal indulgence. 7/10

stand out song: amidst the ruins

8. They left me with the Sword/They Left me with a Gun by Paris Texas

genre: experimental hip hop/rap rock

these are sister EPs so theyre getting a joint entry. these are just fun. just dude being guys having fun in the booth. the beats run from weezer like rock, to more traditional drum heavy rap, they at times sound like a early 2000s rap rock joint. good times to be had here. 7/10

stand out song: superstar off of gun and holy spinal fluid off of sword

9. luminescent creatures by ichiko aoba

genre: japanese indie folk

ichiko aoba, in a the mountain goats-esque effort, has released 3 albums this year. the design, ah! neo pair are a bit more easy listening jazz focused. this one is more in line with her singer-sognwriter stylings. a relaxed, but also melancholic listen. 7/10

stand out song: FLAG

10. Dead Channel Sky by clipping.

genre: industrial hip hop

somwhat of a down album for clipping. but still a very fun listen. glitch hop galore in this one. 6/10

stand out song: welcome home, warrior (feat. aesop rock)

[vague-humanoid]

Infinity Knives x Brian Ennals – The Iron Wall (Official Lyrics Video)

[pattern-recognition]

I'mma kill my landlord so I got a heater Specifcally, a n**** got a nine millimeter If he dont believe in God, I'mma make him a believer He won't have no choice 'cause he really 'bout to meet him So, yup, six weeks ago, I'm gettin' evicted Begged my landlord to help a n****, said he couldn't risk it In the streets, been out here for weeks Shittin' where I sleep, ain't got shit to eat Bro, this homeless shit is peak Rewind two months ago, I just lost my job Was livin' check to check, but check to check is gettin' robbеd Home of the free, land of the undеrpaid Basically, had a closet off of minimum wage Now I don't even have that, but I know where he's at I'm shootin' him, probably his family, and maybe the cat Last year, shorty, she left the state with my son This is America, so I spent my last on a gun

[beatsforbrothels]

Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals - The Bushman

[sockeye-run]

when you get this, list 5 songs you like to listen to, publish. then, send this to 10 of your favorite followers.

Ooo eee thank you!

In no particular order of favoritism, just the first five that come to mind when I think of what I've listened to recently:

Dance yourself clean - LCD Soundsystem

A melancholy boogie - infinity knives and Brian ennals

This tornado loves you - neko case

The season - the dodos

Security - amyl and the sniffers

❤️

[caltropspress]

RAPS + CRAFTS #31: andrew

1. Introduce yourself. Past projects? Current projects?

I’m andrew. Currently working on sleepingdogs related stuff as always, a project with my guy esh & the isolations from Boston, a project with Brian Ennals, and then I’m producing a few things for some people right now as well. Just dropped a record with Height Keech this July. Earlier in the year I dropped a split with my brother ialive and the second sleepingdogs album. Right at the end of last year I dropped my third self-produced solo, don’t forget me, bluest, Too many past things to name them all - you can get my last solo and the latest sleepingdogs vinyl @ threedollarpistol.bandcamp.com.

2. Where do you write? Do you have a routine time you write? Do you discipline yourself, or just let the words come when they will? Do you typically write on a daily basis?

I write any and everywhere but not really by choice. The mind is always going, and you never know when it’s gonna start putting shit together. I write a lot of stuff in my head when I’m driving and just repeat the lines over and over trying build on it, but mostly trying not to forget. I also write at work a lot when I’m just zoned out building stuff. I’m always writing down bars or couplets throughout the day, but if I get on a roll I’ll step off the floor and duck into the bathroom for a second to finish a thought 'cause I don’t wanna be standing there on my phone too long. Those are probably the two places I write the most, but, as I said, it’s not really confined to any time or place. It all comes in spurts. I’m always writing something down, be it lists of words, phrases and random lines, or full verses. It seems to come in waves for me. I’ll be going crazy for a few months writing seemingly non-stop, then the next few months will pass and I haven’t really written shit as far as songs go, and I’ll think that it’s a wrap for me. Lots of ebbs & flows for sure.

3. What’s your medium—pen and paper, laptop, on your phone? Or do you compose a verse in your head and keep it there until it’s time to record?

These days it’s mostly phone, for sheer convenience. We always have our phones with us, so that just became the medium unfortunately. Up til a few years ago, I didn’t really write anything down. I would just write in my head and go over it out loud til I had it down pat and kept it only there until I laid it down, but over the years my memory seems to have less storage capacity. So, just to be safe, I started writing everything down in my phone. I think this actually maybe even caused me to start writing more because now instead of writing whole verses at a time, I’m constantly just writing down random lines and thoughts to put together more verses & hooks. When it comes to recording though, I really strive to have my verses memorized and read off my phone as little as possible.

4. Do you write in bars, or is it more disorganized than that?

Oh no, so disorganized! Lists of words, phrases, bars, concepts for hooks, any and everything really.

5. How long into writing a verse or a song do you know it’s not working out the way you had in mind? Do you trash the material forever, or do you keep the discarded material to be reworked later?

If I’m writing something and don’t like it within the first fours bars, I gotta trash it and start over. If I get like 10-12 in and I’m not loving it, I’ll just finish it anyway since I didn’t dislike it enough to stop at four. Then I’ll probably come back and cherry pick the good lines for another verse until the verse is just skin & bones and delete the rest if I don’t feel there’s anything more worth repurposing.

6. Have you engaged with any other type of writing, whether presently or in the past? Fiction? Poetry? Playwriting? If so, how has that mode influenced your songwriting?

I’ve written poetry as a much younger man and also started a novel at some point that got shelved indefinitely. Never really plays, but I used to storyboard write & illustrate ideas for music videos. I do design as well, so I used to have fun writing fake ad campaigns for products and foundations for school. And I’m seemingly always making up slogans or jingles for businesses for no reason at all. I dunno I guess I’m just always writing, consciously or unconsciously.

7. How much editing do you do after initially writing a verse/song? Do you labor over verses, working on them over a long period of time, or do you start and finish a piece in a quick burst?

I tend to get in zones and write whole verses and/or songs in one shot, depending on the project. Those verses could be comprised of some of the random lines and word lists compiled over time or completely fresh - you never really know. I definitely edit if I’m on roll, but if there’s a line or two I don’t love I’ll just leave it and come back later and revisit or strengthen it. Sometimes you got a good rhythm and you can kill it by getting caught up on one line that’s bothering you, so I usually will just try to tell myself I’ll come back and I move on.

8. Do you write to a beat, or do you adjust and tweak lyrics to fit a beat?

Both. Sometimes I’m feeling inspired to write and I don’t have beats on deck at the moment, whether my own or someone else’s, so I’ll just write, and later I’ll either make something that feels like the right fit, or hear something in a pack from someone that does and freak it and make necessary adjustments per the beat. Then there’s also some beats that just demand my attention and compel me to start writing immediately.

9. What dictates the direction of your lyrics? Are you led by an idea or topic you have in mind beforehand? Is it stream-of-consciousness? Is what you come up with determined by the constraint of the rhymes?

I think just the way I’m feeling most days. That’s why it’s a lot of dark humor raps and things of that nature. That tends to be the majority of my material but obviously if there’s a specific theme that dictates the bars. I think it can really start from anything, but a lot of the time if I’m messing around in my head at work or driving and I come up with a few good bars that feel like they are good ones to open a verse with, it’ll propel me to keep going. They could be anything - some goofy, funny shit or something dark. I guess again it comes back to the headspace I’m in at that moment.

10. Do you like to experiment with different forms and rhyme schemes, or do you keep your bars free and flexible?

I do, but I’ll be the first to admit I that don’t stray enough from the traditional when it comes to schemes and flows. I do mess with it on my own and try different things and write different ways, but I guess I usually don’t think that they’re strong enough and stick to the more traditional, though I’m definitely trying to break out of that and expand, for sure.

11. What’s a verse you’re particularly proud of, one where you met the vision for what you desire to do with your lyrics?

I really like my verse on “flutes” on the first sleepingdogs album. I dunno it’s one that every time I do it live it just feels satisfying. It’s no real concept; it’s just bars, but it’s one that feels good every time. "living blues" from don’t forget me, bluest is another one. I think maybe just everything about that one makes me feel good - the hook, the verse, the flow, the outro. That was one that I made that when I was done writing I was immediately like, “Yeah, this one is something.”

12. Can you pick a favorite bar of yours and describe the genesis of it?

"And I heard em sayin', 'Yo, why's drew the best? / I’m handin' out bodies like I'm breakin' up the Eucharist (eucha-rest)” from "flutes" as well has always been a fave, though it doesn’t really translate as anything special now that I'm typing it out - haha.

13. Do you feel strongly one way or another about punch-ins? Will you whittle a bar down in order to account for breath control, or are you comfortable punching-in so you don’t have to sacrifice any words?

I definitely write with breath control in mind and definitely prefer to record a verse start to finish. I’ve definitely punched in but not because I wasn’t able to rap the whole verse, but more to make sure I hit certain words stronger than I could if I was doing it all straight through. As long as I can do the verse live and spit it straight, I don’t really care about having to punch because when recording and delivering a product you’re trying to present the best product, so for the sake of that I think it’s okay. So long as you can actually spit the verse, that is. That’s just me, though. I know there’s a lot of different views on this and some people are against it and some people do it obviously with the overlaps and all, but that’s just my take. I don’t particularly care too much about it one way or another.

14. What non-hiphop material do you turn to for inspiration? What non-music has influenced your work recently?

Man, too much. I get inspiration from all kinds of music. All good music makes me want to make music. Lately I been listening to a lot of Lykke Li, Rolling Stones, Heatmiser, Charles Bradley, Lee Moses, Courtney Marie Andrews, Lady Wray - too many to name. Outside of music, reading really inspires me as well. I been reading / listening to a lot this year and it definitely gets me going.

15. Writers are often saddled with self-doubt. Do you struggle to like your own shit, or does it all sound dope to you?

I have flashes of it, but overall I feel like I know when something is dope and when something isn’t working. And when it’s not, then I put it to the side and rework until it is. And if it never gets to where it needs to be, then it doesn’t come out. I feel being honest with yourself and admitting when something isn’t quite there is super important as an artist to make sure you’re putting out quality work, not just everything you put down on the page.

16. Who’s a rapper you listen to with such a distinguishable style that you need to resist the urge to imitate them?

Freeway. Every time I listen to Free I start rapping like him to myself in the car, but that’s where it stays - haha.

17. Do you have an agenda as an artist? Are there overarching concerns you want to communicate to the listener?

I think really just mental health stuff and the will to keep pushing forward. I write a lot of dark stuff laced with humor 'cause I feel it and I need to say it to get it out of my head and try to deal with those thoughts and feelings. And I think that’s important 'cause hopefully it can help people dealing with the same kinds of things and they’re not alone in it. It’s really just one day at a time, as cliche as that is. Just gotta do your best to get through the day, and tomorrow is a fresh start.

RAPS + CRAFTS is a series of questions posed to rappers about their craft and process. It is designed to give respect and credit to their engagement with the art of songwriting. The format is inspired, in part, by Rob McLennan’s 12 or 20 interview series.

Photo credit: Noah Anthony Mezzacappa