Stereo Six: Gangstagrass Share Some of Their Most Influential Albums and Songs

Throughout an illustrious career, Gangstagrass has always found a way to carve their path. Combining different musical elements and making it all sound coherent is what these men specialize in. Any listener of theirs has come to expect as much, and they have pulled it off again with their latest album, The Blackest Thing on the Menu. Released in June, this is the group’s seventh proper studio full-length. Once again, Gangstagrass has taken the traditional elements of hip-hop and bluegrass and concocted them into something special. They can do it all the while remaining true to the foundations of each genre. The Blackest Thing on the Menu is an appropriate release for the season, with each song a total summer jam.

Since coming together in 2007, Gangstagrass has broken many barriers and become known for its innovative style. Our friend Rob Lundberg had a wonderful chat with them for his Uncontaminated Sound series in 2021. For something that was only ever supposed to be a studio project, it has come a very long way. The conception of the album title came about while the band was out for dinner. There was a Juneteenth-themed menu that featured some ‘blackened’ spicy items. One of the band members requested from the server ‘the blackest thing on the menu.’ That item ended up being blackened shrimp and cheese grits. They all ordered it, and the initial idea for the album was born.

Today, we are joined by Gangstagrass for our Stereo Six feature, in which they share six songs/albums that influenced the recording of The Blackest Thing on the Menu.

1. Bill Monroe – “Jerusalem Ridge” (1976, BMG Rights Management)

“The album is 1976’s The Weary Traveler and this song was just the kind of badass bluegrass riff that was just waiting for us to turn it into a hip-hop banger – our new song ‘Up High Do Or Die!’”

2. Sault – Untitled (Black Is) (2020, Forever Living Originals)

“Rench (lead singer) started obsessing over Sault and its related artists a few years back. ‘Wildfires’ was on repeat in his brain. The production by Inflo has definitely been a recent influence on our grooves.”

Artwork for the albums Gangstagrass list in this Stereo Six

3. The Roots – Undun (2011, Def Jam)

“The wildest thing about Undun is that the last four tracks are an almost classically based set of four movements, preceded by some of the most powerful lyrics by The Roots frontman Black Thought and a series of guest MCs including Phonte, Big K.R.I.T., Dice Raw, and Greg Porn. No one comes off lightly on it. Every line is precise and meaningful and you get more from it every time you listen. Gangstagrass MCs Dolio the Sleuth and R-SON the Voice of Reason write in a similar manner so you’ll get something new each time you play one of our tracks.”

4. Outkast – Aquemini (1998, LaFace, Arista)

“We all had this album on loop in our CD players in 1998. Completely innovative sound and such a fresh take on what a hip-hop album could be, the lyricism and the instrumentation, from start to finish. But definitely peep that harmonica breakdown in ‘Rosa Parks.’”

Gangstagrass ‘The Blackest Thing on the Menu’ album artwork

5. Dan Tyminski – “Southern Gothic” (2017, UMG Recordings)

“On a track like ‘Gone Gone,’ the core of the song is a simple, direct bluegrass melody with acoustic instruments, but the sound around it is heavily produced and augmented. And there’s no better touchstone for that kind of progressive bluegrass than Tyminski’s recent work.”

6. [Curveball] Various Artists – A Deeper Dig: Gospel Funk of ABC Peacock & Songbird 1969-1975 (2017, Geffen Records)

“Rench found this on vinyl at our distributor’s warehouse in Memphis. Someone, please sample all these tracks – pure gold!”

Gangstagrass “The Only Way Out is Through” single artwork