For fans of left-field rap and folk music comes a collaboration made in heaven: Wisconsin-based progressive rapper Safari Al and two person band Ghost of James, who come together to create MANTRAS. The three have released their first project, easy, hogarth, and it’s a very unique, very conscious project that melds two genres that have seldom been brought together, and with very interesting results.
Each instrumental is different than the last, from acoustic guitar to piano tracks, and all the vocal efforts are different, from nonstop raps to tracks with a sing-song hook, creating a really sporadic, but strangely well put together piece of art. Safari Al is quite the intriguing talent, rapping on topics like American pride, Sriracha, Marshall Eriksen, and all with a pleasingly soft and emotive voice.
Hopefully this is not the last we see from MANTRAS, but until then, the EP is available for free on their Bandcamp. You can listen to it below.