"[EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is a megaton bomb on local indie rap, bound to be the heaviest breath of fresh air hip hop heads will suck in all year..." --Jordan Selbo, City Pages 3/24/08
"[EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is an album that's sure to put El Guante on the verge of national exposure..." --Rich Albertoni, Isthmus 3/6/08
"Equal parts insightful and inciteful, [EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is an inspiring declaration for those who love hip-hop’s potential for social change but hate how little that potential’s realized" --Justin Schell, Twin Cities Daily Planet 4/9/08
"The new album proves expansively witty, El Guante keeping his snarled sense of humor even when harping on the finer points of art and hip hop..." --The Onion AV Club 3/5/08
"Shocking as it may be, somehow between writing plays, literature and poetry and organizing politics, this Minneapolis renaissance man still finds a way to hold down a rap career. 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 6/3/08
"Slamming his way through each beat, literally, is the slam-artist, and lyrical slaughter-house known as El Guante with his potent yet poetic new album..." --Rift Magazine 7/9/08
BUY EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT ON CDBABY
Me: emcee, poet, writer, activist, educator, blogger, the avant-point-guard.
Obligatory "played with" list: Talib Kweli, Zion I, Brother Ali, P.O.S., Immortal Technique, Percee P, DJ Vadim, Mac Lethal, dead prez, Blue Scholars, PM Dawn, I Self Divine, B.Dolan, One.Be.Lo, many others. I've played everything from big outdoor festivals to dirty house parties to coffeeshops to churches to to correctional facilities to hip hop dance parties to high schools to punk shows to poetry slams to conferences to political rallies and more.
I’m also a spoken-word poet, and competed at the 2006, 2007 and 2008 National Poetry Slams. I was Madison's Grand Slam champion in 2006 and Minneapolis' in 2008, the same year my team (St. Paul) took 13th place in the nation. I released my first book, SHOTGUN SAMURAI VAMPIRE HIP HOP, a collection of poetry, lyrics and essays on hip hop, activism and more, in 2007.
As an activist and educator, I’ve facilitated university-level courses dealing with racism, sexism, homophobia and identity in general, helped organize countless social justice-oriented conferences and events, written for and edited a number of publications and helped raise money for progressive organizations through benefit shows, compilation CDs and more. I’m currently most involved in performing arts workshops and programs for youth—I’ve worked in dozens of elementary, middle and high schools across the Midwest, doing both one-time guest lectures or longer residencies. Let's network.
EMAIL CONTACT: [email protected]
Interview on 3-Minute Egg:
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El Guante's Sonicbids EPK
BOOKING INFO: For all bookings, collaborations, adding songs to compilations, getting me to lead workshops, all that kind of stuff, hit up the management: [email protected] | 612-288-9491 | TRU RUTS MYSPACE
And some reviews of my last album, "vanishing point:"
"With a compelling flow somewhere between Common's sing-song delivery and the spoken word of Saul Williams, el guante waxes intelligently about politics, culture and life in general while eschewing underground hip hop cliches."
--CoreWeekly
"El Guante stresses the importance of lyrics in his music; he never throws words around haphazardly... Each of the 19 tracks on the hour long album is worth listening to..."
--Emmie Magazine
"El Guantes latest album is a truly positive and different musical experience. He engages his impressive musical talents with a keen understanding of social issues, confronting both the dark and light aspects of the human condition. That combination creates a unique and compelling accomplishment."
--The Badger Herald
"Avoiding every rap cliche, el guante has managed to make a socially responsible album that is actually enjoyable..."
--Rick's Cafe
"A skilled emcee, his music affects the strange delirium of intellectual warfare, each syllable like a sucker-punch to dominant paradigms... el guante writes with the simple eloquence of someone cursed by a clear sense of time and place."
--CoreWeekly again
"His innovative album... is full of horn- and piano-laden backing tracks that provide a vibrant, luxurious, and haunting atmosphere for unforced parables of political and social thought."
--the Onion
