Gangstagrass and Trees Grow in Brooklyn

So what do you call a record that incorporates hip-hop beats and country?

Gangstagrass, of course! Today I found myself touring the music blogosphere, and at 3Hive, I learned about a producer named Rench:

“Rench is a Brooklyn-based producer who mixes old bluegrass and country samples with a standup band that includes slide guitar and fiddle, and he pulls it all together with hip hop beats and splits vocals between country guys and gals and underground emcees from around the way. If your head’s about to explode, join the club. The mere thought of it in abstract made me think of those fun but mostly throwaway “crossovers” like Hayseed Dixie and The Gourds’ “Gin & Juice.” But hey, if Snoop Dogg’s gonna show up at the CMT Awards and Clinton and Obama are gonna keep fighting over who really has his or her finger on the pulse of America, we may as well get down to mashups of extreme urban and rural. And you will get down.”

For song clips, as well as the rest of this review, hit up 3Hive:

See? I’m not the only one mixing country with other genres. Long live the mashup!

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