Uncommon Records has put out releases from progressive hip-hop artists from all across the country. This wide range is what explains the variety of artists that are united under the Uncommon banner. Now in Uncommon’s 5th year, for the first time we will release an album from a group that represents the Mid-West in W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S. The group is made up of 3 emcees, Augury, Taiyamo Denku and Short Fuze. Their sound is indicative of their surroundings, drawing comparisons to veteran mid-westerners like the Rhyme Sayers crew as well as new-schoolers Doom Tree. Just the right balance of East Coast influence is mixed in as well, drawing influence from their peers in the Indie Scene of the late 90’s along with the Beastie Boys & Wu-Tang.

Speaking of influences:
“After Years of Television” is the regurgitation of a generation raised on TV. That generation speaks out on this record from the After School Special styled “Color Blind Tears” & “Notice the Unnoticed” to the History Lesson via Sitcom “Wonder Years”. The late night B Movies that had you running to your VCR to press record are represented here as well with tracks like “Life Blood” & “Skeleton Key”. The never forgotten local video shows that pumped Underground Hip-Hop are brought back to life here too with the tracks “Relics of the Boombap”, “Soul in Music” and “Dead End Sketch”. As if reaching through the screen from that era, we even get a cameo appearance from none other than Keith Murray himself on “When Terror Speaks”. The entire album climaxes with W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S.’ lead single, “Monumental State of Mind”, a classic produced by Domingo.

Other album highlights include beats from the often misplaced production team of the Atoms Family. Jest One providing the heat for “Angry Go Happy” and Cryptic One getting busy with “Notice the Unnoticed”. Nasa provides the beat for “Life Blood” and also returns on the mic with Masai Bey for “Downward Harness” for a banger.

As with all crews, W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S. brings along some very talented friends like Dave Derrilykt who provided some of the hardest beats on “After Years of Television” with the title track as well as “Dead End Sketch”, “Downward Harness” and “Wonder Years” to his credit. DJ Figure brings the house down with his breakdown on the one’s and two’s of a beat by Dynamo on “Rise”.

As you’ll hear on this album, W.A.S.T.E.L.A.N.D.S. is a tight knit group that feeds off each other on every track with Augury providing the bridge between Taiyamo Denku and Short Fuze’s styles. This crew has performed over 100 shows and rocks the house every time.