Wednesday, November 25th, 2015
Rusty Pelicans 20-Year Anniversary Reunion w/ Klassik, Sounds of Time (Kid Millions & Sage Schwarm)
9 pm, 21+, $8 adv / $10 doors

The Rusty Pelicans (aka Rusty Ps) were conceived in 1995 when four  recent Milwaukee high school grads came together to form a rap crew. Over the next twenty years, those four emcees – Phantom Channel, Count Classic, Oneself, and Dana Coppafeel – along with the later additions of producer S Watson and DJ Madhatter, would play a huge role in molding the Milwaukee hip-hop scene, both together and through other projects. The group has often been tapped as local support and collaborators for huge nationals like Atmosphere, Eminem, Lupe Fiasco,  Ludacris, Run DMC, The Roots,  Common, Brother Ali, Black Eyed Peas, Common, Jurassic 5, Talib Kweli, The Pharcyde, and – most recently, for a Halloween rager – Doomtree. Their electric live show and intricate studio work has resulted in a vast array of accolades, including three WAMI wins on seven nominations for “Best Hip Hop / Rap Act” in Wisconsin, five wins from Shepherd Express’ “Best of” readers poll in the same category, and a Radio Milwaukee “Earworm” Award for the catchiest Milwaukee song  (“Foundation”).

By the late 2000s, Phantom Channel and Count Classic were the only remaining emcees in the act. Dana Coppa found success with crew KingHellBastard, as a solo artist (collaborating with Action Bronson and Riff Raff on “Hot Shots Part Deux”), and as a duo collaborator with SPEAK Easy. MC Oneself also continued to make music aimed as a means to peace and togetherness. Meanwhile, the Rusty Ps put out successful full-length releases The Shape of Things to Come (2008) and Pull the Trigger (2014).

2015, the band’s 20th year, has brought the reunion of the original members on the Pelicans’ full-length collaborative album with LMNtylist, entitled LMNoP’s. The four emcees have now come together for a full-fledged reunion. This reunion and the group’s twenty years of excellence are the subjects of celebration that will occur on Wednesday, November 25th at Mad Planet.

Joining the party will be one of the young faces of the Milwaukee hip-hop scene that the Rusty Ps paved the way for, Klassik. Klassik has captured the attention of local and national listeners (including, allegedly, Rob Gronkowski), especially with his recent Seasons EPs collection.  Also joining the Rusty Ps are Sounds of Time, the collaboration between long-time Milwaukee staples Kid Millions and Sage Schwarm (former member of notable acts Citizen King, Codebreaker, and Wild Kingdom). They’ll out out their third release before year’s end.

Check out the links below for more info.

Rusty Pelicans Links
Feature at Milwaukee Record
Bandcamp
Wikipedia
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