Flatbush ZOMBiES: ‘BetterOffDEAD’ Mixtape Proves The Upstart Group is BetterOffALIVE

Besides having a super dope group name, Flatbush ZOMBiES are actually a talented, independent rap trio from Brooklyn. The group’s debut mixtape, 2012’s D.R.UG.S., a huge success by mixtape standards, propelled this crew into music festivals across the country and solidified their rep as a rap group that should be paid attention to.

Members Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and producer/emcee Erick Arc Elliott seem to be well educated on the process of crafting good rap records. That much was evident on D.R.U.G.S. and now continues on their recent sophomore release, BetterOffDEAD, a dark, trippy rap album that reminds me of psychedelic albums by artists like Pink Floyd and alternative hip hop albums by The Pharcyde and Cypress Hill. Elliott’s inventive production advances the hip hop music form by experimenting with sound deviating from the pervasive, mostly unimaginative music heard on radio today, taking you into another musical conscience.

Features on BetterOffDEAD are limited, for good reason. You want to hear Flatbush ZOMBiES spit, not their guests.  If you are just tuning in for the guest appearances by Danny Brown and Action Brown or guest producers Harry Fraud and Obey City, you won’t be disappointed, but the real gems are the group’s tracks. There is a complexity to their rhymes that might be lost by a casual listener, and as such, Flatbush ZOMBiES aren’t for everyone, but if you want to hear something different and dope, Darko, Juice and Arc should entertain.

We most recently saw the ZOMBiES this past summer at a free SummerStage show in Brooklyn, thrilling their hometown faithful and leaving behind a hazy, smoke-filled Red Hook Park. But if you missed them, Flatbush ZOMBiES are now in the midst of their headlining Better Off Dead North American Tour, which kicked off August 31 and includes a stop on the Rock the Bells tour at the New Jersey Meadowlands on October 4. The tour, which continues until November 20, is impressive for a group with only two free mixtapes on their discography, but more impressive is the fanbase Flatbush ZOMBiES have managed to accumulate in such a short time, making such a revenue generating tour possible.

BetterOffDEAD is not mainstream radio material, so don’t expect your favorite radio stations to play this. It’s a free download, grab it here and get into BetterOffDEAD.

Check out “MRAZ,” the first single off BetterOffDEAD.

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