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# Gangstagrass: Label-less Indie Bluegrass/Hip-Hop Band Charts On Billboard
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/gangstagraa-label-less-indie-bluegrasship-hop-band-charts-on-billboard/
- Published: 2015-05-13T11:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2015-05-13T11:00:00.000Z
- Description: Charting without the help of a record label is not totally unheard of, but its still enough of an event that when, Gangstagrass, one of the bands represented by Hypebot's. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2015/05/gangstagraa-label-less-indie-bluegrasship-hop-band-charts-on-billboard
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, Live & Ticketing, Music Marketing, 2006 Polaris Music Prize, 2009 Polaris Music Prize, A Tribe Called Quest, Active rock, Arkells, Juno Award, Juno Award for Group of the Year, record label, Toronto, Twitter, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:28

**[![gangstagrass](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201bb082db854970d-100wi "gangstagrass")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201bb082db854970d-popup?ref=hypebot.com)Charting without the help of a record label** is not totally unheard of, but its still enough of an event that when, **Gangstagrass**, one of the bands represented by Hypebot's parent company [**Skyline Music**](http://skylineonline.com/?ref=hypebot.com) hit the **Billboard** chart, we had to share their story.A record label-less, indie bluegrass/hip-hop band has achieved a dream usually reserved for much bigger stars. They seem to have a hit album on its hands, without any of the fanfare and marketing dollars that usually go into chart-busting albums, making [Gangstagrass](http://www.gangstagrass.com/?ref=hypebot.com) an anomaly of sorts among bands looking to find wider appeal for their organically based music. According to its frontman, known only as Rench, the quick rise of their album "American Music" took the band totally by surprise during its present ongoing tour. [![image from static1.squarespace.com](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201bb082db7b6970d-350wi "image from static1.squarespace.com")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201bb082db7b6970d-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

*GANGSTAGRASS' NEW VIDEO "[BANKS OF OHIO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIzXMDKtg9o&ref=hypebot.com)"* 

*DEBUTED ON [NPR MUSIC](http://www.npr.org/event/music/405241452/first-watch-gangstagrass-banks-of-the-ohio?ref=hypebot.com) THIS WEEK*

**Gangstagrass Justified**Gangstagrass' previous major claim to fame was being asked to write and perform the Emmy-nominated theme song to the cable FX drama *Justified,* which features an unusual blending of urban and rural music–an authentic synergetic sound that the Washington Post said "might repel some purists on either side of the country-and-rap divide, but will knock the socks off just about everybody else."With *American Music* (released April 9, 2015,) Gangstagrass has evidently earned the respect of many of those purists. Produced by Rench, the album features 14 tracks performed by rappers and real bluegrass instrumentalists. It contains both original bluegrass/hip-hop anthems, such as "Barnburning," "Ran Dry" and the remake of their *Justified* theme song "Long Hard Times To Come," as well as bluegrass/hip-hop reinterpretations of traditional classics like "John Henry" and "Wade in The Water." Performing on the album is a diverse cast of MCs including hit-makers Smif N Wessun, the Juno award-winning Liquid, and the Emmy-nominated T.O.N.E-z. The band lives by a mantra that if two unrelated musical genres like bluegrass and hip-hop can coexist, so can people of different races, religions and political affiliations. More Gangstagrass:
- Stream *American Music* at: [https://soundcloud.com/gangstagrass/sets/americanmusic](https://soundcloud.com/gangstagrass/sets/americanmusic?ref=hypebot.com)
- *American Music* available at:
- [www.gangstagrass.com/americanmusic](http://www.gangstagrass.com/americanmusic?ref=hypebot.com)
- [www.gangstagrass.com](http://www.gangstagrass.com/?ref=hypebot.com)
- [www.facebook.com/gangstagrass](http://www.facebook.com/gangstagrass)

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