7Steps2Hell's Dark Debut Gives "Two Middle Fingers to the Music Scene"

With all this holiday time spent praising Jesus, why not take a break from the holy and indulge in the devilish this weekend?

Relax, County Grind hasn't gone all Satanic on you, we're just suggesting you check out the witch house-infused project of local emcee Jabrjaw and experimental beatsmith Mike Astrea, 7steps2hell. The duo released its sample-heavy, downbeat, boombap-meets-horrorcore effort titled Turner Classicks on its Soundcloud a few weeks back. The two are also rumored to be making a debut live performance this weekend at Propaganda.

Jabrjaw (born Ryan Britt) was tight-lipped about whether or not Astrea and he would get on stage together at this weekend's hip-hop melee, Black Lodge. It'll feature other members of the now on hiatus Fort Lauderdale collective know as Black Locust Society like Bleubird. He did tease that there might be some "surprises" at the end of the night.

Jabrjaw, who has been on the scene for a minute, purveying a throwback style of hip-hop that plays homage to the genre's golden '80s era, teamed up for the first time with Astrea (aka Michael Bachman), a venerable local musician who's also dedicated to his main experimental project, the Astrea Corporation. The outcome is blazing, with big beats and slowed down, warped vocals. The effort is a bit macabre and psychedelic, but hits with an old school flair.

"We wanted to do a dark record that was two middle fingers to the music scene," explained Jabrjaw. "Our goal was to produce something that would have us saying, 'What the fuck... Should we even be making this?'" We'd say mission accomplished fellas.

We bet that local hip-hop heads who have an affinity for 'shrooms, white magic, and Dead Can Dance records will be very pleased that the duo took time to shell out this offbeat endeavor.

Sample and download the online album here:

And check out the duo's first video, for the atmospheric sorcery of "Trace Filter" below:

Jabrjaw performs this Saturday, December 27, with Astrea Corp, Bleubird, ikabodVEINS, and DJ sets provided by Sensitive Side, Mister Belvedere, and

Unkle Bukk. Show takes place 9 p.m., at Propaganda, 6 South J St., Lake Worth. Cover is $5. Visit Facebook.

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