Somewhere at the interstellar crossroads of Sun Ra, DJ Spooky, Strata East, and Lee “Scratch” Perry lies the incomparable musical mind of L.A. native Ras G (né Gregory Shorter, Jr.). Though he often affixes the group moniker “The Alkebulan (or Afrikan) Space Program” to his name, Ras G (a composite of his first initial and a testament to his belief in Rastafari) is the sole captain and crew of this spacecraft. Along with a 21st-century moxie, his collective influences make up what he describes as ghetto sci-fi—an extraterrestrial soundwave transmission of dub, white noise, glitch, off-kilter boom-bap, and sound bites. Incorporating healing tones (specific sound frequencies that are purported to have profound effects on the spirit and body), modal jazz, and ancestral inspiration, Ras G has managed to concoct a sonic brew that defies conventional musical categorization. “As opposed to riding trends and waves, I try to bring forth the music that I really feel,” he explains. “It’s my offering to the world.”
Ras G guides a deep space exploration of music’s ancient history and rich future. Working with obsolete tools that reach back in time and pluck out the essence of groove, “Ghetto Sci-Fi” is an analysis of what came before us as told through sounds from the future.
“Ghetto Sci-Fi” is rich with space-funktified rhythms with subterranean basslines, colossal percussion and glorious highs. This album is an ode of the highest order paying respect to the past to move into the future.
This is the music that people will be playing in the ghetto on Mars in the year 3014. |
