Joshua Turner, aka deM atlaS, spent much of 2014 on tour with Atmosphere and kicked off 2015 with a fun new single. / Richard Tsong-Taatarii, Star Tribune (DML - DML - Star Tribune Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Allan Kingdom, deM atlaS kick off 2015 with celebratory singles
The St. Paul area rappers wasted no time keeping their 2014 momentum going.
January 7, 2015 at 10:06PM
One just turned 21 yesterday. The other is only a year older and just sold out his upcoming debut as a headliner at 7th Street Entry. Both come from the side of the river where Heiruspecs and Eyedea came before.
St. Paul wunderkinds Allan Kingdom and deM atlaS celebrated their respective benchmark moments by dropping a new track online today.
Newly legal and coming off a breakout year that earned him No. 1 in Picked to Click and a national buzz with the Stand4rd, Allan shows what all the fuss is about in his new one, "Blast." The punchy, defiant-sounding track was produced by Plain Pat, the Kid Cudi cohort who also happens to be Allan's manager. It came complete with a new, Kron-directed black-and-white video. No word yet if the song will be featured on an upcoming album, but based on precedence we can probably expect at least a couple releases from him this year.
The new one from deM atlas (Joshua Turner), "With a Smile," was produced by his pal Evan Slack and has a funky retro-soul sound to it and feel-good vibe. It includes a couple shout-outs to a girl named Lucy, which could be another "Peanuts" character reference from the rapper (whose first EP was titled "Charle Brwn") or might be a nod to his Rhymesayer labelmates Atmosphere (who once famously had a thing for some unknown girl named Lucy Ford).
"With a Smile" also is not attached to any formal release yet. However, the deM Man did just drop a new online EP, "DWNR," and is working toward his full-length debut on Rhymesayers. He curiously did not make the cut in City Pages' Picked to Clicked poll like Allan did – ahem, yours truly ranked him No. 1 – but he did just get named one of "Five Rap Artists to Watch for in 2015" in a post on City Pages' sister publication the Village Voice's website. He's playing the Entry on Jan. 17, coincidentally or not the same night as the Best New Bands showcase next door in the main room.
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