Video: The Outfit, TX – “Purple Diamond Tea”
“…the best thing in rap today that nobody is talking about yet.” – MTV Hive
“…positively perfect.” – Complex
“The Outfit, TX is one of the best rap groups in Texas.” – PassionWeiss
Cattle ranches, cowboy boots, and oversized everything may be the first thoughts when imagining Texas but Mel from the group The Outfix, TX provides a different, more personal dose of what Texan life is like for the rapper/producer. Literally written as a post-coital sigh after enjoying a “joyride” on his way to the studio, Mel exhibits a funked-out, mellow, Southern-smothered song exhibiting pride for his hometown of Dallas via his newest video, which was premiered by VICE/Noisey. From the group’s highly acclaimed double album Cognac/ Four Corner Room, comes his “Purple Diamond Tea” video, setting a chill vibe with sneakily provocative lyrics. Shot under the cover of darkness with clips of folks riding around on banana-seat bicycles in the shadows mixed with clips of Mel, the song and video make the perfect soundtrack for wide-open street cruising: “This is how it feel when you ridin’ in the South.”
Preluding with a quote from musician and author James McBride: “Beneath the smiles and southern hospitality and politeness were a lot of guns and liquors and secrets,” two sides of Mel’s world are being documented. On one hand, director King David portrays Mel as being cool, calm and collected, while also being fiercely enthused to rap about his city. Mel says, “Sometimes I do hoodrat things with my friends…the entire mood of the record felt similar to the post-fellatio ride I had just taken down Houston’s Beltway. This was also one of those instances where everything except the verses happened immediately, almost viscerally,” inviting the viewer into his state of mind.
As rising artists, all three members of the rap group The Outfit, TX who were born and raised in Dallas, are putting independent Texas-based rap on the map. Houston Press Magazine named their first album one of the “Best Underground Rap Tapes of 2012” and for their current double-album, Complex ranked it as one of the Top Ten Texas Rap Mixtapes of 2013. Considering themselves a hip hop band, they describe their music as being a “Cooly Fooly Space Age Funk,” a phrase they coined themselves. With heavy use of synths and 808’s playing into the “space funk” sound throughout the entirety of their musical catalog, they offer a unique twist on Southern hip hop. Mel claims, “We make our music as an expression of our actual lives and experiences everyday so, overall, we’re trying to convey our own unique life perceptions. We hope those that listen can relate, or simply feel where we are coming from.”
Watch the “Purple Diamond Tea” Video here: http://youtu.be/gjr7Zy-HyWI
Check out VICE/Noisey premiere: http://noisey.v
Download Cognac/Four Corner Room here: http://coolyfooly.com/album/cognac-four-corner-room
The Outfit, TX will be performing at SXSW 2014: 10:00 pm @ 512 Rooftop (408 E. 6th St.)
Tracklisting for Cognac by Mel:
Tracklisting for Four Corner Room by Dorian:
Please contact Michelle or Rory if interested in talking with The Outfit, TX.
Born and raised in Dallas, producers and rappers Dorian, JayHawk, and Mel make up the hip-hop band The Outfit, TX. After forming while in school at University of Houston in 2006, they returned to Dallas to continue to work on their patented brand of “Cooly Fooly Space Age Funk.” Individually, each has their own respective sound and together, they expertly blend their unabashed Southern credo of smooth synth bass, moogs, 808s and synthesizers. Their first official studio album, Starships and Rockets: Cooly Fooly Space Age Funk The Album is a perfect exhibition of that sound. Voted one of the “Best Underground Rap Tapes of 2012” by Houston Press Magazine, the album made waves among top tier press outlets and set the stage for their current project, their double-disk album Cognac/Four Corner Room, which exists as two solo projects, conjoined at the hip to represent the juxtaposed unity of of TOTX. Complex ranks it as one of the Top Ten Texas Rap Mixtapes of 2013.
TOTX has performed with the likes of J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, The Clipse, and Kendrick Lamar. They headlined their first sold out show at Warehouse Live in Houston, TX in March 2013, then hit the road, performing at several music festivals including A3C’s “Best in Texas” Showcase, and Spune’s Index Fest in Dallas, TX. The future holds much more for the three Southern gentlemen that comprise The Outfit,TX, who recently relocated back to Dallas from Houston. They might have put it best, describing their artistry as “one small step for Texas, one giant leap for Southern kind.”
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“Purple Diamond Tea”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjr7Zy-HyWI
“Free Yourself”: http://youtu.be/zDUUmTR_yzE
“Drunk Driving”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OoSjpk9chQ
Bio, pictures and streams available here: http://www.audibletreats.com/the_outfit_tx/