With ‘Ghetto Gods,’ EarthGang Stakes Their Claim in a New Era of Atlanta Hip-Hop

Adi Mehta

The cultural imprint of Atlanta has transformed the general template of hip-hop over the years, and there currently stands no more suitable ambassador of the city’s heritage than EarthGang. The duo of rappers Olu, aka Johnny Venus, and WowGr8, aka Doctur Dot, represents the greater musical collective Spillage Village, featuring artists like the now illustrious 6lack, and following in an ATL tradition best defined by likes of the Dungeon Family, which spawned Outkast and CeeLo Green. Throughout their career, Earthgang have particularly been noted for preserving the legacy of Outkast. In 2019, the duo signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records and released “Mirrorland,” a distinctly Southern and unabashedly quirky debut album. Their followup, “Ghetto Gods,” is a stark reminder of how much times have changed in the last few years, with a  streamlining of content that compensates for an overall increased weight of sentiment. 

The title track finds EarthGang blasting off with an opening statement that strikes immediately as both inspired by, and slightly curtailed by, current circumstances. A rather jumbled mix of social consciousness fare and classic, ghetto-fabulous grandstanding comes in an opener that is hard-hitting, but stays close to center, at least by EarthGang standards. This is consistent with how the album generally plays out. The melody that the rapped/sung chorus approaches riffs off the leanings of several era-defining hits, tracing back to Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” which you can easily hear echoes of. The first couple of tracks can seem an attempt to assert dominance by one-upping hits defining the last decade. There could hardly be a better example than “Billi,” literally reimagining Lil Wyne’s “A Milli” tenfold. With a constant siren blast, a distorted bass to blow speakers, and a cash register chime upon chorus, Earthgang deliver on this track. ATL fixture Future, a rapper so different from the emcees of EarthGang that his feature effectively showcases the diversity within Atlanta hip-hop, drops a laidback verse, surprisingly devoid of Auto-tune.

“Waterboyz” finds Johnny Venus recalling being pulled up “in the Tsurus… the Jeep… The Crown Vic and the Mercury,” presumably all as a result of profiling. The lyrics focus around making money for its own end, and the chorus features a wincing, jokey exchange of questions that screams of the greater Dungeon Family aesthetic. Label head J. Cole drops a verse himself, and steals the scene with all his usual flair and conviction. A standout moment finds him commenting on pictures that surfaced online in which he was described as looking homeless. He clarifies, “Please don’t get it fucked up from this homeless aesthetic / Whole lot of homes / And I ain’t even put up the tour but it sold out already.”

The chorus of the following track and proposed album highlight “Amen” can be a bit hard to take, with an especially unabashed blurring of sensual and spiritual overtones in the chorus of “Get down on your knees if you care for me.” Otherwise the lyrics are rather generic love song fare. “Someone to prove to me that you’re different / Someone who got it, someone that gets it.” The most interesting aspect of the song is that Musiq Soulchild shows up to sing over a beat that already samples his 2000 track, “Just Friends (Sunny).” Single “All Eyes on Me” is a hard-hitting track that finds EarthGang zeroing in on the times with lyrics like “Black Lives Matter, yeah, I said it, ho… My cousin poppin’ pills ‘til the pain gone.” There could hardly be a more effective soundbite placing the song firmly in 2022. The song is somber, but ultimately uplifting, with Johnny Venus rapping, “You survived last year, get your hands up.”

As usual, there are echoes of Outkast pervading EarthGang’s output. “Lie to Me” is particularly reminiscent of the “Stankonia” cut, “We Luv Deez Hoez,” just in terms of vocal delivery. The surfeit of wah wah, barebones backbeat, and overall bona fide silliness is also consistent in spirit. Near the end, lyrics defy the lighthearted presentation, questioning the foundations of hip-hop braggadocio, as Johnny Venus mentions, “Perception of self-perfection gives me erections, yeah.” In terms of content, Outkast again bears its head in “Black Pearls,” where a section of Johnny Venus’ verse is modeled directly after a portion of Andre 3000’s in “Ms. Jackson.” The lyrics exalt, and  also seem to slightly poke fun at, women seizing control by choosing to enhance their bodies. 

The effortless shift between relatively frothy content and weightier social commentary is a defining feature of the album. On the spoken word interlude “Neezy’s Walk,” Lynae Vanee reflects, “The colonization was always in the framing of the three little pigs / But they made the wolf dangerous and weaponized the wind.” With that food for thought, EarthGang segues into “American Horror Story,” a direct confrontation with a chorus of “Talk to me now, speak loud and clear / Where would I be if I was not here? / American Horror Story.” The casual indifference of the quirky odd meter in which the lines are delivered effectively captures the shrugging absurdity of the topic at hand, the historic Black American experience, at large. The lyrics clearly speak to the times, with lines like “What about the police come at my crib and shoot me up,” but can undersell themselves by quickly devolving into nonsequiturs like “Left cheek, right cheek, woo / Make them clap and come together like so icy, ooh.” At least it’s consistent with the blend of aired grievances and escapist fare that characterizes the album. A particularly incisive bit comes along when Doctur Dot chimes in, “‘There goes the neighborhood,’ Wow, that’s crazy people really used to say that, that’s funny ’cause now / Now they coming back to take the hood / Hmm, funny how things change.” It’s a direct, mind-blowing reflection on gentrification. 

“Power” begins with a designedly gaudy guitar solo, again familiar territory, in light of Outkast’s “B.O.B.” and CeeLo Green’s Black Sabbath fanfare over the years. CeeLo actually shows up, and owns the track, packing personality into every syllable, A midway beat shift results in a distorted boom bap beat, vaguely reminiscent of Saul Williams’ early work. A reflective meander ends up with pointed lyrics, “Say you crazy as hell, Chappelle status / CEOs takin’ your shows and firin’ you at night like Nick, that’s a cannon blast.” Of course, Dave Chapelle famously walked out of a multi-million deal with Fox, in response to complaints that there weren’t enough white people in his audience, only to be ultimately embraced by Comedy Central and the world at large. The Nick Cannon reference, validated by an appearance from Cannon himself, is loaded and open to interpretation, as is the culminating couplet of “Gain the world, lose your soul / Skull and bones, Puffy Combs.” 

There’s a rapid shift back to lighthearted stylings with “Smoke Sum,” a woozy, dub-influenced track, full of whizzing sound effects, although Johnny Venus clarifies his designs, referring to the protests sweeping the nation, and ultimately reflecting, “Too smart to act dumb / So I smoke ’til I’m numb.” After this nebulous mix of consolation and despondency, EarthGang surge forward with the positive “Strong Friends,” featuring such a direct chorus as “Check in on your strong friends / How you been, my nigga? I’m here if you feel like talkin’.” There’s a bassline with a marked jazz fluidity, patched with freewheeling funk, in a cartoon display that seems right at home in the Earthgang universe, with echoes of Slum Village and the usual Dungeon Family players. “Run Too” finishes the stretch with Johnny Venus outlining the various occurrences that he is “tired of,” over a beat that neatly seals the experience. 

“Ghetto Gods” finds EarthGang taking a more direct approach than on their debut album. Fans whose main attraction was the Tribe Called Quest-inspired bohemian eccentricities might find themselves due for a bit of a shake up, although a closer look still reveals all of the composite elements still at play. There is less hyperactivity and far fewer tracks that veer off into unexpected terrain, but there is no attempt anywhere to generalize insular stylings. The new album abounds with ATL signifiers, from the twang and slang to the mellow funk and post-trap instrumentals, from the camp, irreverent humor to the ATL star power enlisted. The lyrics balance timely social commentary and levity, and abound with reflections that simultaneously indulge and criticize hood-rich megalomania. “Ghetto Gods” is less adventurous, but more ergonomic, making for an effective streamlining of EarthGang’s appeal. 

“Ghetto Gods” releases Feb. 25 on Apple Music.