Ho99o9, N8NOFACE, Slay Squad

Manifesting superhuman force through near-magic sonic alchemy, Ho99o9 consistently break free from any and all creative constraints. The duo—theOGM and Yeti Bones —co-mingle genres like chemicals, mixing gloriously hellish hip-hop, basement-born hardcore, future-facing punk, throat-slitting metal, jarring industrial, and off-kilter electronica into a concoction meant to combust the moment you press play or when they hit the stage. As such, the group has quietly haunted the darkest corners of the culture, peeking out with a series of unanimously acclaimed releases, A-list collaborations, and sold-out tours.

N8NOFACE has been described as a Chicano Flannery O’Connor playing chiptune Ministry, the Sleaford Mods of the American Southwest, Suicide for the 21st Century and Ghostmane meets darkwave, synthpunk dashed with Ween’s glue-huffing pop. Lyrically, his sometimes romantic, oftentimes violent storytelling tunes lean toward Narcocorrido, the bloody ballads of Mexican drug cartels. It sounds dark on the surface, but N8NOFACE’s music is a lot of fun, and as exciting and cathartic as the early days of punk and hiphop.

Slay Squad are implementing the crew dynamic in the space of modern heavy music. Earning their stripes and cultivating a DIY ethos among Southern California’s discerning underground hardcore ranks, the sextet established their signature self-coined ‘ghetto metal’ in a way that is resonating with fans of swagger savvy hip-hop and no BS deathcore.