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Mashed Up

“The Way It Is” from “MBugout City” (2008)

Rap rock isn’t the mess it used to be. Blestenation, two MC’s and one DJ from NYC are no Limp Bizkit or Insane Clown Posse—they are the exception to the stigma left by the guitar wielding, hip-hop caricatures of the ‘90s. Late 2006, the head banger trio of Werdplay, Various, and producer/DJ Fafu signed with Eminem’s management powerhouse, Goliath Artists to back their forthcoming Geffen debut, “Welcome to MBugout City”. The Shady endorsement of Bleste helps, but is far from a marketing ploy for fans to take the mash up seriously. They make hard-hitting grimey anthems for hip-hop heads and misfits alike.

My first encounter with the bugged out crew was at their Brooklyn studio to get an earful of new material they were prepping for the album. About three six packs of Heinekin, and a turd-sized blunt later, I was convinced Blestenation was that shit. Before that, they were just the fearless dudes (Werdplay, at least) from our December/January 2007 issue that opted to be tattooed by Jack, a then-newbie to the trade. The blow for lyrics like “I’ma go out on-stage like Dimebag from Pantera” was softened at that point.

This past summer, after hanging out with Werdplay and Various at Linkin Park’s album release party, I brought my A-game to party like a rock star (sigh). Well, only because I was asked to play host to Bleste per the request of our Editor-In-Chief. Since the party at our Chelsea digs was a bust by the time the Vodka open bar ran dry, me and the homies took off into the night. The shots of Patron, and Pabbst Blue Ribbon’s that followed prefaced my conversation with Various about a kind of contraception women squirt into themselves so that guys don’t have to, ahem, pull out. His jaw dropped. But for the man that declared, “I’ll show you how to rock a rusty trombone” on “I Just Wanna Fuck” featuring R.A. the Rugged Man, I find it hard to believe that it was the squirting that did him in. Either way, he was done for the night.

And then there were two. Werdplay and I trooped down to the Meatpacking district for decent drunk food at Pop Burger. Our meal didn’t get a chance to make a second appearance because we weren’t cool enough to pop bottles at a lounge too cool to name themselves Air. For all it was worth, I left with a story to tell about some newfound respect for guys that rap over deep drums, and piercing guitar tracks. Download their latest mixtape here and stay tuned to Blestenation’s YouTube channel for more shenanigans. Hopefully this post won’t get me banned from TV.