Service Merchandise

Description

Previous Industries, the newly formed collective of long-time collaborators Open Mike Eagle, Still Rift, and Video Dave, releases their debut album Service Merchandise on Merger Records. Previous Industries highlights the creative chemistry between the three rappers, evoking the ancestral tradition of rhymes, freestyle cyphers, open mics, and rap battles reminiscent of a time when hip-hop was rooted in a tangible sense of community. The songs on this record are named after long-gone chain stores, and the verses are filled with references to a world either left to decay or bulldozed to make way for an Amazon Fresh store. They draw parallels between the ghosts of chain store culture and the disposable nature of contemporary rap music: both are besieged by the consequences of insatiable consumerism. Previous Industries are here to prove that just because something falls out of fashion, its value is not lost. Previous Industries tackle nostalgia, heartbreak, and joy from three distinct perspectives, drawing inspiration from the rhythms of Child Actor, Quelle Chris, and Smoke Bonito to create something new from a past put on the shelf. The album was mixed by Kenny Segal (Armand Hammer, billy woods) and mastered by GRAMMY-winning engineer Daddy Kev (Flying Lotus, Thundercat).