New doesn't necessarily mean fresh. Orlando's Snotnoze Saleem, however, is both. Although he started out as a producer under the name Hyperlink, he's only recently emerged as a rapper. And it's a move he's rather candid about.
"I started off just as a producer making beat tapes," says the accidental MC. "But it turns out not many people want to rap over busy no-wave samples, so I decided to give it a try. I ended up having more to say than I initially thought so it turned into a full project."
Now Snotnoze Saleem is out with his full-length debut as a fully self-sufficient MC-producer, and the just-dropped Type Shit mixtape is where the fresh comes in.
The release on area outsider label Illuminated Paths and the studio involvement of veteran local radical Matt Kamm should tip you off to this, but Saleem is coming with a totally other point of view. His leftfield, sample-based production mines noise and psych territory out on the freak frontier. Add in his nervy, high-tension raps and the Snotnoze Saleem sound is unequivocally of the underground.
In a commercial era of hip-hop, this is the kind of work that keeps the genre elastic and adventurous. Besides streaming platforms, Type Shit is also available on Illuminated Paths' Bandcamp for digital download or limited cassette release with two bonus tracks.
Florida Slang — the new Orlando indie-pop duo of Jeff Ilgenfritz (of Mumpsy, Moonmen From Mars and a shitload of other bands) and Darci Ricciardi — are already back, even though they debuted less than four months ago. The just-released Civil Twilight is the second full-length collection from the dozens of songs they've already written, and it continues in the fresh-faced, folk-laced pop direction they've charted. Whether they're in reflection or full sway, it's always breezy like the coast. Civil Twilight now streams everywhere.
