Music scenes are ecosystems. And as in nature, one of the best and healthiest things that happens in a scene is cross-pollination. The latest, and greatest, homegrown crop sprouts from some of our deepest, most colorful soil.
Snotnoze Saleem, whose name should ring familiar to regular TLU readers, is one of the more exciting and urgent rappers to emerge from the 407 in recent years. Sharp. is a noteworthy Space Coast producer who’s collaborated with artists like jazz-soul songbird Kristen Warren. Their paths crossed in Orlando in 2023 when they both played the 10th anniversary festival for Illuminated Paths, arguably the area’s most wonderfully weird music label and mini-scene.
“At the time they had yet to meet and really loved each other’s performances at the fest,” says Illuminated Paths label boss Joshua Rogers. “They decided then and there to get together and create an album inspired by and exclusive to IP.” From that historic event, Snotnoze Saleem and Sharp. made new history of their own by teaming up to become Resident Strangers.
Now, three years later, that auspicious alt-rap alliance has finally delivered its promise in the form of a new 13-track eponymous album. On it Snotnoze Saleem, unsurprisingly, delivers the tense, dense rap electricity that instantly seared him into the local consciousness several years ago. Sharp., whose production style usually leans dreamy and atmospheric, has decided instead to flex hard here and go ride-or-die with Saleem’s signature storm. To that end, he gets down dirty and pushes the sonics into the blaring red, dredging the gutter for grimy thrills. The payoff is custom-fitted sound design that’s the thunder to Saleem’s lightning. At its best and most intense, it results in fevered, mental bangers like “Basket of Deplorables.”
Once all the breathless dust settles, what remains is the telltale carnage that only a lethal crew can wreak. With this album, Resident Strangers land as a new Florida force of experimental hip-hop that’s not just on, but thoroughly of, Illuminated Paths. Resident Strangers is available through IP on cassette or digitally via Bandcamp.
