The Underachievers | |
|---|---|
 The Underachievers in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Flatbush, New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels |
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| Members | AK the Savior Issa Gold |
The Underachievers are an Americanhip hop duo fromFlatbush, New York. Formed in 2011, the duo is composed of rappers AK the Savior andIssa Gold. Americanrecord producerFlying Lotus signed the duo to hisBrainfeeder record label in 2012. Following that signing they independently released two mixtapes,Indigoism andLords of Flatbush in 2013. Their debut studio albumCellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium was released on August 12, 2014. The Underachievers released their second official albumEvermore: The Art of Duality on September 25, 2015. Their third album,Renaissance was released on May 19, 2017. They releasedAfter the Rain on November 9, 2018, andLords Of Flatbush 3 on June 21, 2019.
Marlon Fung (Issa Gold) and Akeem Joseph (AK) grew up just a few blocks from each other inFlatbush, Brooklyn. The duo first met in 2007, after AK's friend brought Issa to his house one day to smokemarijuana, where they clicked instantly and discussedpsychedelic drugs, which they would later do together along with fellow Brooklyn rappersMeechy Darko andZombie Juice, two of theFlatbush Zombies.[1][2]
AK beganrapping at the age of eleven, later on in high school he would work under thestage name The Underachiever.[3] Issa Gold started rapping much later, not taking it seriously until around late 2011. The duo then began making music together under the name "The Underachievers" after a producer pushed them to work together, which resulted in them forming the group.[4] Issa explained the name saying, "I feel like the things that we do could be considered underachieving, like we smoke pot. People would probably meet us at first and be like, They're probably just potheads. And then they'll talk to me, or talk to AK, and be like, 'alright, they're intelligent.' So it's just a flip on that. Like, The Underachievers, even though technically we're doing underachiever things, we're bringing positive energy."[3]
In May 2012, they released their first music video for the song "So Devilish".[5] Following the videos release they began gaining attention quickly, with their second officially released song "Gold Soul Theory" getting played onBBC Radio in August 2012, even though they had yet to sign a recording contract. Their music was also passed on torecord producerFlying Lotus, who the following day flew them out toLos Angeles to meet them the day after they talked for the first time.[6] After they met a few times and performed a few shows for him, he signed them to hisBrainfeeder record label.[7] Flying Lotus said he already wanted to sign the duo after listening to one song for only 20 seconds.[8] Around the same time they signed they released their third music video for "Herb Shuttles", which has gotten over seventeen million views on YouTube.[9][10] Around mid-2012, The Underachievers,Pro Era andFlatbush Zombies formed the New York hip hopsupergroupBeast Coast.[11]
The duo released their first official mixtapeIndigoism on February 1, 2013, via Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder record label.[12]Indigoism featured psychedelic lyrics, allusions to thethird eye and spirituality.[13] The mixtape was met with very positive reviews frommusic critics upon its release, including byBBC.[14] On March 13, 2013, The Underachievers released "No Religion", their first collaboration with Flatbush Zombies.[15] Following the release ofIndigoism they toured North America and Australia with Joey Badass, Pro Era and Flatbush Zombies from March 21 until April 20, 2013.[2][16] On July 19, 2013,Indigoism was released toiTunes for retail sale.[17]
On August 20, 2013, they released the first song from their second mixtapeLords of Flatbush, "Leaving Scraps".[18] The following day they released their first retailsingle "The Proclamation" to iTunes.[19] On August 29, 2013, The Underachievers releasedLords of Flatbush, a nine track mixtape featuring production primarily byLex Luger, along with Flatbush Zombie's Erick Arc Elliot and EFF.DOPE.[20][21][22] Issa Gold explained the mixtape saying, "This tape is mostly bangers. All the lyrical conscious expanding knowledge filled magical triple optic shit will have to wait for the upcoming album."[23]Lords of Flatbush was also met with positive critical reception.[24]Stereogum namedLords of Flatbush their mixtape of the week the week of its release.[25]XXL gave the mixtape a 4 out of 5 saying, "This project from The Underachievers may not be as deep and reflective asIndigoism, but it has its high points and serves as a step forward with the group. With a captivating performance in the final half of the tape, the Lords of Flatbush will surely have fans on the edge of their seat for their upcoming album."[26] On September 14, 2013, they released the music video for "N.A.S.A."[27]
From October 17, through November 30, 2013, The Underachievers toured with Joey Badass, Pro Era,Ab-Soul, andChevy Woods, among others on the fourth annual "The Smokers Club Tour".[28] On November 19, 2013, Issa Gold confirmed that The Underachievers would be releasing their debut albumThe Cellar Door in early 2014. He also revealed that they would begin The Cellar Door Tour in April 2014.[29] Then in December 2013, The Underachievers were featured onTalib Kweli's sixth studio albumGravitas, on the song "New Leaders".[30]
On January 28, 2014, Issa Gold updated saying that the album would be released by April 2014,[31] however, it was eventually pushed back to August 12, 2014 now retitledCellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium.
The Underachievers releasedCellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium after mixtape releases from Issa Gold and AK, respectively. Issa Gold released his mixtape,Conversations with a Butterfly and AK released his mixtape,Blessings in the Gray to help build hype for their new album. Shortly after the album dropped, The Underachievers announced a two-month tour with fellow "Beast Coast" members The Flatbush Zombies, asClockwork Indigo. This tour will be named Electric Koolaid Experience
On July 8, they announced that their upcoming project will be titled "Evermore - The Art of Duality", alongside an accompanying World Tour. The album's first single "Take Your Place" was released on July 10. The album was released on September 25, 2015.
On February 23, 2016, the line up for hip hop artists at the 2016 Osheaga Music Festival were announced; the Underachievers were one of the acts.[32]
On May 15, 2016, The Underachievers released a mixtape titledIt Happened In Flatbush. The mixtape was released after Issa Gold tweeted that he would release the mixtape if one of his tweets reached 5,000 retweets. Within a couple of hours, the mixtape was released on Soundcloud.
On January 30, 2017, The Underachievers collaborated with House/Techno artist and DJ Barclay Crenshaw on the song titled "Artifacts". On Feb 3, 2017, The Underachievers released the first single "Gotham Nights" for their new studio album namedRenaissance. On February 8, 2017, The Underachievers released the second single, "Cobra Clutch". On March 17, 2017, the singleFinal Destination was released. On March 27, 2017, The Underachievers released the third single "Head Right". The albumRenaissance was released on May 19, 2017.
Their musical style is based around old school New York hip hop andpsychedelic hip hop.[2][33]Psychedelic drugs such asLSD andpsilocybin mushrooms have a significant effect on their musical style.[34] Issa Gold creditsLupe Fiasco andKanye West as his greatest musical influences, whereas AK cites rappers from the 90's, such asNas, as influences. The group also significantly listens to other genres of music, with Gold saying his favorite artist isJohn Mayer.[35]
Issa also includes artists likeFleet Foxes,The Lumineers,Freddie Gibbs and more.
Issa's family is fromGuyana and his father is half-Chinese.[1] AK's family is originally fromTrinidad. His father is acorrections officer.[1]
Issa was very good childhood friends withZombie Juice of theFlatbush Zombies, as they grew up in the same building inFlatbush, Brooklyn. He also has knownMeechy Darko, also of the Flatbush Zombies, since they were 12 years old.[1] He didacid for the first time at the age of fourteen.[36] Both members of The Underachievers are good friends with the members of Flatbush Zombies andPro Era.[37]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B/HH | US Rap | US Ind. Albums | ||||||||||
| Cellar Door: Terminus ut Exordium |
| 86 | 16 | 11 | — | ||||||||
| Evermore: The Art of Duality |
| 105 | 10 | 9 | — | ||||||||
| Renaissance |
| — | — | — | 34 | ||||||||
| After the Rain |
| — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Clockwork Indigo(withFlatbush Zombies) (as Clockwork Indigo) |
|
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Indigoism
|
The Lords of Flatbush
| |
| 2016 | It Happened In Flatbush |
| 2019 | Lords of Flatbush 3 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
