new indie rock / hip hop group sunny gang brings the party on their debut ep. #soundcheck

Who says nothing good comes out of Jersey? (Well everyone in Brooklyn, pretty much, but whatever. This isn’t about which land mass adjacent to Manhattan is better…Because it’s clearly Brooklyn.) Bringing my total of things I like from New Jersey up to a solid 3, Sunny Gang is a fresh quartet out of Rutgers. Their music is a rad mix of party rock and hip hop; working overtime to rehabilitate rap/rock’s shattered image after being run through the mud during Woodstock’s thoroughly unnecessary sequels.

Their best track is the winkingly titled “Bloc Party.” A dance-rock track that owes more than a little musically to it’s namesake, it boasts an epic shout-along chorus “Welcome to my block party! Get wasted and break shit!” Their lyrics don’t go much deeper than “this party is dope!” (which is surprising coming from a band whose Tumblr page is mostly naked women holding bongs…) but they’re also not trying to take on Common or anything like that. Proudly hedonistic, they’re not trying to change the world; just put on the best damn party in town. And what’s wrong with being the life of the party?

– Words by Nathan Leigh