Charlottesville, Virginia – Rapper/producer Fellowman breaks four years of silence with No Safety Net, an album crackling with the urgency of its ripped-from-the-headlines subject matter. Written mostly over a weekend and recorded in a single day, the album takes a hard turn from the contemplative tone of his last two releases (2020’s Death of the Author and 2021’s narrative-focused Walking Tours) back to the aggressive directness of Fellowman’s earlier material.
With a raw, sample-laden sound, produced in large part by Fellowman himself, the album embodies an intrepid commitment, befitting its title, to tackling topics many artists won’t touch for fear of backlash from an increasingly censorious culture. For Fellowman, it’s a savage summer cloudburst after a multi-year drought of inspiration. “I took a rap sabbatical for about two years,” the artist says. “My interests were elsewhere. But the rise of Trump 2.0, and the fast-motion tumble into very dangerous territory as a nation, reminded me of the strength I found in the politically-literate protest rap I grew up with.”
Indeed, fans of Immortal Technique and dead prez will find much to appreciate in Fellowman’s sharp, educated social critiques, delivered with his trademark intricate wordplay. But rather than generalized discontent, No Safety Net arrives with a new focus on specificity: the long history of complicit news organizations in “Media Legacy,” a firsthand account of the police dismantling of a pro-Palestine encampment in “Who Started It,” an uncompromising stance against generative AI in “Ned Ludd,” and a pledge to protect vulnerable students in the fiery “Teacher’s Creed.” There’s also an increased tendency to offer solutions rather than just point out problems, whether he’s urging political engagement beyond the ballot box in “Take Part,” making the leftist case for gun ownership with an assist from Waterloo in “Bang Bang,” or calling for a general strike with “Trappees.” The latter song is the origin of the album’s title, a recognition that in turbulent times we are all working without a net, and we owe it to each other to be authentic, even if it means taking chances.
No Safety Net featured a collaboration with Waterloo on the song Bang Bang and is available as a name-your-price digital download on Bandcamp and a CD through Fellowman’s indie label, Rugged Arts.
