''Rags'' is the third EP by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

duo

EarthGang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus; born Olu Onyemachi Dakarai Fann) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot; born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective S ...

, released August 31, 2017 by Spillage Village and distributed by

Empire Distribution Empire Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (stylized as EMPIRE) is an independent American record label, distribution and publishing company founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami. Based in San Francisco, EMPIRE has offices in New York, London, ...

. Released after the announcement of their signing to Dreamville, it is the first installment in a trilogy of EPs, leading up to their debut album, ''

Mirrorland ''Mirrorland'' is the major label debut studio album by American hip hop duo EarthGang, released on September 6, 2019 by Dreamville, Interscope, and Spillage Village. The album includes features from Young Thug, T-Pain, Kehlani, Arin Ray, an ...

''.

Background

EarthGang initially met

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born in a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained attention as a rapper following the release of his d ...

in 2014 while touring with

Ab-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed We ...

and was told by their manager that "Cole was feelin' them". Shortly after the release of their 2015 album ''Strays with Rabies'' and while touring with

Bas Bas may refer to: People * Bas (name), a given name and a surname * Bas (rapper) (born 1987) Chemistry * Boron arsenide (BAs), a chemical compound * Barium sulfide (BaS), a chemical compound Other uses * ''bas'' (French for "low"), as in bas ...

in 2016, Dot and Venus began recording a "deconstructed album" which would form the three EPs, leading up to their major-label debut album, ''

''. It features production from Hollywood JB,

Childish Major Markus Alandrus Randle (born July 4, 1991) known professionally as Childish Major, is an American rapper and record producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He was first credited with production work on American rapper Rocko's 2013 single " U.O.E.N.O ...

, Anonxmous, and Ron Gilmore. The EP features guests appearance from

JID Destin Choice Route (born October 31, 1990), better known by his stage name JID (also stylized J.I.D), is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Atlanta, he signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscop ...

, Childish Major, and Mick Jenkins.

Singles and promotion

Upon announcing that the duo was signed to

Dreamville Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas, Cozz, Omen ...

, music video for "Meditate" featuring

was released the same day as the EP release.

Critical reception

''Rags'' has received positive reviews since its release. In a positive review from ''

Creative Loafing Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of an arts and culture news and events newspaper/magazine. The company historically published a weekly publication that once had a 160,000 weekly circulation. While Creative Loafing is no longer p ...

'', Montana Samuels wrote: "Rather than providing an outwardly raised fist to the system of politics and oppression that are all too familiar to black men growing up in the city, EarthGang’s Johnny “Olu O. Fann” Venus and Doctur “Eian Undrai Parker” Dot alternatively pen an even-keeled reflection of black life in America".

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums EarthGang albums Southern hip-hop EPs Empire Distribution EPs