Shocking, hilarious, sometimes revolting, and yet completely endearing, the Flatbush Zombies are a genuine mystery in a musical landscape where few still exist. Meechy Darko and Juice, Brooklyn bred youth with a penchant for gold grills, Charles Manson and dropping acid, make up the high energy trio alongside producer and lifelong friend Erick Arc Elliott. The Zombies rose out of complete obscurity on the back of a synth heavy, weed laced banger entitled "Thug Waffle," an ode to marijuana and breakfast foods which immediately propelled them to the forefront of New York's fresh crop of talent.
Their seamless recipe of can't-look-away visual appeal and deft lyricism had them opening for Slaughterhouse and Schoolboy Q within a month while peaking the interest of everyone from Lana Del Rey to VICE, and garnering them a show stealing guest spot on the first A$AP Rocky single, "Bath Salt." Their first full length mixtape, D.R.U.G.S. (July 2012), released with over 50,000 downloads in the first week and provides the backbone for their hypnotically abrasive and off the wall live show. Following a string of collaborations and performances with a host of MC’s including A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$ and others, the Zombies returned with fresh material in the form of their Better Off Dead mixtape (September 2013), which included appearances from Harry Fraud, Action Bronson and Danny Brown.
Flatbush Zombies have a jam-packed 2018 in store, with three new projects all slated for the next few months. Due out April 6, Vacation in Hell is name of their sophomore LP, the follow-up to 2016’s breakthrough 3001: A Laced Odyssey. While they await for that album to surface, fans can bide their time with producer and member Erick “The Architect” Elliott’s solo effort, Arcstrumentals 2, which drops on February 16. Just days before Vacation in Hell’s release, you’ll be able to catch Ellington Hammond’s Building a Ladder, a documentary that draws upon footage culled over the last two years to tell the story of the band’s rise and creative process. Building a Ladder will be available on April 2.
