The Atlanta duo of emcees DocturDot and Olu have been at it for a decade and a half now, formally launching their career as EarthGang in 2015 after a string of hype-generating mixtapes. Yet the excitement surrounding new material from the Southern hip-hop innovators has only grown since their signing to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records ahead of the release of their breakout project Mirrorland in 2019, leading to plenty of exciting collaborations on each album they’ve released since then.
Their newly released fourth LP Perfect Fantasy expands the rappers’ scope even further, enlisting Damon Albarn, art-pop beacon Little Dragon, and pop-rap royalty Pharrell Williams for the project—and that’s all in just the first four songs. Like Albarn’s Gorillaz, Perfect Fantasy almost feels more like a party than a proper album, with additional features by Snoop Dogg, Cochise, and T-Pain only adding to the fun.
And speaking of fun, the group celebrated their new project on release day last week at Mexico City’s Foro Indie Rocks! venue. Photographer Jorge Castillo was with EarthGang all evening to capture on-stage and behind-the-scenes moments from the big occasion. Check out the pics with commentary by Dot and Olu below.
Olu: Backstage, powering up.
DocturDot: Backstage I get the best movie ideas. Likely jotting one here.
Olu: I don’t know why my finger is in the air. I’m the only one with a finger in the air. I think I was counting down to the mosh pit.
DocturDot: Spread cheeks not hate.
Olu: This is our DJ, DJ Brannew. He likes cool hats.
DocturDot: Brannew since ’92.
DocturDot: Smirkin’ at hoes.
Olu: Sometimes you gotta sit and contemplate on how far you’ve gone on this journey. Or maybe I was reminiscing about that delicious meal we had today.
DocturDot: A good crowd can take a joke.
Olu: This was my favorite part of the show: people shining their inner lights as we performed “This Side.”
DocturDot: Whole lotta love on this side.
Olu: Nice pants, Doc.
DocturDot: Nice jacket, Bro-lu.
Olu: What’s a great show without crowd interaction? Our fans are the best.
Olu: Yes, throw us everything to sign. We will stand here as long as our legs can take it and autograph. Throw us a baby, it will get autographed.
DocturDot: Tapped in with da chat!
Olu: Spirit flooded with goodness. May the light from forever shine down on all you A+ people.
DocturDot: Solid night overall.
Olu: If you didn’t take a pic, did it really happen?
