Necrolemurs work the microphone at the Chattanooga Hip-Hop Festival
Necrolemurs may have faced extinction 30 million years ago, but the badassery of their existence and name have trickled down into modern Chattanoogan culture in the least expected way.
Preforming at the 2017 Chattanooga Hip Hop Festival, Necrolemur is a “psychedelic triphop” rap collective that has sprouted from the diverse UTC student body. Founded by Kid Cuebas, a Creative Writing major in the English Department of UTC, the rap collective strives to reach out to “anyone and everyone who wants to be part of something that’s a bit darker, but also positive because it’s a creative outlet for the people who’ve created it.”
Necrolemur draws large crowds at every live performance because they appeal to a niche in the rap genre that hasn’t been exploited locally. As Kid Cuebas explains, that “niche” is “sad and angsty lyrical themes blended with modern 808 beats and psychedelic melodies.”
Cuebas himself remembers first being inspired to pursue rap after the release of the Eminem Show in 2002, but has invested his creative ability fully in the genre because it allows connection to people through introspection.
Though the local rap group has employed various other artists in their work, it primarily consists of Kid Cuebas and Melancholy Dupree as mainstay vocalists. The two released their first EP Grave Plot just this August under the Necrolemur title and are planning to debut a new single at 2:45 p.m. during the Hip Hop Chattanooga festival, the first of many big performances for Necrolemur.
Chattanooga Hip-Hop Festival
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Revelry Room
41 Station St.(423) 521-2929
www.revelryroom.co