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"Giving you something to think about while nodding your head to his nimble, casual flow, El Guante could very well follow Atmosphere and P.O.S. in the long-line of outstanding rappers to break out from the Midwest." --CMJ 1/16/09

"Whether writing of lost causes or zombie apocalypses, El Guante demonstrates impeccable artistic control; in performance, he has the audience's undivided attention." --City Pages "Best of 2009" 4/21/09

"El Guante quietly rolled into the Twin Cities' hip-hop and spoken-word scenes with a hand grenade, and pulled the pin. If you look anywhere in those scenes now, you'll see his shrapnel buried deep in every wall..." --City Pages 'Artists of the Year' 12/23/08

"[EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is a megaton bomb on local indie rap, bound to be the heaviest breath of fresh air hip hop heads will suck in all year..." --City Pages 3/24/08

"[EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is an album that's sure to put El Guante on the verge of national exposure..." --Isthmus 3/6/08

"Equal parts insightful and inciteful, [EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is an inspiring declaration for those who love hip-hop’s potential for social change but hate how little that potential’s realized" --Twin Cities Daily Planet 4/9/08

"The new album proves expansively witty, El Guante keeping his snarled sense of humor even when harping on the finer points of art and hip hop..." --The Onion AV Club 3/5/08

"Shocking as it may be, somehow between writing plays, literature and poetry and organizing politics, this Minneapolis renaissance man still finds a way to hold down a rap career. Chock-full of biting political commentary, and with all due respect to Slug, this guy is attempting to carry the Twin Cities on his back...." --URB Magazine Next 1000 6/3/08

"Slamming his way through each beat, literally, is the slam-artist, and lyrical slaughter-house known as El Guante with his potent yet poetic new album..." --Rift Magazine 7/9/08

CLICK HERE TO BUY EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT ON CDBABY. It's also on ITunes.

(at Hip Hop Against Homophobia; photo by Jon Behm)

ACCOLADES:
~2009 National Poetry Slam CHAMPION (St. Paul team)
~2009 St. Paul Grand Poetry Slam Champion
~2008 Minneapolis Grand Poetry Slam Champion
~2006 Madison Grand Poetry Slam Champion
~2008 URB Magazine "Next 1000"
~One of City Pages' "Artists of the Year" for 2008
~City Pages' "Best Slam Poet" for 2009
~2008 Independent Music Awards Finalist/Nominee for Best Hip Hop Album (El Guante's Haunted Studio Apartment) and Best Hip Hop Song (One of These Mornings)
~People's Choice for "Best Slam Poet" and the "Artist/Activist" Award at the 2009 Urban Griots Awards

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
~Soundset 2009 w/ Atmosphere, the Pharcyde, MF DOOM, Brother Ali and Freeway
~Ripple Effect 2008 (Anti-RNC concert) w/ Spearhead, dead prez, Anti-Flag and Rage Against the Machine
~Homegrown Hip Hop Festival 2007 w/ Brother Ali and Rhymefest
~Homegrown Hip Hop Festival 2008 w/ Kid Sister and Doomtree
~Forward Music Festival 2008 w/ Neko Case and Killdozer
~2008 Iraq Veterans Against the War National Conference
~Manifestation '09 w/ Sage Francis and B.Dolan
~2009 B-Side Jazz Festival w/ Mr. Lif and Dessa
~various other shows w/ Talib Kweli, Zion I, P.O.S., Immortal Technique, PM Dawn, One.Be.Lo, Mac Lethal, DJ Vadim, Percee P and many others.

AS A WRITER AND ACTIVIST:
I’ve facilitated university-level courses dealing with racism, sexism, homophobia and identity in general, helped organize countless social justice-oriented conferences and events, written for and edited a number of publications and helped raise money for progressive organizations through benefit shows, compilation CDs and more. Recently, I spearheaded/curated the "Hip Hop Against Homophobia" series, which has been very successful. I’m currently most involved in performing arts workshops and programs for youth—I’ve worked in dozens of elementary, middle and high schools across the Midwest, doing both one-time guest lectures or longer residencies. I also freelance, and can currently be found at CultureBully.com and my own blog, “Why Is Guante So Angry?. I’ve been published at DaveyD.com, Isthmus, The Liberator, Women in RedZine and many other publications.

CONTACT INFO:
Email: guantemail@yahoo.com

Guante's Sonicbids EPK

BOOKING INFO: For all bookings, collaborations, adding songs to compilations, getting me to lead workshops, all that kind of stuff, hit up the management: info@truruts.com | 612-288-9491 | TRU RUTS MYSPACE