That spiderweb is quintessentially Austin: irreverent, endlessly entertaining, and weird as hell. And among longtime veterans in the city’s rap community and upstarts alike, there’s a growing belief that the latest generation of local rap acts, led primarily by artists including Mama Duke, J Soulja, Mike Melinoe, Riders Against the Storm, Vintage Jay, Magna Carda, Abhi the Nomad, Deezie Brown, The Teeta, Chucky Blk, among others, combined with a push to create infrastructure that can support creativity, might finally elevate the Austin rap scene beyond its city’s limits even during a pandemic.
Abhi the Nomad performing at SXSW Dive Bar Sessions on March 15, 2019.Rick Kern/Getty
Hi Matt, how’s it going?
Matt Lambert: Good! My husband just dropped a box of blueberries on the kitchen floor, so we’ve just been cleaning up.
The joys of working from home!
Matt Lambert: Yeah, it’s as much action as goes on here now.
How’ve you been finding lockdown?
Matt Lambert: We’re still going along. They opened up shops yesterday, so we’ll see how that plays out. I’m skeptical, it seems there’s going to be another one (lockdown). I mean, realistically, it’s cold and there’s nothing to do anyway. Although I have been shooting a lot recently; a lot of commercial stuff.