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Atlanta duo EarthGang arrives for Day N Vegas with plans for ‘world domination’

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EarthGang plays Day N Vegas on Friday, November 1.
Photo: Grizz / Courtesy
Zoneil Maharaj

Despite having a grounded name like EarthGang, Atlanta duo Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot) looks and sounds otherworldly. Often dressed like the flyest dudes from a dystopian future—traffic cone-orange jumpsuits with see-through coats, yellow racing gloves and geometric shades, for example—both possess fluid, shape-shifting flows that stretch around any beat, be it bass-heavy trap or spirited soul. It doesn’t offer much comfort that, when asked about their future plans, Olu ominously responds: “World domination.”

If the ATLiens are body snatchers, they’re playing the long game. Over the last decade, they’ve become a testament to the adage that hard work pays off, putting out a series of independent projects while building hype as one of the most exciting acts out of the South for their blend of depth and whimsy. Since September alone, they’ve embarked on a headlining European tour, performed at two festivals in South Africa, dropped multiple music videos and released a long-awaited debut LP, Mirrorland.

“We’re exhausted, blessed, happy and still hungry,” Olu says over the phone on a recent Friday morning, rising after a night of performing and partying in the Washington, D.C., area during a stop on the nationwide Welcome to Mirrorland tour.

Inspired by the The Wiz, the all-black ’70s adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, and released on J. Cole’s Interscope imprint Dreamville Records, Mirrorland is a musical fantasy in its own right. The album bleeds Atlanta through uplifting bangers like the Young Thug-assisted “Proud of U,” meditative hymn “This Side” and the rousing neo-funk of “Stuck.” “This was our opportunity to tell the story of the Atlanta we know,” WowGr8 says.

That wildly inventive sound caught the attention of J. Cole, who signed the duo in 2017. If the record deal amplified EarthGang’s buzz, the group’s appearance on this year’s highly praised Revenge of the Dreamers III compilation was a thunderclap. Featured alongside Cole and rising national acts such as DaBaby and Smino, Olu and WowGr8 became breakout stars. When they take the stage November 1 at Day N Vegas, it’ll be a Revenge reunion, with Cole headlining and many of the featured artists sharing the bill. Whether the festival crowd will hear standout songs from the project, like “Sacrifices” and “1993,” remains a mystery. “If it happens, it’d be lit,” WowGr8 says.

With Mirrorland finally out, EarthGang has cemented its place among the rap giants of Atlanta. But the mission has always been bigger. “We love Atlanta, and Atlanta was the birthplace for a lot of our ideas and a lot of our growth,” Olu says. “But what we’ve been asked to do is to burst the world open, so that’s what we ’bout to do.”

DAY N VEGAS November 1-3, noon-1 a.m., $199/day, $429-$899 three-day. Las Vegas Festival Grounds, daynvegas2019.com.

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