Berkeley, California. Mr Feat attends the Poetry for the People Seminar at UC before polishing his rhymes, producer Dot spends the days in the psychedelic section of Amoeba Records and the nights with his sampler. That is how the story of conscious rap duo Blindspot could start which, connecting it to their sound, would make absolute sense. But things are a little bit different. Herr Feat and Herr Dot are from Augsburg, Germany and their latest album Mars Athletics did not come out on Anticon or Stones Throw but in an edition of 200 copies on the Berlin-based boutique label Anette Records. We do not know where the two Bavarians got their beats, their flow and this incredible realness but we do know that this is the kind of hip hop we like A LOT. Because with rumbling beats on the drum tracks, psychoactive loops in the reverbs and a never-breathing MC on the microphone Blindspot aren’t just exceptional within Germany’s hip hop scene. Snippets of news reports, youth riots, consciousness and subconsciousness – goosebumps. As mentioned earlier, how all this is created in South Central German is both mysterious and fascinating. Think global, rap local.

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