Gabe 'Nandez Returns from Psychedelic Trip Through The Deserts of Central Mexico with Extremely Lucid New Album H.T. III (P.O.W. Recordings)
Gabe 'Nandez pictured in the Wikiruta desert of Central Mexico (SOURCE: Jeff Weiss)
Last night, I posted an off-the-cuff "Tweet" on X (formerly known as Twitter,) which read, "Man, this new @GabeNandez album is straight Fire Emojis rn fr fr no cap... or whatever it is the youth of today would say these days! But, seriously, great job once more, @Passionweiss!" with a couple hashtags and a Bandcamp link to H.T. III. It was meant partly in jest towards today's youth of which I am extremely, admittedly, out-of-touch, as most 35-year-olds likely are, but not at all in jest towards 'Nandez and/or H.T. III. Oddly enough, I was just telling my friend and co-worker about 'Nandez's music on Spotify earlier this week and today, we have a brand new 'Nandez album treat for our earholes. During a cold sunset in the mountains of Central Mexico, Gabe 'Nandez grabbed some water, candy, and a machete, and wandered into the desert in search of the mysteries of The Solar System. It was a windy January night amidst the crumbling ruins of Wikiruta, the ghostly expanse sacred to the indigenous Huichol people, where native shamans make a 250-mile pilgrimage to commune with the ancestors in the axis mundi where local myths say that the universe was born.
Wikiruta is one of the few spots left in the world where the nearly extinct peyote plant grows in the wild. On a tip from a close friend, a native of the region, 'Nandez came in search of the spineless cactus plant with powerful psychedelic and healing properties. The New York-based, globally raised artist, had experienced a pulverizing few years of loss and strife. After conquering drug and alcohol addiction, he weathered severe mental duress. And right when he achieved psychological stability, he suffered the most debilitating heartbreak of his life. The most logical recourse was a hallucinogenic quest into rural Mexico in search of mescaline, a drug once described by Gonzo himself, Hunter S. Thompson, like so: "good mescaline comes on slow. The first hour is all waiting, then, about halfway through the second hour, you start cursing the creep who burned you because nothing is happening... and, then, ZANG!" But there was no intermediary vendor. 'Nandez came solo and spent two hours vainly searching for the peyote, which grows underneath a type of shrub called la gobernadora.
After rifling through hundreds of plants, 'Nandez became momentarily despondent. It was a fruitless journey. Just then, as soon as he let go, it appeared. Five giant bulbs that had been stealthily growing in the middle of these arid lands for at least a half-century. Chopping them off with his machete, he entered another realm. What was unlocked from the chamber supplied a creative spark for his latest project, H.T. III, released on P.O.W. Recordings, it heralds some of the most taut and transformative writing of 'Nandez's career. From the first seconds of "Long Reach," he's immersed in a fight for the soul, Paradise Lost for Post-Boom-Bap, where 'Nandez wrestles with the angel of death—as it manifests in worldly temptations and omnipresent woe. With 10 post-J Dilla, soul-warped angelic hymns supplied by Tel Aviv producer, Argov, the son of U.N. diplomatic envoys shuttles between the celestial and the concrete, the desire to transcend and the gravity of earthly laments.
'Nandez is, paradoxically, a figure of the avant-garde and a traditionalist, a bridge between the heroes of the past and the impossible to define future. The rhyme schemes are an intricate labyrinth, hand-written in a monkish ap and murderous pirates, one-sided robberies, and ruminations on ancient scriptures. Chester Watson appears out of thin air on "Aeons" and Ze Knoma Mpaga Ni Ngoko offers a masterclasses in French rapping on "Wolfpack 7000” and "Kujua." There are divinations of intimidating monsters and penitent offers of prayer and food. Flashbacks to huffing aerosol at the bus stop as a teenager, the chaos that followed, and the startling epiphany that somehow he survived through it all. All throughout, there is the recurring theme of a heartbreak that threatened to reduce him to ashes, only for him to persevere, finding an indomitable inner strength and inspiration from the Greek God, Hermes, the thrice-born sage who sparked the project's namesake—Hermes Trismegistus x 3 AKA H.T. II
In a sense, the dazzling performance might not be much of a surprise for those who have followed the path of the artist raised between Haiti and Tanzania, Jerusalem and New York. Someone who has soaked up cultures, customs, and new languages the way other kids might have catalogued Pop Culture ephemera. Last year, he appeared alongside the renowned Detroit emcee Boldy James on Aethiopes, the acclaimed album by fellow New Yorker billy woods. There is much more on the horizon, but 'Nandez's latest effort might be his most complete statement to date. The result of experiencing death and re-birth, the realization that the answers are contained within. A work from a virtuoso replete with implacable strength, divine power, and powerful psychedelic visions. H.T. III is truly as wild a sonic ride as the outlandish origin story behind it! Gabe Nandez's H.T. III is now available on streaming services through P.O.W. Recordings.
