I was just watching Part 1 of PUNK on EPIX, a new 4-part documentary series profiling a slew of early Punk/Hardcore bands, as well as the earliest aughts of the genre. PUNK Part 1 included segments focused on Iggy & The Stooges, MC5, New York Dolls, The Ramones, Blondie, Wayne/Jayne County & The Electric Chairs, PUNK Magazine, CBGB's, Hilly Kristal, and much, much more. One band of particular note were Garage Rock/Proto-Punk pioneers MC5, who had a particularly gut-wrenching rise and fall before they ever really gained wide-spread success. Oddly enough, MC5's politically-charged 1970 sophomore album, Back In The USA featured a song on Side B called "The Human Being Lawnmower;" this title, in particular, bears a striking resemblance to blood-curdling emcee Blastmaster Baker's recent debut on we are the karma kids, Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawn Mower. Now, I have yet to ask Blastmaster Baker himself, but I would almost have to guess MC5 & Back In The USA were, likely, a strong influence during the creation of his own Hip-Hop, Punk, and Hardcore-fusing album.


Nick "Blastmaster" Baker—much like his karma kids label-head and mentor, Lt Headtrip—is an Ohio-born NYC transplant, who teeters the fine line between Hip-Hop & Punk/Hardcore. Baker, actually, fronts his own Brooklyn-based Punk band called Children's City Dump AKA C.C.D. The band's line-up, also, includes Blastmaster Baker's cousin, Alex Baker on drums, bassist Kevin Levine, and guitarist Will Montgomery. C.C.D. are featured throughout aforementioned Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawnmower as a backing band, of sorts, on "Mosquitoes," "Knee Deep," and "An Act of Contrition." Last week, Children's City Dump quietly dropped their first proper release as a band, a nearly 9-minute single-track EP entitled 2217 Mixtape. Blastmaster Baker himself describes it as something like this: " 2217 Mixtape is, really, just an assortment of demos we recorded in our practice space ( Room #2217) in Brooklyn. Aside from what's on the [Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being] Lawnmower album, the band didn't have much in the way of an Internet presence."


"Ultimately, the band is intended to stand on it's own and not simply be an extension of the ...Lawnmower album, though, the band was conceived during the making-of that record. At this point, it is very much it's own entity and I want the band to exist without being seen through the lens of "Blastmaster Baker,'" Baker continued. Nick Baker adds that C.C.D. are currently attempting to build up a solid "Internet presence," so fans attending their shows can easily find them online afterwards. C.C.D. say they're "planning to get into the studio very soon to record a full-length record, but consider this a bit of a teaser for things to come." For good measure, Children's City Dump, also, appear alongside Blastmaster Baker & Lt Headtrip within the latest single pulled from Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawnmower, "Mosquitoes." Said frantic music video was directed by long-time we are the karma kids collaborator Mike Petrow, otherwise known as Duncecap (@Duncecap_.) Both MC5-referencing Blastmaster Baker vs. The Human Being Lawnmower and C.C.D.'s 2217 Mixtape are currently available to stream or purchase on Bandcamp.