When Two Rival Gangs Make Music: 79nrs Gang

I got hip to 79rs Gang via my friend Lefto who lives in Belgium.

He was crashing on my couch when he played something that instantly caught my ear and I wanted more! “Drama” was a song I would incorporate into my live DJ sets and eventually on KCRW.

79rs Gang are out of the 7th and 9th Ward of New Orleans and are composed of two different gangs in the region. The two cliques eventually decided to put their territorial differences aside and form the 79rs Gang. The music is very much in the tradition of the region with call and response cadences, hand claps, Mardi Gras flavor, percussion and bottles!

Listen to “Drama” here from Fire on the Bayou on Sinking City Records.