Sunny Gang

The punk and rap gods have united in the most harmonious of fashions to create Sunny Gang, a New Jersey punk-rap band whose debut album Party/Animal, out April 19, is the prefect blend of both genres's sonics and spirits. Think The Transplants meets Odd Future, but with a dash more social consciousness.

The album follows the wondering mind of your average "woke" twenty-something: from the mosh pit anthem "Soap Scum" with its call-and-answer chorus screeching out I'm not that drunk/ You're way to drunk; to the worldly-rebel convo on the train ride home on "Burn It Down" I'm a rebel out in Cairo with a scarf around his face/ I'm a slave somewhere in Haiti as Toussaint takes off his chains.

"Party/Animal is a sonic culmination of the successes and downfalls we've experienced as a band," the band told The FADER through email. "This record truly captures our grasp of melding genres to a point where it will get the hip hop heads to mosh, while keeping the punks grooving." - The Fader

Punk-rap may not be making its return to mainstream anytime soon, but that won’t stop New Jersey’s Sunny Gang from attempting to rip open the minds of music fans everywhere, forcing them to believe in a resurgence. The band is comprised of vocalist/rapper Nasty Nate, guitarist Chris Bacchus, bassist Joe Sap, and drummer Marshal, who all play their part in this thrasher group, aggressively rebelling against the listener over instrumental blends of punk and hip hop. Opening for acts such as Danny Brown, Trash Talk, and KOOL A.D, the crew is slowly building underground notoriety on the East Coast.

Today, Mass Appeal premieres Sunny Gang’s new single, “Burn It Down.” The track’s a slow-build toward chaos, planting an audio uprising into the listener’s ear and asking for their aid in joining along. Nasty Nate’s rapping compliments the slow-churning punk build-up well, while the clashing cymbals and guitar work recalls an older era of music thrashing.

Stream “Burn It Down” below and watch out for Sunny Gang’s debut album, Party/Animal, dropping soon. - Mass Appeal

Somewhere over the past 3 years, lovable party-crashers Sunny Gang have transformed from the kind of guys who live in a PBR-carpeted house known semi-ironically as the Bong Water Lagoon (after the inexplicable puddle that collects in the basement even when it isn't raining) but they throw the best fucking parties (as long as you wear a HAZ-MAT suit to the bathroom), to those same guys, living in the same house; half-embarassed, half-nostalgic about the name, who host a Kwame Nkrumah book club on Thursdays, and still throw the best fucking parties on Fridays (as long as you wear a HAZ-MAT suit to the bathroom). Like the similar march that's claimed the minds of some of the best punks of my generation from Anarchist to Libertarian to Republican, Sunny Gang's Party/Animal marks their pupation from nothing-matters-let-it-burn nihilism to modern-society-is-a-cancer-of-oppression-and-hypocrisy-let-it-burn anarchism.

Divided into two halves, the Party and the Animal, Sunny Gang indulges in the two extremes of their interests: getting wasted and leaving a wake of destruction behind them, and getting informed about systemic injustice and leaving a wake of knowledge behind them. It's messy. It's contradictory. It's probably best not to think too hard about the contradictions because the party itself is pretty damn glorious. “Soap Scum” kicks off the album. It's an ode to drunken-boasting and treading the line between the life of the party and that guy all your friends are sort of embarrassed to be around. “Pit Maneuvers” cribs a riff from “Rock Lobster” (fuck you if you have a problem with that) delivering what might be the album's most fun blast of nihilistic wrath.

Before the record kicks into the Animal section, there's an instrumental called “Kafka.” Why is there an instrumental called “Kafka?” Fuck you that's why. The Animal half showcases an obsession with history. Frontman “Nasty” Nate Hitchcock charts the continuum of system oppression with the rage of a caged lion (your rat in a cage is adorable, Billy Corgan). Previous singles “Godzilla” and “Burn It Down” track the history of class struggle, first from the point of view of the oppressor, then the front-line revolutionaries, before “Animal” puts the focus squarely on the growing frustration of the average person, as they realize they traded liberty for security. Hitchcock grows from “you can't cage me / I'm a motherfucking animal” to joining the struggle and declaring “everything's fucked!” - Afropunk

Lest you be concerned that Sunny Gang have gotten too serious with their latest single, the epic call for revolution “Godzilla,” everyone's favorite drunken and disorderly jackasses have returned with “Soap Scum.” Frontman "Nasty" Nate Hitchcock is back in “get wasted and break shit” mode celebrating well, getting wasted and breaking shit over some LA-style old school hardcore punk. The band's latest wave of singles showcase the band at their tightest with surprising musical complexity hiding underneath their wave of destruction. You can check them out October 14th at Arlene's Grocery CMJ showcase with fellow AFROPUNK favs BLXPLTN and Phony Ppl. Show starts early, so be ready for some serious day drinking.

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor - AFROPUNK

The Skinny: Punk-rap group, Sunny Gang, recently dropped the first single from their upcoming album, Party/Animal. Check out "Godzilla" just above and get ready for a massacre!

The Red Bull Sound Select band, featuring frontman Nasty Nate, Chris Bacchus on guitar, Joe Sap on bass and Marshal on drums, formed on campus at Rutgers-Newark in New Jersey in early 2012, where they began to establish themselves in the local underground, DIY punk scene. Their notable performances include opening for fellow Jersey punk band, Ho99o9, Kool A.D at the renowned New York venue, Webster Hall, English Beat at the Stone Pony, as well as the Skate and Surf Festival in 2014. In addition, they've shared the stage with major national-touring acts, such as Danny Brown, Trash Talk, Shinobi Ninja and Mykki Blanco, to name a few. - Pure Grain Audio

Sunny Gang's built a reputation on destructive parties (their signature song's chorus is “get wasted and break shit”). On their latest single from their forthcoming record, the band's destructive impulses are now aimed squarely at destroying the shitty things about society. Basically like Alex from Chapter 21 of Clockwork Orange, except without the being a total sociopathic monster for the previous 20 chapters. Over a minimalist bassline, the band launches into thrash-inflected hardcore, on what's easily the best single they've put out yet. “Brick by brick / step by step / we gonna tear this shit down till there ain't nothing left.”
By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor


In an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, each member had their own take on the song and their new direction:

Guitarist Chris Bacchus says:

“It drifts away from what Sunny Gang has been known for, the whole party antics and whatnot, to focus on more serious topics. It's kinda like us growing up, you know? Instead of partying all the time, we're focusing on more serious matters because I guess technically now we're adults, so I guess there's that.”



Marshall / Drums:

“We tried to make a culmination of all our frustrations and put them into one song, and just go out and make the most aggressive song that we could make.”



Bassist Joe Sap describes their new record as “Candy Coated Vegetables:”

“You give people a little bit of what they want, and at the core is what they need to have. And that's an approach that we kinda took to heart.”

Frontman “Nasty” Nate Hitchcock sums it up:

“For me, personally, the lyrics of the song? The theme is about walls and how they can separate people. You have the Berlin Wall, or the wall on the Rio that separates Mexico from the United States, and then you have more metaphorical walls. And for me, writing the lyrics was about tearing those walls down, like social media, how it puts walls up, and prevents people from empathizing. The flipside is to not take things too seriously. Sometimes you do have to have fun and laugh at yourself. And that's a lot of the album too. We're not just shouting at people and telling them they suck, we're also enjoying life. We're not PC punks.”

The band is playing a show at a secret location in Newark on September. RSVP here for deets: http://threadmeets2headz.splashthat.com/

And check them out October 14th at a CMJ showcase at Arlene's Grocery.
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https://www.facebook.com/SunnyGangMusic - AfroPunk

Sunny Gang

“Godzilla”

Party/Animal

And I thought Thrash Rap was dead. Thank God I was wrong. “Godzilla” by Sunny Gang is as fun as you can have. After the first measure and your head is bopping up and down, you are paralyzed (probably emotionally). The Red Bull Sound Select band, featuring frontman Nasty Nate, Chris Bacchus on guitar, Joe Sap on bass and Marshal on drums, formed on campus at Rutgers-Newark in New Jersey in early 2012, where they began to establish themselves in the local underground, DIY punk scene. And well they did. This is the band I want to hear in a crowded, college bar. They remind me of Faith No More or the Beastie Boys, but with a heavier sound and no DJ (thank god). Perfect party song. Put this on at your next anti-frat party, and watch the kids go wild. So thrash I consider it punk. Love this band. - Audio Fuzz

Sunny Gang have been a favorite around these parts since partying their ways into our hearts 2 years ago with a handful of demos on Soundcloud. The two time Afropunk Fest alumni have grown up a little, tightened up a little, but still keep the party fierce. Their latest EP ReadyMadeRiot! finds the band getting a little more serious, but not so serious that it spoils the fun.

Opening with a clip from their namesake's classic episode “Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person,” the EP wastes no time in letting you know they don't exactly take themselves all that seriously. “Slap Juice” is a heavy track that takes a page out of Body Count's playbook. It's a song pretty much built for the pit, setting the band's lovable asshole charm early: “Getting wasted / breaking shit / cause that's just what the fuck we do.”

Surprisingly, the band is at their best with “1:35” and “Shot Me Down,” two songs that trade the “get wasted and break shit” mantra for some old school punk social consciousness. “1:35” is some straight up American Hardcore (granted they take a little break to go dance punk), complete with gang vocals on the chorus “I'm sick and tired of the system / But I don't need to be a victim.” On “Shot Me Down,” they get real with a song about the murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton in 1969 during a raid by the Chicago PD and FBI. Not only is it the best track on the EP in terms of lyrical depth, it's also the best damn dance song on the record. Frontman “Nasty” Nate Hitchcock and guitarist Chris Bacchus bring their A game on this one. The EP closes with a re-recording of their demo highlight “Bloc Party.” It's still the jam.

The record is out now on iTunes and wherever quality digital music is sold. - Afropunk

Who says nothing good comes out of Jersey? (Well everyone in Brooklyn, pretty much, but whatever. This isn't about which land mass adjacent to Manhattan is better...Because it's clearly Brooklyn.) Bringing my total of things I like from New Jersey up to a solid 3, Sunny Gang is a fresh quartet out of Rutgers. Their music is a rad mix of party rock and hip hop; working overtime to rehabilitate rap/rock’s shattered image after being run through the mud during Woodstock’s thoroughly unnecessary sequels.


Their best track is the winkingly titled “Bloc Party.” A dance-rock track that owes more than a little musically to it's namesake, it boasts an epic shout-along chorus “Welcome to my block party! Get wasted and break shit!” Their lyrics don't go much deeper than “this party is dope!” (which is surprising coming from a band whose Tumblr page is mostly naked women holding bongs...) but they're also not trying to take on Common or anything like that. Proudly hedonistic, they're not trying to change the world; just put on the best damn party in town. And what's wrong with being the life of the party?
- Words by Nathan Leigh - AFROPUNK, Nathan Leigh

There’s a musical groundswell brewing in New Jersey, and it’s not coming from your traditional avenues. Newark is currently rising as a scene to be respected for hard nosed, unabashed live rap-rock hybrids with H09909 leading the charge and now Sunny Gang right alongside.

Formed on campus at Rutgers-Newark in early 2012 as a backing band for frontman Nasty Nate’s solo performances, the band, featuring Chris Bacchus on lead guitar, Joe Sap on Bass and Marshal on the drums, quickly began writing as a group and had enough material to release a self-produced demo, entitled C’mon Sun!. Since then Sunny Gang has shared stages with acts like Danny Brown, Trash Talk, Shinobi Ninja, Kool A.D. (of Das Racist), and Mykki Blanco.

Recently, Sunny Gang dropped “Slap Juice”, a burning rap-rock rager that instantly smacks of DIY venue beer soaked moshing. The band’s chosen genre is notoriously for producing some pretty obnoxious, overall lame shit since the early aughts, but Sunny Gang seem to have found an earnest groove with a heavy sound and smart lyrics.

Stream Sunny Gang’s “Slap Juice” below and check out their Facebook page for more (they’re trying to break 700 likes as of this writing). - Speak Into My Good Eye

Heading into this with my open minded punk rock views, I tripped over something that sounds like it came from the late '90s with today's production quality to back it. Sunny Gang ended up being a punk-rap group with some other ideas floating in the background. You'll hear a little bit of Ska, and some of that rocked out rap that's been dying out.

Creep Jawn is one of my favorite tracks. It shows a bit of everything I've mentioned so far, and it's as addictive as it is rebellious. It's a good head banger and it's a decent mosh starter, which generally just means it's a pretty fun listen.

If you're looking to see more of that ska side, try Bloc Party, another one of my favorites. Between those two tracks you can really see their general vibe. I could see them playing at that one small local club where the music's always good, or at the 21+ beach concert.

After you've heard these tracks, be sure to check out the rest of the EP. It's all equally quick and fun, and most of it really sticks with you. The variety is enough for the five songs to benefit off each other, but it's all knit close enough to feel like the same thing.


My main concern is how short the effort is. It's a tease of an EP, but it works so well I have to wonder if they can keep it up. There's variety, but I don't hear anything that needs a push. Maybe my standards this time are too low. I'd love to find out.

Until their next release, keep up with this one. You can hear it on Soundcloud or Spotify, and you can buy it at most major digital music stores. Once you've done all you're gonna, show some love by tagging along on their Facebook and Twitter. - D4AM

"Sunny Gang took the stage and played Slap Juice and Shot Me Down. On paper, the combination of a punk band with a rapper as the front man seems odd, but in reality the staccato-style delivery of the lyrics laid over some aggressive punk was phenomenally entertaining." - Indulge Sound

Speaking of rare finds…this here is the first punky-rap band we’ve ever covered at RMD which makes Sunny Gangs extra, extra special in our eyes. The group is based out of Newark, and this is the first single off their forthcoming EP (which also happens to be the first music video they’ve ever released as well). If you like their work make sure you follow them on Facebook to stay up to date on their future releases. - RMD

Follow Sunny Gang through a tumultuous intersection of revolution and rebellion. For better or for worse, social, political and fiscal revolutions have left their bite marks on history. - Hardcore Worldwide