Minneapolis Hip Hop collective Doomtree — P.O.S, Sims, Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, Dessa, Mike Mictlan and Cecil Otter — dropped its last crew album, All Hands, in 2015. Since then, each member has been more focused on their individual projects. Now, Sims, P.O.S., and producers Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak have announced a new side group — Shredders.
“Doomtree decided to take a couple years between crew albums for all of us to refocus and pursue our own ambitions,” Sims tells HipHopDX. “I think Shredders fits nicely into that gap. Collaboration is natural to us and is vital in making things feel new. Aside from our solo stuff, all four of us have at least one or two different projects going right now, so doing this project was a refreshing break from all of those.”
Formed in late summer 2016, Shredders is now armed with a new three-track, self-titled EP. The four-piece is using the project to explore different creative avenues and come up with more artistically free music, which will likely involve plenty of humor.
“The main function of these sessions was just to make bangers and get bars off,” Sims says. “I think we came up with some breezy, fun songs. They are basically the living embodiment of our group text thread.”
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“That time off [from Doomtree] led to Sims’ More Than Ever album last November, P.O.S’Chill, dummy in January and Paper Tiger’s In Other Words in April,” Lazerbeak adds. “I worked closely with the guys on all three albums as executive producer and we decided to work collaboratively on some new bangers while we were all in the creative zone.”
While technically the group could fall under the Doomtree umbrella, they soon realized it was taking on a life of its own the more they worked on material and established their musical direction.
“It’s definitely part of the family, but when I think of ‘Doomtree the band,’ I really think of all seven of us,” Lazerbeak explains. “I kinda feel like a kid again starting from scratch with a lot of this stuff and it’s brought a cool energy to the project.”
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Shredders doesn’t signal the dissolution of Doomtree in any way. In fact, all seven members are heading to Chicago next week to perform together as a crew. For Sims, Paper Tiger, P.O.S. and Lazerbeak, it’s simply another way to keep their creative juices flowing.
“It was great to get the EP out last week and finally announce the group,” Lazerbeak says. “We’ve got a full-length that we’re putting the finishing touches on now and should have a lot more new music on the way shortly. We’re really excited to debut the songs live as well over the coming months.”
