Paris Texas 'Mid Air' Finds A New Lane For Rap Rock Fusion

Hip Hop and rock music have a long history together. From Aerosmith and Run-DMC bringing their two worlds in sync on “Walk This Way” in the 80s to Jay-Z and Linkin Park doing the same thing with “Encore/Numb” in the 2000s, rap and rock have found a balance between each other, blurring the lines further as young kids became influenced by both genres equally. Of course, in the post-Yeezus era, many Hip Hop artists have tried their hand at incorporating elements of industrial music and rock into their raps. Some have succeeded, like Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red, while others certainly fell short (See: Lil Pump’s latest album.) Almost all of these style benders, however, try to claim themselves as rockstars instead of rappers despite most not really carrying any real rockstar energy. Enter Paris Texas.

The duo is keeping the punk rock spirit of Hip Hop alive. The Los Angeles pairing of Louis Pastel and Felix seemingly gets compared to the legendary rap-rock band Rage Against The Machine the most. It’s easy to see why, as both acts claim LA as home and rap over wicked guitar licks, but that doesn’t really match their style. On their debut album MID AIR, Paris Texas brims with cathartic and rebellious energy that parallels iconic Washington DC-punk band Bad Brains or Detroit proto-punk band Death. While the spirit behind Paris Texas’ music is as old as Hip Hop itself, Felix and Pastel add their own modern flair, breathing new life into Hip Hop and rock’s long-storied history together.

Where most artists merely experiment with other genres, Paris Texas fully embraces the idea of splattering different types of music like paint on their metaphorical canvas, creating colorfully distorted worlds that match the vibrations of their album. MID AIR opens the gates swinging with “tenTHIRTYseven” with Louis Pastel asking listeners “Who wanna rock? Who wanna roll? Who wanna die?” over a high-octane electric guitar and drums, inviting you into their world of chaotic energy. They transition into the rap-heavy “Split/Screen” with Felix mocking the fact that the same kids who picked on him in school for are now the same ones loving their music today. “Sean-Jared” incorporates electronic music after an abrupt switch halfway through the track. If there were a thesis for MID AIR, it would be Louis Pastel’s line on the Kenny Mason-assisted “DND,” where he spits: “Way that we rockin’, we had to confuse ’em/DBZ, look at the way that we fusin’ rap with the rock, this the fuck how you do it.”

The trend of genreless music has quickly become a cliche, with artists using a collage of influences to produce mush. But Paris Texas finds a way to make it sound fresh and engaging, balancing the raw energy of rock and rap, maintaining the swagger without sounding trite.

They close the album with “…We Fall” where the duo both affirm that they’re still alive and thriving in spite of all the bullshit, with Felix reflecting that his dad “Wanted me to get enlisted, be a politician, somewhere I could find security without a vision/But I just kept faith that we find our own sound/The plan was to split ’til we find our own lane.”

With a debut studio album as refreshing and well-rounded as MID AIR, it seems like they’ve found that lane, and may be the leaders.