New school pop punkers Baby Got Back Talk was named one of Alternative Press’s ’17 Black Alternative Bands Leading The Next Generation and one of AfroPunk’s ‘Top 8 Punkest Bands on the Planet.’ They have announced also signed to Wiretap Records and will release a new EP, ‘Existential Shred’, this summer 2022.
Vocalist/bassist G’Ra Asim says, “As the D-I-why?-because-we-gotta punk party known as Baby Got Back Talk goes, the medium is the message. The four of us think of our project as a Mom and Pop Punk band. Which makes linking up with Wiretap Records a whole vibe, since (Wiretap Records owner) Rob (Castellon’s) hustle and social consciousness are a perfect match for our own. Our forthcoming EP, ‘Existential Shred,’ is a bold new chapter in the band’s story and we’re stoked to release it on such a rad and forward-thinking label. Shout to queer punx and punx of color worldwide—this is for you. Only herbs will miss it.”
To coincide with the signing news, the paperback edition of G’Ra’s first book, Boyz n the Void: a mixtape to my brother, will be released on May 10 through Beacon Press. With each chapter anchored by a song on a mixtape, the nonfiction book explores race, gender, class and sexuality as they pertain to punk rock and straight-edge culture. The hardcover version of Boyz n the Void was released last spring, and the book has earned strong reviews in Kirkus, The Washington Post, Shelf Awareness and the Boston Globe. Boyz was also named one of Kirkus’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2021.
On May 10th, there will be a “rock ‘n’ read” to celebrate the paperback release of Boyz n the Void at Heavy Anchor in St. Louis, MO, with a live read from the book from Asim, followed by a live set from the band. Info on the event can be found at https://www.left-bank.com/event/gra-asim-boyz-n-void-paperback-release-party
Baby Got Back Talk is a D-I-why?-because-we-gotta punk party from New York City. The band teamed with producer John Naclerio (Just Surrender, The Audition) at Nada Recording Studios for their latest EP, ‘Existential Shred’ due out later this Summer 2022 on Wiretap Records.
Formed in 2017, Baby Got Back Talk initially consisted of vocalist/bassist G’Ra Asim, synth op/vocalist Rhiana Hernandez, and lead guitarist/vocalist Jake Lazaroff. After years of sharing bills with local compatriots like Choked Up, Universe Ignore Her and Gibbons– acts that were all anchored by the propulsive stick work of drummer Wes Ruiz– Baby Got Back Talk welcomed Ruiz into the fold.
“We’re what punk looks like in the 2020s: driven by a DIY ethic, conversant with social issues–especially as they pertain to gender and race, enabled by inter-web, bankrolled by day jobs, powered by a rad likeminded community, resonant with the most venerable iterations of rock ‘n’ roll but firmly committed to injecting some new flavor into the mold.”
The band has released a pair of EPs in 2017’s Take This The Wrong Way and 2018’s Up In Open Arms. Their full-length debut, 2020’s Genre Reveal Party, was mixed by Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Senses Fail, Yellowcard).
