One of the incredible local acts making a debut at Pitchfork Music Festival 2024 this weekend was Angry Blackmen, an experimental, industrial-leaning hip-hop duo made up of Brian Warren and Quentin Branch, which formed in 2017 and released their brand-new album “The Legend of ABM” this January. The two chatted with the Sun-Times about their energetic Pitchfork set, their favorite spots in Chicago and their thoughts on the local hip-hop community.
Q: What neighborhood in Chicago do you call home?
Brian Warren: I come from the Old Town neighborhood on the North Side.
Quentin Branch: I grew up on the South Side but then I moved to the 'burbs.
Q: You made your Pitchfork Festival debut on Friday — how did it go?
BW: The energy was unmatched, it was crazy. I’m over here the next day stumbling because I used up so much energy for it. It was a lot of preparation and it was fun.
QB: Yeah it was a lot of great energy, I’m glad everybody turned up, we had a great time, we brought the A-game. But it was 50/50. They gave us energy and we gave them energy back.
Q: What other bands are you looking forward to seeing this weekend?
BW: I’m looking forward to seeing De La Soul and I got the chance to see 100 gecs yesterday and kick it with them a little bit.
QB: And Billy Woods.
BW: I kicked it with Billy Woods and that was fun.
QB: It’s just De La Soul for me. Maybe Kara Jackson. And Akenya, shout out to Akenya.
BW: Shout out to Akenya, she’s a beautiful, beautiful spirit.
Q: What did playing Pitchfork for the first time mean for you guys?
QB: It was an iconic moment, I felt like, we’ve been together for six years as a duo so it was a culmination of everything, it was a big moment for us. It’s only the beginning.
BW: I kept telling people like you’re coming to my graduation. It felt like that.
Q: What are some of your favorite spots in Chicago?
QB: Shuga Records.
BW: I was just thinking that!
QB: They’re carrying the vinyl and have been supporting us.
BW: Shout out Shuga Records, shout out Connie’s Pizza, shout out Chicago Sun-Times. Love you guys.
Q: Talk about the Chicago hip-hop community and how you feel you integrate with the scene here.
QB: It’s a very great scene, they’re very inviting but sometimes they have a ‘crabs in the barrel’ mentality. So over all I love the people but I hope we can come together more.
BW: Yeah it’s like in the South they do a lot better with coming together and supporting artists, especially local artists, and help bringing them up, so I think Chicago needs to work a little harder in bringing up local artists more. … If we can just stay on that pace and keep it going we’ll be unstoppable.
QB: Yeah, come together.
Q: Do you have any visions of collaborating with anybody in the Chicago scene?
QB: Yeah, I would like to one day work with Chief Keef.
BW: I wanna work with Supa Bwe.
QB: Saba, Noname too.
Q: You released your new album “The Legend of ABM” in January and there’s been a lot said about the themes on the record. What is the message that you’re ultimately trying to convey?
QB: That album in particular, it was like a tale of two men coming together, so I would say just be true to you, that’s an album that’s true to us. I think the overall message is to be true to yourself.
BW: I couldn’t agree more with that message. … Be true to yourself, don’t give up, depression is real so just take a step back, take a breather and keep going. Don’t give up.
Q: Watching your set yesterday I was taken aback by how raw and visceral it was — you can feel the emotions coming out. How do you evoke that in YOUR performance?
BW: Just the people gathering and their energy, it helps me gain energy and be able to reciprocate it right back.
QB: We just try to be as authentic as possible.
Q: You’ve said “The Legend of ABM” was inspired by the 1954 novel “I Am Legend." What did you take from that book?
QB: I was telling Brian that the book is different from the movie; the movie is more like he’s a legend because he does some s- - - to save humanity and in the book he’s a legend because he’s the last of his kind. The vampire race takes over and he’s like a boogeyman of the past. So we approached the album like Black men are America’s boogeymen and this is our story, ‘The Legend of ABM.’ Not like we’re legends like "Oh my god they’re so legendary," but the story of ABM. Because when we approached this album it was more like a reboot. … We wanted to reboot Angry Blackmen for the now times because the EPs were the origin story, but this is the rebranding to be bigger and better.
