Mycelium Culture is a new group featuring a couple of artists who have been around for a minute, namely emcee Staplemouth/Killwendigo from Lawrence, Kansas, and producer 7th Galaxy from Toronto. They are part of the worldwide Cane Corso collective, which has long been home to some experimental hip hop. Mycelium Culture now make their debut on El Gran E Records with their EP, Microdose.

Even if you aren’t familiar with the track records of these two artists, with a name like Mycelium Culture, you’re probably expecting some experimental hip hop. The good news is that they don’t disappoint on that front. Killwendigo is a veteran emcee with a great flow who can pack in a lot of words and drop some abstract imagery all while making it seem effortless and natural. On the production side of things, 7th Galaxy is pushing your expectations of what a hip hop album can sound like, moving from boom bap into some post rock and emo that gets really moody with it. It’s a project that really feels psychedelic without sounding typically “psychedelic.” Instead, these two just keep pushing the music further and further away from the center of what you expect from a hip hop project, with the drums and guitars sounding more and more “live” and Killwendigo’s words just continuing to swirl around in your head as he just keeps adjusting his flow and gets more philosophical with his rhymes.

Microdose is a short release, like the name implies, but as the name also implies, it takes you on a bit of a journey. It won’t be for everyone, but for those looking for some hip hop that is a little bit more weird and challenging, this is for you.