Mint Lab Astronauts
Gig Seeker Pro

Mint Lab Astronauts

Chicago, Illinois, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2011 | SELF

Chicago, Illinois, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2011
Duo Hip Hop

Calendar

Music

Press


"Mint Lab Astronauts ‘A New Dope’"

TIM "SGT. TIBS" HANRAHAN on August 26, 2014 at 3:19 pm

The Mint Lab Astronauts have delivered on their unique release strategy for A New Dope. The Chicago duo has dropped all the songs dating back to last winter, one-by-one, and now this summer — the release of them all together as they’ve picked up more plays and fans since the start. It’s a nice idea for fellow upcoming artists to do since chances are fans new and old alike aren’t up on every song over a long time period. Now, you can what you may have missed all at once!

If you have caught a post, song, or more from M.L.A. this year, you know by now I dig their style. Both j.pak and pak.one spit with a variety of deliveries, subject matter, and honesty. And then I’d put pak.one up there with any producer too. My top tier faves are “Hubcap”, “One More Time”, and “Hocus Focus” so dive into those and A New Dope in full below. - Gowhere Hip Hop


"Mint Lab Astronauts “Lounge” LIVE"

TIM "SGT. TIBS" HANRAHAN on August 19, 2014 at 11:59 pm

The last weekend show we went to this month: Chicago duo Mint Lab Astronauts, opening up for Dreamville Records’ Bas over at one of the dope local spots for hip hop in the heart of Wicker Park, Subterranean.

My homie Mike and I met up with Maks & Heather inside Sub-T at the perfect time: about 20 minutes before M.L.A.’s set, giving us just enough time to settle in, say whattup to the Astronauts (I actually ran into j.pak outside), and get ready to film their 7-song performance.

The fans there for Bas were already there expecting good lyricism and that’s just what they got about 30 minutes before when M.L.A. performed “Lounge”, featured above. As the song title suggests, the chill vibe was a perfect, smooth backdrop for pak.one to spit first, j.pak immediately following with his long verse, and the two together to close it out for the song’s highest energy point. The audio has a raw, live feel to it, that combined with the lighting and the general underground mood of Sub-T, brings me back to a similar feeling of watching 90s hip hop in 8 Mile. And if you read this far, you’ve already seen how Maksim put down the edit with a kaleidoscope lens providing cool looks at the duo and matching their vibe and aesthetic.

The Astronauts continued to rock a set filled with a mix of hype records and lyrical chill records, that earned them a compliment from Bas after the show (wherein j.pak also poked his beard). We stayed all the way til close to see Bas’ one-hour set that featured a great amount of crowd engagement and a surprise guest appearance from Chicago’s own Dreamville representa: Omen. It capped off a refreshing night of good, raw hip hop.

However, the night was far from over. As Bas’ set concluded, it was only 11 o’clock so our group of 4 wandered out into Wicker Park with no agenda other than to score some tacos. We did, twice. First, right away at the Flash Taco stand. Then immediately after at Big Star where we can sit down and enjoy some tilapia in the tacos. Ha! Though our late dinner convo steered in other directions, it eventually came back to my friend Mike — a first-time listener of Mint Lab — coming away impressed with their energy and asking where he could find more of their music. facebook.com/MintLabAstronauts — and that goes for everybody! - Gowhere Hip Hop


"M.L.A. ‘Return of the Astros’"

#TheReturn?!

I have been looking forward to the return of these two: M.L.A. — one of the Chicago duos I big upped last fall in an exclusive list in my NBA Preview, along with their entire career thus far here on Gowhere.

The brothers, pak.one & j.pak, come back with 4 new tracks in the naturally titled Return of the Astros EP. These Mint Lab Astronauts recruit three dope features as well — Clark Airlines on the hype, bravado anthem that’ll translate well live (Feb. 28th), “CSMF” (you’ll hear what that stands for), Blakkass Westley on the smoother hip hop cut “Learn Today”, and smoothest of all: Mr. Music for the hook to the relationship-centric “for sale”.

In all four tracks, pak.one takes the lead with some slick, melodic rhymes that match his productions. j.pak is last in all of the songs, following the featured guests, and he spits fast with a mix of slowed-down talking, depending on the song. I liked this structure as I got the full sense of it by the concluding track for the ladies: “Carry On”. By the end, I was also impressed that the group was able to show their versatility on just four tracks. The menacing trap sounds on the first track for instance were followed by the jazzy tone of “Learn Today”. Furthermore, pak.one is fast on “CSMF”, j.pak slows it down; then it’s vice versa with pak.one’s hook and j.pak’s verse in the next track.

Then “for sale” and “Carry On” conclude the EP with two tracks about relatable lady issues (Mr. Music’s hook is a great summary for “for sale” and the first thing that’ll jump out at you.) “Carry On” is more of an ode to the physical, with pak.one’s fast first verse being the attention-getter for me. To top it all off, I love hearing the group nod to its roots with a hilariously appropriate TV Show sample in the “for sale” outro. The Michael Scott epiphany they chose is simply fantastic.

There’s the breakdown that may have taken you as long to read as it will to listen, so go ahead and press play already! (Dope album art, too. j.pak with that design as well.) - Gowhere Hip Hop


"MLA (Mint Lab Astronauts)- “Coming Down” EP"

YES YES YALL! While we at RFR stay rooted in our dubstep, electro house, and other edm genres, we are all hip hop heads too! You may have seen MLA (Mint Lab Astronauts) open up for Enoptix, or Big Sandz at a Rage Face Show, but if not, look out for these astronauts. This dynamic duo has a refreshing spin on hip hop, and music in general. They are a great live act, and we are looking forward to seeing them progress! Look for MLA to be on the upcoming Rage Face Records mixtape, especially on some collabs that are in the works, specifically with The Robot Dentist & Enoptix. - Rage Face Records


"M.L.A. – Ruff 14"

M.L.A or Mint Lab Astronauts has just released a new song. These two brothers (j.pak and pak.one) are two upcoming rappers out of Chicago. Earlier this summer, pak.one released a full album that consists of some great instrumentals. I suggest you check it out here. The combination of pak.one’s beats and his brother’s words are what make M.L.A so great. Without each other, I don’t think their new song, “Ruff 14? would have grabbed my attention as it did. The song begins with a great I-IV instrumental. And once I heard the voices of the two brothers, I could not stop listening. The two brothers seem to be putting out material at a fast pace, and I cant wait to hear what they come out with next. You can listen to “Ruff 14? and download it for FREE below. - Lobos en Bolos


"M.L.A. – Chronicles Of The Astronauts"

Here’s the Mint Lab Astronauts 5 track banger, mentioned in the optical heat tracked “I’m Just Chillum”.. You should try this out ladies and gentlemen.. Very dope beats and rhymes some what therapeutic to the soul.. Head nod action on this project.. Throw this up in your rotation build.. Get us in.. support ghea!
- The Word is Bond


"M.L.A. '(M)ODERN(D)AY(M)USIC(A)STRONAUTS EP'"

The Chi-City brothers formerly known as 2pak first officially launched as M.L.A. (Mint Lab Astronauts) with their debut music video for "The Take Off" (see: below), and tonight, they arrive with their first, full-fledged project under the new name; it's called the (M)odern(D)ay(M)usic(A)stronauts EP. It's 8 tracks with production solely provided by pak.one as he continues to evolve his sound with more unique samples of TV shows, movies, etc. and a mix of soulful and also modern, edgy, even futuristic aesthetics (naturally, given they're astronauts). Vocally, both brothers spit with that raw, in-your-face flow that I've personally become accustomed to, yet it's still refreshing to hear consistently across the project. The structure of the project is also refreshing as three of the eight tracks are solely instrumentals that uniquely add a smooth flow to the EP. My favorite of those (all very strong btw) is track 2: "Charon".
Another couple standouts include the personal and revealing "Damaged Goods" and the tape's conclusion: "For The Crew...", which is a tribute track dedicated to those who have helped and supported the brothers along the way. You can't help but appreciate the genuineness displayed and on top of that, the simple and catchy hook is simply a dope motto to live by: "Give love, get love, give love back". I'm continually impressed with the progression of M.L.A. and suggest you catch on now if you haven't already, and hit the blue link above for a free listen/download.
Also, if you're in the Chicagoland area tomorrow night, we'll be presenting M.L.A.'s M.D.M.A. R.P. (the last one is release party, hah!) with our own DJ Marcus Shadden on the 1s and 2s. Get there at the Funky Buddha - more details and discount info is included after the jump (or on the sidebar). - Gowhere Hip Hop


Discography

Mint Lab Astronauts - [M]odern[D]ay[M]usic[A]stronauts EP (Dec 2011)
Mint Lab Astronauts - ComingDown EP (Mar 2012)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Chronicles Of The Astronauts EP (Apr 2012)
pak.one - Wizard Beats (July 2012)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Ruff 14 [Single] (Aug 2012)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Last Tango [Single] (Oct 2012)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Pinnacle [Single] (Oct 2012)
Mint Lab Astronauts - 3piece [Single] (Mar 2013)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Ring Leader [Single] (Mar 2013)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Choco Taco [Single] (Apr 2013)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Boom Trap [Single] (July 2013)
Mint Lab Astronauts - Return of The Astros EP (Feb 2014)
Mint Lab Astronauts - A New Dope (Aug 2014)

Photos

Bio

Born and raised in Chicago, Mint Lab Astronauts broke into the Hip-Hop scene with a loud and distinct style. j.pak & pak.one hail from the North Side of the City and have crafted a brand new, jazzy, genre clashing sound.

They are not afraid to go against the grain of pop-culture and introduce the world to the next generation of Chicago Hip-Hop. The Chicago Hip-Hop scene has many talented artists but M.L.A.’s music will wake you up and take you on a trip through a place built by catchy beats, loud character and energetic lyrics.

With their passion for the creative arts, the Mint Lab Astronauts do everything from sound/beat production to recording, mixing and mastering their tracks, all the way to the visually stimulating album artwork.

Unsigned and independent, M.L.A. is taking the Hip-Hop masses to uncharted territory. Their upcoming sixth project, Shallow Skies & Deep Surfaces, is the highly anticipated new release from the Mint Lab and is sure to impress!

M.L.A.’s conscious lyricism and powerful performances have Chicago roots that run deep. The Chicago Hip-Hop style embraces the eclectic styles from every region. The M.L.A. duo has been introducing a truly unique, collaborative experience but hasn’t stopped there. They are currently collaborating with international artists on upcoming projects and promise the unforgettable. 

Band Members