Stranded Civilians
As part of our Artists To Watch list, we’ve conducted interviews with the eight artists featured in our 2021 Spring/Summer edition. Check out our Q&A with Stranded Civilians below and click here to check out the full list.
Hailing from the city’s North Side, Stranded Civilians, composed of Tony Santana and Aubry, are part of the lineage of the integral role duos like Kidz In The Hall and The Cool Kids have played in Chicago hip-hop. After a string of mixtapes and EPs, Stranded Civilians made a splash last summer with the drop of their debut album, Nirvana. Tony and Aubry showcased wisdom beyond their years by making a project that embodied the deeply personal spiritual growth they experienced in 2020. With Aubry’s Midas-touch production as the backbone of the album’s structure, both he and Tony quite literally bring you into the minds of two college students discovering their place and purpose in the world. They hit the mark on replay value with impressive tongue-twisting lyricism and quotables, harmonious composition, outstanding features, and a thesis that will make you think about your own life’s path. As they plan to keep leveling up, tap into the stage they’re at right now and become in awe of what they will be able to accomplish later down the line.
How would you say your personal growth has reflected in your music?
Aubry: Since we had to push Nirvana back a couple of times, especially around the time of the protests, it gave us time to take a moment for ourselves and reclaim our solitude and peace. I’ve just been back into making beats, but not feeling pressured to rap over them. Just stimulating the mind. Been getting back into anime. Just pacing myself [...] you get the chance to reflect while pacing yourself and be like this is what I need to do.
Tony: I wanted to talk about what was going on in the pandemic and life. There’s tragedy every year but this was the first time I feel like we all grieved together at once so I felt an obligation to speak about it. We all had an existential crisis or awakening and we started to value some things either less or more. I stopped worrying about the little intricacies of life and started to pay more attention to family, friendships, lifestyle, goals, relationships. I began to value things like that. This is the first time I listened to a project of mine and was like “This is the music I’ve always wanted to make.”
What’s the reception been like since dropping your debut album?
Tony: This is our realest tape. I had lines where I wanted my family to hear and be like “He’s not capping.” I wanted certain girls to hear lines and be like “Yeah, that’s me.” People just felt it, and we received a lot of positive and sentimental feedback from people who are really important to me.
Aubry: Despite being in the middle of a pandemic and we couldn’t do everything we wanted for the rollout, we got reassured by other artists to just drop it. There were so many people sending me videos of them playing it in their car or singing along in their house. A lot of people’s parents bumped the album too which I think was the craziest part. I was talking to my homie on Facetime and his mom said “I listen to your album every day.” My friend 99theproducer, his dad loves ‘Shorething Freestyle’ and would literally send me lyrics. When you’re good with the OGs, you’re good with everyone. We did exactly what we wanted to, which was to make the best music we can make and get at least one person to gravitate toward it. We created something that everyone can bond over, young or old.
Tony: I feel like you can’t really speak what you want to happen into existence, you can only speak what you can do into existence. So, my expectations for the tape weren’t like to blow up off it or get a million plays. I only wanted to make something that was real to me and that I was proud of.
Why should people invest in Stranded Civilians as both a duo and as individuals?
Aubry: Invest because it’s not just limited to us; it’s everyone. I feel like everyone is a Stranded Civilian because everyone has something that makes them stand out from the crowd. The music we make is enjoyed by whole ass adults, kids our age, and even younger kids… We don’t want to make anything exclusive because then it’s not accessible. We want to make versatile music that’s accessible to everyone. It’s not just an investment. It’s a bond. It’s all about creating a connection.
Tony: My sole purpose on Earth is to maximize the lived experience of everyone who encounters me. I want the best for everyone. Aubry and I are good people. We promote unity and love. My biggest goal is to make the world less divisive as much as I can. Make more music that moms tell us they like. I feel it’s advantageous to invest in us because the more people that think like us, the better the world will be.