How Earthgang Fought the Algorithm and Won

Atlanta duo discuss their new album, Perfect Fantasy, working with Pharrell and Snoop, and staying independent

- Andre Gee

The Atlanta duo Earthgang released their latest album, Perfect Fantasy, on Oct. 29. A Tuesday. Ever since Beyoncé’s self-titled album surprise-dropped in 2013, the music industry had designated Friday as album-release day. Hence, the prevalence of Friday drops today. But Earthgang say they’re no longer interested in joining the bloated horde of pre-weekend drops. “Our thing is Earthgang vs. the Algorithm, and the algorithm is getting out of hand, man. It’s making people do all of these things on this platform for this reason,” Olu says. “And it’s like, why is everybody being forced to make these same decisions? Who’s deciding this? Why not [drop on a Tuesday]? We can drop music whenever we want.”

Earthgang vs. the Algorithm is a series of projects meant to examine our thirst to placate the algorithm. Last September, they dropped RIP Human Art, which Olu says was an exploration of AI’s potential to deplete our workforce — including creators. In February, they followed up with Robophobia, which Olu says asks, “How are we going to be able to use our creativity and not try to fight against this thing, but to outsmart it in a way that works for us?” 

Perfect Fantasy is the culmination of their trilogy. It contains songs from both projects as well as fresh tracks such as “Love U More” (with T-Pain) and “U Gotta” (with Pharrell Williams). The bulk of the project was recorded during quarantine, a time both men say was revelatory for them, specifically in regard to their relationships. Those qualms take shape on “Red Flag,” where WowGr8 rhymes “Second date, what’s your bank account? Red flag/I’m like, why these the questions that we even fuckin’ ask?” Wow’s pensive bars and Southern-fried delivery coalesce well with Olu’s more melodic approach. The guys say that releasing both EPs and then rolling them into