Candy's .22 are rappers Stereo 13 (formerly Existereo) and Barfly. Long lost step-cousins who make stunning, unaffected rap songs likely to be embraced by hip hop outsiders as much as purists. Though they make rap music the pair are years removed from the youthful trappings of by-the-numbers hip hop identity. They've grown into the people they are, for better or worse and they're letting their music represent just that. Together they mine cautionary tales and confessional memoirs from a sort of pathological over-sharing set to rhyme and beat with unique and infecting result.

Stereo's urgent, dense baritone delivery coupled with Barfly's ranging, measured drawl recalls the work of such delightfully contrasting vocal duos as Cypress Hill and the Smut Peddlers. Poetic lyrics and themes that have more in common with Gram Parsons than Nas. Infectious, sing-along hooks that have more in common with Garth Brooks than De La Soul. All of it set to a backdrop of cohesive beat selections which draw from a spectrum of folk, rock and country while never feeling shoe-horned into the rap genre.

These unlikely rap troubadours earned credibility and paid dues within the culture of
hip hop and rap music respectively as members of some very respected West Coast crews. Stereo as a member of fabled L.A. rap collective the Shape Shifters and the world famous CBS graffiti crew while Barfly made his bones as a member of Seattle's Oldominion crew and with his former group The Saturday Knights. The unusual name and their startlingly un-hip-hop image may give you pause but the music undoubtedly speaks for itself. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.