Muscle & F.L.O., an up and coming new rap duo, hope to fill a void in the hip-hop and rap scene in Tuscaloosa and bring a more groovy music style to the city.
“We saw a lack of groove and flow in the world, and we just saw ourselves as the bros to be the means to fix that problem,” Kevin Purser, a.k.a. Muscle, said.
Logan Watson, a.k.a F.L.O, agreed with his partner.
“On top of that, I think we saw too much top and not enough tank,” Watson said.
Purser is a sophomore majoring in business at the University of Alabama, and Watson is a recent graduate currently working for Regions Bank. Muscle & F.L.O. have been recording since February and plan to release their first EP, “No Sleeves No Problem,” Monday at midnight online.
The name of their EP was inspired by the duo’s personal style.
“Tank tops are radical, funky [and] psychedelic,” Watson said. “They are the very essence of everything that is right in the world.”
Purser summed up the style of Muscle & F.L.O. as tank tops, tight pants and bandanas. Watson added Ronald Reagan to the list as well.
The duo described their music as funky, groovy and inspired by old-school hip-hop rap. They said they find inspiration for their lyrics in a variety of places including long boarding, California, Converse, bird watching, dancing and the beach. Bands like De la sol, Pigeon John and Family Force Five have inspired their sound.
“Really, I feel like we are that [old-school rap] mixed with the groovy genre that is the 60s and 70s,” Watson said. “If you are looking for a mix between the Bee Gees, Parliament, Kanye and Childish Gambino, and then throw in a little dab of the Beasties, you are looking at Muscle & F.L.O.”
Muscle & F.L.O. formed in spring 2010 at a lake party called Bonanza. Watson was a sophomore in college and Purser was a senior in high school who had come down to visit Tuscaloosa, specifically for Bonanza.
“The original Bonanza was a get together where several of our good friends, our closest bros and brodettes, went together to the lake on Saturday to grill out, soak up some sun, to swim and just to kick back and relax and have a good day,” Purser said.
A specific song on their upcoming EP sums up what Bonanza was like for Purser and Watson.
“If you listen to our track Bro Chill, track number two on ‘No Sleeves No Problem,’ you can really get a vibe for what Bonanza was like,” Watson said.
Purser would beat box and Watson would rap for their friends.
“I am actually a little ashamed to admit this, but Muscle & F.L.O. started as a cover rap group,” Watson said. “We would rap for our friends and admittedly make them think they were original lines. We never straight up lied to anybody, but we would say is that this is going to be Muscle & F.L.O.”
F.L.O. stands for Funky Logan Originals, though the duo was actually rapping lesser know hip-hop artists — Pigeon John being one of the main inspirations.
“We finally decided it was time to stop posing and create our own tracks straight from the heart of Muscle & F.L.O.,” Watson said. “Really the project as we see it now has birthed itself into ‘No Sleeves No Problem.’”
An undisclosed friend gave the name Muscle & F.L.O. to Purser and Watson.
“Muscle is a pretty muscular guy. After the fact, we made an acronym for it, but really it is just that,” Watson said.
Their album will be available as a free download Monday, and physical copies will be available in the future.
“Right now we feel like our album is the perfect study for finals jams so we wanted to get an early copy out there for the ones we love,” Watson said.
To download ‘No Sleeves No Problem,’ visit soundcloud.com/muscleandflo.
“We will perform, and I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed,” Watson said. “You are going to enjoy experiencing the radical rhymes of the rhythmic flow from the money making Muscle and the furious fantastic F.L.O.”
For more information about Muscle & F.L.O. and booking opportunities, contact Logan Watson at 615-947-6858 or Kevin Purser at 205-807-6760.
