To close 2024, we’re focusing on Mutant Academy, a Richmond rap collective that had a strong calendar year and is looking to push even further after the release of Keep Holly Alive, a November project that the crew views as its first official group album. The nine-man collective features rappers Big Kahuna OG, Henny L.O., and rapper-producer Fly Anakin, as well as fellow producers Ohbliv, Graymatter, Foisey, Sycho Sid, Ewonee, and Unlucky Bastards. They’ve collaborated among one another on dozens of projects since their 2014 formation, but the 18-track project is the first album that extensively features every MC and production from throughout the group. Over Zoom, they tell Rolling Stone that the project is the start of a new era in which they plan to flood the streets with more solo projects and another group album. They also talked about their formative years at Holly, and their collective growth as MCs.
“We definitely started building a new road that’s called Mutant Academy Street, and we just broke the concrete on that bitch,” Big Kahuna says. Though they’ve been working on the project since before Covid quarantine, the guys say they recently experienced urgency to begin fulfilling their recent deal with Roc Nation Distribution, and a contagious creative motivation from being in proximity to one another.
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