Ho99o9

Blending the raw aggression of Death Grips with the punk-fueled intensity of Black Flag, the Los Angeles-based alternative hip-hop collective Ho99o9—pronounced “horror”—merges noise and rap via warped production, bleak lyrical content, and sporadic death-metal growls plus blastbeats across abrasive full-lengths such as SKIN, issued in 2022.

The project originated in Newark, New Jersey, around 2012 when frontrunners theOGM and Eaddy, both previously active in the performing-arts collective NJstreetKLAN, launched it after cultivating teenage passions for early hip-hop innovators including Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and DMX. Exposure to discordant Brooklyn underground punk bills featuring Cerebral Ballzy, the Death Set, Ninjasonik, and Japanther further shaped their direction. After tracking their debut instrumental, they adopted the moniker “Ho99o9” for the entire endeavor, later substituting numerals for certain letters to sidestep online name conflicts with other acts. A string of singles and EPs followed, drawing notice from BBC Radio 1 DJs in 2014 and 2015; wider cult recognition arrived with the Dead Bodies in the Lake mixtape and extensive road work that featured Santigold producer Ian Longwell on drums. Reviewers highlighted the cinematic, exaggerated, abrasive, and weighty approach as a refreshing contrast within hip-hop, punk, and rock circles. Acclaim for their stage shows mounted after appearances at SXSW, Visions Festival, Pukkelpop, and Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2015. That same year the band headlined its own U.K. trek and supported British punk duo Slaves, later opening for mathcore veterans the Dillinger Escape Plan in early 2017. Longwell departed in 2016; Brandon Pertzborn handled studio drums while Dillinger Escape Plan’s Billy Rymer performed live. Their debut studio album, United States of Horror, emerged in May 2017, retaining prior ferocity yet employing clearer production and an expanded sonic range that embraced trap, gabba, and hardcore-punk percussion styles. Additional singles and EPs appeared over the ensuing years alongside support slots for Alice in Chains, Korn, Avenge Sevenfold, and others. Mixtapes Blurr (2020) and Turf Talk, Vol. 1 (2021) preceded the March 2022 arrival of second studio album SKIN, which delivered the expected abrasion: several tracks leaned fully into death metal while others fused classic horrorcore rap textures with thick distortion and fuzz-laden bass. Guest appearances on SKIN came from Jasiah, Corey Taylor, Bun B, and Saul Williams.