Injury Reserve

Arizona-based alternative rap trio Injury Reserve started out by refreshing the jazz-tinged approach associated with golden age hip-hop acts such as A Tribe Called Quest and Black Sheep, only to shift over time toward a far more abrasive and exploratory aesthetic. The three-piece built an underground audience through projects including the 2016 mixtape Floss, whose tracks mixed playful exuberance and accounts of ordinary life with pointed social awareness, taking aim at the music business and confronting racism. Their 2019 self-titled debut album moved into noticeably more abstract territory, while 2021’s dystopian By the Time I Get to Phoenix marked a complete embrace of splintered, avant-rap deconstruction.

MCs Ritchie with a T and Stepa J. Groggs joined forces with producer Parker Corey to form the group in Tempe during 2013, issuing the debut mixtape Depth Chart that same year and the EP Cooler Colors in 2014. Early work leaned on dense boom-bap beats, yet Live from the Dentist Office, self-released in 2015, introduced a softer, jazz-inflected palette. Guest spots from Chuck Inglish of the Cool Kids and Demi Hughes helped the mixtape earn critical praise and a grassroots following. Two 2016 singles, “Oh Shit!!!” and “All This Money,” both appeared on Floss, which closed out the year with contributions from Vic Mensa and Cakes da Killa and production that spanned caustic trap and dreamy chillwave textures.

After the concise 2017 release Drive It Like It’s Stolen, the crew delivered their first proper LP, Injury Reserve, in 2019, drawing guest appearances from Rico Nasty, JPEGMAFIA, Amine, Freddie Gibbs, DRAM, and additional artists. Stepa J. Groggs passed away on June 29, 2020, at age 32. The group’s second album, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, arrived in September 2021. Largely tracked prior to Groggs’ death, the record diverged sharply through fractured, dissonant beats and themes centered on mortality and despair, with input from ZelooperZ of Bruiser Brigade, Morgan Simpson of black midi, Body Meat, Jam City, and others.