Flying Fortress is riding through on vanilla chrome, again! Over the top rhymes and and epic beats await you when you meet the Gatekeepers 2.0. That's right, this shit has upgraded to a whole new level. The group combines underground Los Angeles rap with the largely internet based territory of nerdcore emcees. Flying Fortress is a hip hop group made up of video game playing, anime loving, nerd embracing emcees and producers, Nameless, LC, k!x, and Illgill. The group combines their powers like a mecha tank ready to take over Los Angeles. I've had the pleasure of seeing them perform on several occasions, and the same energy they bring to their live sets are certainly present on this album. Gatekeepers 2.0 is the groups sophomore album and was released December 2011 for download via bandcamp. The official liner notes read,
"The album "Gatekeepers 2.0" embodies influences from Los Angeles' eclectic Hip-Hop scenes and the Nerdcore phenomenon. The four emcees/producers fused their distinct styles to make this music project the entrance to their further works and histories. This album delivers a healthy dose of electro-funk with a "Party On!" attitude. Raise your drinks and prepare for take-off with Flying Fortress' "Gatekeepers 2.0"! "
I can tell you one thing. Kirby Superstar's The Great Cave Offensive theme has never sounded this intense or offensive until Flying Fortress' track Hungry. Beside the instant Kirby classic, I have a strong smattering of favorites from this album. Vanilla Chrome remains a modern nerd classic. The free to download bonus track Anime drops a ton of old school anime references. The album finishes off with Final Fantasy Finale, a track that quickly veers into a dirty but driving victory theme for Flying Fortress to ride out in style. The album is available to stream, or to download for $5. You can also download the aforementioned track Anime for free.