Charles Andrew “Astronautalis” Bothwell broke onto the hip-hop scene a decade ago as a battle rapper, but the further he ranges into his career, the more clearly he refuses to be bound by stricture or structure. (See: the historical fiction of 2008’s Pomegranate, his collaborations with artists like Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and his tours with indie-rockers Tegan & Sara.)

 On his upcoming Cut The Body Loose, Astronautalis throws away even his own rules, casting aside a lifetime of careful craftsmanship in exchange for something more immediate and hard-hitting. Before you dive in, here’s 10 things you should know about the genre-warping musician.

Raised Early On In a Sleepy Town, Astronautalis Had His Eyes Opened to the Broader America in One Swift Move

Astronautalis might now be known as a lynchpin of the vibrant Minneapolis hip-hop scene, but it was a childhood move from rural Maryland to Jacksonville, FL that set him on his path. “I came from the most idyllic, tiny public school setting into the fuckin’ hood,” he recalls. “There’s Rick Ross lyrics about the strip club that was around the corner of my high school. The first day I was in middle school, some six foot tall black kid slammed me up against the lockers and was like ‘what’s up, white boy?’ It was crazy culture shock. But it was amazing—it changed my whole life. I’m a rapper now. That never would have happened if I wasn’t thrown into that.”

Still, It Took an Intervention From an Older Brother to Steer Astronautalis to the Music He Came to Love

Astronautalis describes his early music taste as “punk music, and the Smiths—British rock, alternative rock, grunge.” It wasn’t until his older brother interceded that Astronautalis found the sounds that he would make his calling card. “A few months after I moved to Florida, he gave me a tape that had Lord Finesse’s ‘Return of the Funky Man’ on it, and filled out the rest of it with songs from Guru’s ‘Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1.’” It was love at first listen—he now credits Finesse as “the reason I became a rapper.”

He’s Always Been an Artist, But Music Wasn’t His First Love

Astronautalis attended an arts magnet school. “By my senior year I was taking five theater classes,” he says. “I was completely immersed in directing and acting and every part of the process.” Still, once the rap bug bit, he was consumed. “I was freestyling every day between classes. I wouldn’t even eat lunch—I’d grab a cookie and then I’d go rap. Between classes, we’d meet in the hallway and rap. After school, we’d wait for the busses and we’d rap. It was like rap camp. I was working on theater all day in my classes, every other minute was spent rapping.”

Astronautalis Rediscovered His Love of Hip-Hop Working with Indie Rockers

In 2014, four albums into his career and feeling burned out on hip-hop, Astronautalis found himself chatting one night with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. “He and I were shooting the shit and he said, ‘hey man, I just got a bunch of weird synthesizers and effects boxes, want to come over and fuck around?’ He then called up Ryan Olson [of Poliça and Gayngs] and Sean Carey [also of Bon Iver].”

Olson quickly took the lead in the studio, and the quartet (which later christened themselves Jason Feathers) got to work. “I come from a background where, when I make music, I overthink everything,” he relates. “Justin and I are both the same—we’re micromanagers with music. Ryan doesn’t let you think about stuff.” The result wasn’t just an album, De Oro, but a new approach to music for Astronautalis.

Now in His Mid-30s, Astronautalis Couldn’t Be More Excited About the State of Rap Music Today

“The LA scene is the most exciting that it’s been, with Busdriver and Open Mike Eagle and Milo,” he notes. “Dudes in Florida making cool shit like Denzel Curry. Just in Minnesota, dudes like Allan Kingdom, Corbin and Bobby Raps. And all of those dudes are listening to Young Thug, all of those dudes are listening to Kendrick. That’s the coolest part.” 

Others might worry about being left behind, but Astronautalis is too busy being inspired. “Two thirds of their music I fuckin’ love so much, and one third I realize I’m too old to get, and that’s all good with me.”

The Freewheeling Approach of Ryan Olson and Boundary-Pushing Young Talent Combined to Spur On the Creation of Astronautalis’ New Album, ‘Cut The Body Loose’

“You come to a record with a bunch of ideas and plans and concepts, but ultimately you have to let the record be what it wants to be,” he says. In this case, that meant jettisoning his usual laser-cut rhyme schemes and meticulously workshopped lyrics in favor of something more spontaneous and less guarded. “I think records are defined not necessarily by the ideas and concepts in the artist’s brains, but they’re defined by the way the artist solved problems on that record.”

The Way Astronautalis Solved His Problems on ‘Cut The Body Loose’ Makes It His Most Exciting Release to Date

“It was less like surgery and more like shooting a shotgun,” he chuckles. That approach to songwriting mimics the album’s aggressive, off-the-cuff lyrical content. The result is a record that bleeds passion via both righteous homily (bombastic album-opener “Kurt Cobain”) and muted prayer (the skittering, downbeat “Forest Fire”). It’s a reckoning with the American south that treats the region’s mythology and reality with equal respect, addressing its quirks and foibles with reverence.

The Album’s Title is a Reference to the Jazz Funeral Tradition of New Orleans

The term “cut the body loose” references the moment where the musicians accompanying the procession in a traditional New Orleans funeral, upon leaving the deceased at their final resting place, switch from mournful dirges to buoyant celebrations of life. It’s catharsis and redemption in song, and the power to move forward with life even when neither are available—themes of dark and light that echo throughout the album.

‘Cut The Body Loose’ Draws Deeply From Many Southern Black Musical Traditions, Ones Astronautalis Grew Up In Dialogue With, Yet Apart From

“I’m never going to be Allen Toussaint, I’m never going to be Professor Longhair, I’m never going to be Juvenile, I’m never going to be Trick Daddy,” the rapper acknowledges. “I try to know it all academically and I try to know it all emotionally. I try and talk to people who make it, I try to talk to people who grew up with it.”

It’s a delicate dance, honoring the traditions of the region while synthesizing them into something uniquely his own, one that Astronautalis takes seriously. “At the end of the day, I hope people can understand that I’m coming at it with a great deal of respect.”

Ultimately, 'Cut The Body Loose' Is a Harsh Yet Hopeful Look at an America That Once Was, and How Its Revolutionary Spirit Lives On

Cut The Body Loose is both a love letter and a parental scolding to an America that often seems to have lost sight of its promise, a notion that grew especially poignant for Astronautalis as he toured Eastern Europe.

“I watched all my friends get jobs they hate and buy houses they didn’t really like and sink into that quagmire,” he laments. “Meanwhile, I’m in Romania and I’m watching teenagers break into Ceausescu's old theater and turn it into a shitty nightclub. I watched people literally fight to keep a club open—like, fight the police. I see the American Dream mythology alive and well in Romania. That was the most inspiring thing in the world with me.”