The Palmer Squares

Acumental

Born January 6, 1988 Ronald Matt Brands grew up in Chicago as an only child. He was first exposed to Hip Hop at age nine when he saw the world premier of The Wu Tang Clan‘s “Killa Beez.” He went to Columbia College for Video Something and now uses that degree to do freelance video editing. His mother was initially against him pursuing a career hip hopping, but now affectionately refers to herself as Momumental.

Term

Born in 1990, Seth Zamost comes from a family rich with musical talent. His father, Paul Zamost, played bass in a Chicago punk band called The Effigies. In addition, his two older brothers, Zach and Ian are musicians in their own right. For the first two years of his rap career, Seth kept it secret from his parents until one of his older brothers mistakenly disclosed Seth’s hobby at the dinner table. Upon finding out about the hobby, his parents were unsurprised and supportive. Seth went to the American Academy of Arts for illustration.

High School

Seth Zamost and Matt Brands met in elementary school. Two years apart in age, Matt was a friend of Seth's older brother Ian and often spent time at Seth's house. As they got older they shared an interest in skateboarding and began hanging out more with each other. The first song they made together was a parody of Rich Boy‘s hit “Throw Some D‘s” titled “Throw Some Cheese.” While never planning on taking hip hop seriously, they obliged their friend’s demands to continue making music for their entertainment. To this day, they humbly maintain that they are no good at making music, but continue anyway because they and their listeners enjoy it, using said dissonance as a way to inspire others to pursue their passions unapologetically.

YouTube

As they became more familiar with the hip hop community, they began to realize that they could compete with and, in some ways, outperform the top tier commercial rappers their friends idolized. To that end, they started uploading long-winded single-take videos of them delivering dizzying rhymes dense with wordplay to YouTube. Finding the standard 16 bar verse too restrictive, they soon began to push themselves to deliver anywhere between 24 and 52 bars per verse. Doing so built them a devoted fan base and eventually garnered the attention of YouTube-famous emcee Wax who would inevitably call them out on a cypher, legitimizing their craft. They have since made an effort to evolve beyond the confines of the cypher community. Currently, they still post music videos, a weekly podcast and the occasional vlog to their YouTube channel, which now has over 14 million views.

Stank Face Records

On May 8, 2012, The Palmer Squares made their official debut with their Spooky Language EP. Touting George Carlin as a major inspiration, it was only fitting that their debut project was structured around quotes from the boundary testing comedian known for his ability to balance social commentary and hilarity. The debut, as well as its follow-up Square Tactics, were released independently.

October 22, 2013 found The Palmer Squares releasing their first official full-length project Finna. While the EPs were each entirely produced by a single creative, Nate Kiz and D.R.O. respectively, Finna found The Squares diversifying their production styles. This release also marked the debut of their independent label Stank Face Records. Since its founding, the label has added fellow Chicago rappers Will is Chillin’, Rebel Legato, Bruce Bayne, Loud Mouth, and producer Irineo.

In October 2014, Stank Face Records released the all-inclusive collaborative album Face Melt. Each track on the project featured as few as two or as many as six Stank Face rappers delivering their verses over production from fellow Stank Face member Irineo, frequent collaborators D.R.O. and Tommy Bazooka, or the new name, Drew Mantia. Drew Mantia would go on to become an integral part of Stank Face Records, producing a good amount of its material and mixing and mastering all of it. So integral in fact, that he has been called the “Third Square.” Even while collaborating, The Palmer Squares continued to work on their sophomore album.

On May 27, 2015, having made more music than they could fit on one project, The Palmer Squares released their polished, near-studio quality In Context mixtape. All that separated it from being an album was their decision to release it for free and the ensuing reduction in promotional efforts. It was not until May 25, 2016 that The Palmer Squares released their long awaited official Finna follow-up Planet of The Shapes. Boasting features from Watsky and fellow Chicago emcee Psalm One, the album explored the bounds of The Palmer Squares’ sound. As they continue to work towards their goal of becoming professional musicians, fans will continue to reap the benefits of what currently remains just a hobby.

On June 12th, 2017, The Palmer Squares released mixtape NaPalm with producer Nate Kiz, as a followup to 2012 EP Spooky Language.

After a tour across North America, titled The No More Jobs Tour, The Palmer Squares announced a project of the same name, which they created with their tour mates, Vantablac sol & Netherfriends, during the tours downtime. It was Released on March 6th, 2018 (March 3rd for their Patreons) on Spotify.