79rs Gang

New Orleans Black Masking Carnival music
New Orleans, Louisiana

Among the most riveting sights on Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans is the city’s Black Masking Carnival gangs enacting ritualistic musical battles in the streets, decked out in impossibly colorful, intricate costumery. Things can get tense, and rivalry between different neighborhoods, or wards, is common. When former rivals Jermaine Bossier, Big Chief of the 7th Ward Creole Hunters, and Romeo Bougere, Big Chief of the 9th Ward Hunters, teamed up to form the musical powerhouse 79rs Gang, they not only bridged a historical divide but set in motion what would become a revolutionary new sound.

“Masking” in New Orleans refers to “Black Masking Indians” or “Mardi Gras Indians” ceremonially stepping into the streets in their hand-sewn, three-dimensional feathered and beaded suits. Though exact origins are hard to pinpoint, since at least the 19th century Black New Orleanians have paid homage to Native Americans who assisted their enslaved ancestors on Mardi Gras—the final day of Carnival. Through a spectacular display of Afrocentric visual, musical, and theatrical arts, they represent their neighborhoods—moving through and confronting one another in city streets with tambourines and cowbells, and performing a shared canon of call-and-response chants that, over generations, has influenced virtually all of the city’s signature music traditions. The Wild Magnolias, a famous Black masking gang, made history in 1970 when Big Chiefs Bo Dollis and Monk Boudreaux added funk musicians on several game-changing records. Fifty years later in 2020, 79rs Gang changed the game again—releasing Expect the Unexpected, a groundbreaking record incorporating electronic elements and hip hop.

Bougere and Bossier both have deep roots in New Orleans’s rich music history.. Bougere’s father, Rudy Bougere, was founder and Big Chief of the 9th Ward Hunters. Romeo began masking with him at age 4, assuming leadership at 17. Steeped in New Orleans funk, hip hop, and R&B, he is a soulful vocalist and strong percussionist. Bossier is part of a Black Masking family as well. He grew up singing in the church, and is the grandson of Raymond Lewis, an important musical figure in New Orleans R&B. He began masking at 14, first with the Yellow Pocahontas, and then with Trouble Nation, before forming the 7th Ward Creole Hunters. In 2014, the two teamed up to record their debut Fire on the Bayou, followed by the single “Wrong Part of Town” in 2017—both with traditional chants and instrumentation. However, Romeo explains, “The norm, for me, wasn’t going to cut it … the norm is what people expect.”

Producer, recording engineer, and drummer Eric Heigle added the unexpected to Expect the Unexpected. Layering in sequencers, synthesizers, and drum machines, Heigle expanded their existing sound with entirely new elements. Harkening back to the Mardi Gras Indian funk sound and instrumentation established by the Wild Magnolias, the 79rs Gang performs live as an eight-piece band. Joining Romeo, Jermaine, and Eric in Richmond are Theodore “Scoo” Gurley, masking and percussion; Raja Kassis on guitar; Taylor Guarisco on bass; Cesar Bacaro on percussion; and Theron Anderson, masking and percussion. Together, they propel a deep New Orleans tradition into thrilling new territory. “At the end of the day, things have to change,” Jermaine says. “We don’t want to sound like everybody else. We want to be different, to tell stories in a different way.”