Finite Galaxy

A slow-burning, disco funk-tinged groove led by a sensual and breathy voice seems to be the order of the day to newcomers of my ears, Finite Galaxy.It is gloriously laid back and seductive with excellent rap in English and Hindi, this is soulful hip-hop at its finest. It’s a good old love song too and its rich and alluring demeanour shows promise from this U.S. cross-cultural duo.It merges mellow with surging intent and works extremely well at the given tempo with some sitar and psychedelic soundscapes thrown in for good measure. It seems like Finite Galaxy know no bounds and as they say ‘this is Ying and Yang and it’s a simple thing’… - Blues and Soul Magazine

When two galaxies collide in space, it’s less planetary destruction and more the seamless merging of two astronomical forces — like two flocks of birds becoming one. The rappers who make up Finite Galaxy, Sun Deep and Flo St8, were at different points in their musical journeys when they met. But their similar wavelengths have produced hefty, poetic bilingual rap blended with expansive sample-based beats that display a relentless quest for refinement and enlightenment.

Sun Deep didn’t even listen to hip-hop until 2018. Born in India and living in Oklahoma City since 2013, he was more interested in prog rock until his then-girlfriend, now-wife, took him to see The Roots. He was hooked. His first attempts at crafting beats were less than stellar, but he kept producing and sending instrumentals to rappers and other producers.

In late 2020, Flo St8 met Sun Deep during a weekly studio session with Oklahoman rapper Thomas Who?, where they realized they shared tastes in beats and aspirations in music. Flo St8 had been rapping for close to a decade; he sharpened his skills as part of a rap collective, where they all lived and recorded together. “It’s a really powerful thing when you’re around a lot of rappers because you pick up different things from different rappers that actually help you become better,” Flo St8 said.

He had just returned from a musical hiatus when Sun Deep pulled him back in. They both desired to dig into deeper ideas with their music, and the universe resonated with them both in terms of scope and significance.

For Flo St8, it represents the grand, uncontrollable and sometimes dangerous beauty that life is. Sun Deep partly attributes his love of space to his day job as a physicist, but he also finds connection in its utter vastness. “It can be very daunting to look at the universe and how big it is, and we’re just wanting to shrink it,” he said. “What’s truly your universe is the people around you.”

This idea inspired their name Finite Galaxy, which came from the title of the first track they created. It was one of Sun Deep’s first times rapping on a song; he decided to rap in Hindi as it felt more natural and spoke to his experience as a third culture kid having lived in both India and the United States.

He hopes his reflections on his past personal struggles help listeners with their own. “I want to shine a light on that dark place in my life and show people, ‘Hey, you’re not alone,’” he said.

Finite Galaxy deals in many shades of hip-hop to achieve the same emotional weight as its lyrics. Hard-hitting songs like “Awake” growl confidence with booming 808 bass and snapping drums. The group’s latest single, “You Are the One,” fuses a lulling plucked bassline and reverbed sitar into a lo-fi slow jam celebrating the celestial power of love.

As the two play more shows, they’ve found other ways to switch up their sound, like rapping with only a keyboard as accompaniment for a Sofar Sounds show in March. An NPR Tiny Desk submission had them bring out an eight-piece band, including strings, drums, French horn and harp. Finite Galaxy plans to add an Indian percussionist to the ensemble for its headlining set at Norman Music Festival.

“It makes you kind of humble that someone who raps in Hindi is given so much love in a place like Oklahoma,” Sun Deep said. “Even though nobody understands what I’m talking about most of the time, except when they check out my lyrics, they just knew the energy was good and we’re talking about some real stuff.”

As Finite Galaxy experiments with its sonic palette — their next songs will give the group’s own spin on lo-fi trap — their altruistic aims, and their philosophical way of attaining them, will keep their star system spinning. - 405 Magazine

I'm sitting here listening to the rain beat on my windows with the new album from Oklahoma City rap duo, Finite Galaxy playing in the background. The project is entitled "The Getaway", and its a soothing, innovative, intergalactic-like musical experience. You can feel and hear a blend of hard-hitting classic rap vibes in two different languages -- English and Hindi. Sundeep Sharma, one half of the duo, raps in Hindi. He was born in India but moved to the United States 15 years ago. He's started messing around with music in 2018, and served as producer on this project.

His rap-partner, Flo St8 was born in Indiana and now lives in Oklahoma. He's also a producer and raps; he can be heard rapping in English on the album.

"I am just playing the music that comes from the gods..."

"The Getaway" is a smooth, 12 track album. Sonically, you get chill-hop, lofi, alternative hip hop vibes. The duo's album gives off everything from smooth jazz, funk, and soul to lofi, classic-rap laced with traces of EDM. Sundeep's enthusiasm for the project and its groundbreaking sound is infectious. "We are the only bilingual rap duo in Oklahoma, and maybe even in the entire US," he said. There is no doubt something special about the energies combined on "The Getaway". The album opens with a dramatic and well orchestrated Prologue that has a boom bap rhythm that pulsates from the beat into the lyrics.

Standouts on the album include COMB which has a nice new-age, 90s nostalgic feel. On Drifting Away featuring Dark Gnome, the sound shifts from alt-rock to spaced out into lofi Hindi hip hop realness. Musically, Third Eye is dope. The looping and sampling will have you feeling like you're listening to West Coast rap at an Italian mob frequented restaurant. On Ruh Meri, Sundeep's verse where he raps about his soul feels like a juxtaposition of Hindustani hip hop, jazzy adlibs and groove.

On CitySunrise, I felt like I was floating through a dreamy rap-themed video game. Its a sick track that just keeps adding elements and spills into Skyline, another nice chill-hop instrumental that even throws in a reggae drumline towards the end. I like the mixture of lyrical and instrumental tracks. On Everything, Flo Str8 raps, "I am the freedom inside us." There is a liberal spirit both musically and lyrically that lives in this album. Overall, I'd definitely say "The Getaway" is worth a stream. - The Weekly Beat