Portland Rapper Bryson the Alien Drops a Video With Open Mike Eagle

Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon is a collaboration between L.A. indie psych duo Pioneer 11 and Bryson. They’ve released two tracks together so far on POW Recordings.

Bryson the Alien (Courtesy of Bryson the Alien)

On Wednesday, Sept 15, local rapper Bryson the Alien released a music video, with his group Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon, that featured Open Mike Eagle. Not only does the critically acclaimed Chicago—now L.A.-based—rapper appear on the track, he’s in the video, playing a conspiracy theorist, the complement to Bryson’s space being branding.

“I’m saying. They’re all around. They’re gonna storm the compound any second now so you shoulda hit ‘like’ a long time ago,” Open Mike Eagle mugs for the camera.

“Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon is a collaboration between L.A. indie psych duo Pioneer 11 and I,” Bryson told WW over email. “We started working together and recorded an entire album remotely during the pandemic—them in L.A., me in PDX.

So far, the group has released two tracks on Jeff Weiss’ label POW Recordings: “3D” featuring Open Mike Eagle and “Régine” featuring Fat Tony.

Bryson says he felt lucky that Open Mike Eagle hopped on the song without ever meeting any of the group’s members. “He said he thought the song was dope so that’s what sold him.”

Though they’re in a video together, they actually still haven’t met. Bryson flew to L.A. to shoot his parts separately. He said he hoped that might change at Open Mike Eagle’s show tonight at Mississippi Studios.

While Bryson is known for unexpected rhymes and styles, his collaborations with Pioneer 11 so far carry an interesting whispering element and casual mention of the pandemic. On “Régine,” he raps “clean hands, mask on, gimme 6 feet.”

Check out the video for “3D” below:

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