Gaps

Gaps is a name used by more than one act. One is a Brighton, UK duo made up of Rachel Butt and Ed Critchley. The other is the pseudonym of Ricardo Tejeda, a rapper from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and, according to the verified facts, a phonk and trap producer.

Brighton duo

The Brighton act is a duo of Rachel Butt and Ed Critchley. They describe themselves as a project built around seagulls, a guitar, laptops and red wine. Their sound is described as shoegaze with electronic elements, led by guitar and wailing vocals. The act is based in Brighton and has an online presence through YouTube, SoundCloud and Twitter.

Ricardo Tejeda

Ricardo Tejeda records under the name Gaps. He is raised in the Sistrunk area of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in a multiracial household, and develops an early interest in hip hop in the 1990s. He comes from a lower-middle-class working family. His first album, Primitive Slob, appears in 2005. The record is shaped by personal experience and political concerns, and it establishes him as an independent rapper in the Fort Lauderdale scene.

He begins work on a follow-up album in late 2008. I’m Not Dead Yet appears in 2009 and continues the approach of the earlier album, with a more developed flow and delivery. It includes “Sunshine State Of Mind”, described as a tribute to Fort Lauderdale, and “Emergency Sirens”, a strongly political track. Around this period he also records additional songs, including material that appears on the free double-single internet release Beat Her Heart Out.

Gaps also performs regularly and hosts a monthly event in downtown Fort Lauderdale. In 2011 he co-founds The Party Monsters with Protoman, Jabrjaw, Dirty Dem and Bonus. The group debuts with “Born To Roll”, a remix of Masta Ace’s song of the same name, and is described as Broward’s hip-hop supergroup.

While involved with The Party Monsters, he works on two solo EPs. Live To Love Another Day appears in 2012 and focuses on heartbreak, deaths in his family and circle, and self-doubt. The second EP, Music For Modern Living & Everyday Situations, also appears in 2012 and is described as political and experimental hip hop. It includes the singles “Fight Song!” and “Blood On The Floor”. In the same period he tours Florida with the Black Locust Society.