Why I'm So Very Credible

Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre is an emcee, spoken-word poet, activist, writer and educator based out of Minneapolis, MN. He's been grand poetry slam champion of Minneapolis, St. Paul and Madison, and is a two-time National Poetry Slam champion (2009 and 2010, St. Paul team).

As an emcee, Guante is signed to rising indie label Tru Ruts/Speakeasy Records and is a multiple Independent Music Awards nominee, URB Magazine "Next 1000" artist and one of City Pages' "Artists of the Year" for 2008; he's shared bills with some of the biggest names in independent hip hop, including Talib Kweli, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Zion I, Sage Francis, Dead Prez and many more. From clubs to correctional facilities to theaters to high school auditoriums to rallies and marches, Guante plays solo, with labelmate See More Perspective, or backed by producer Big Cats! and a full band.

On top of these artistic endeavors, Guante's also found time to freelance as a music writer, facilitate university-level social justice courses, spearhead the "Hip Hop Against Homophobia" concert series, teach writing and performance workshops through the MN Spoken-Word Association and serve as arts coordinator of the Canvas, a St. Paul teen arts center.

HELLA ACCOLADES:
~2010 National Poetry Slam champion (Saint Paul team)
~2009 National Poetry Slam champion (Saint Paul team)

~Grand Poetry Slam Champion of St. Paul (2009), Minneapolis (2008) and Madison (2006)

~URB Magazine “Next 1000” for 2008
~2008 Independent Music Awards finalist for Best Hip Hop Album and Best Hip Hop Song
~One of City Pages’ “Artists of the Year” for 2008
~City Pages’ “Best Slam Poet” for 2009
~2009 VERVE grant recipient for spoken-word poetry

~People’s Choice for “Best Slam Poet” and “Artist/Activist Award” at the 2009 Urban Griots Minnesota Spoken-Word Awards

BEAUTIFULLY NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
~Soundset 2009 w/ Atmosphere, the Pharcyde, Freeway, Brother Ali and MF DOOM
~Ripple Effect 2008 w/ Rage Against the Machine, Michael Franti, Dead Prez and Anti-Flag
~Forward Music Fest 2008 w/ Neko Case and Killdozer
~Homegrown Hip Hop Fest 2008 w/ Kid Sister and Doomtree
~Homegrown Hip Hop Fest 2007 w/ Brother Ali and Rhymefest
~Iraq Veterans Against the War 2008 National Conference
~Vices to Verses 2010 w/ Dead Prez, Toki Wright, more
~Manifestation 2009 w/ Sage Francis, B.Dolan, Building Better Bombs and Cecil Otter
~2009 B-Side Jazz Festival w/ Mr. Lif and Dessa
~Guante's Haunted Van Tour, Verbal Graffiti Tour, a billion other shows...

NICE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT MY LATEST ALBUM, AN UNWELCOME GUEST:

"Guante: A Warrior With Words" feature story in City Pages

“Earnestness can go wrong in hip hop. On this album, it goes very right.” --Sage Francis

"Part Cormac McCarthy, part Woody Guthrie, and part Public Enemy, An Unwelcome Guest is an intricately woven poetic and sonic excursion through landscapes mental, emotional, and physical, cementing Guante and Big Cats!'s status as two of the best emerging artists within Twin Cities hip-hop." -- Justin Schell, Twin Cities Daily Planet

"Fortunately, Guante has a deft sense of humor and style in his arsenal, along with a battle-hewn tongue that rattles off sharply-spit rhymes and high-concept narratives. His upcoming album An Unwelcome Guest tells the story of a traveler's fight against a zombie horde (stop me if you've heard that one before), but Guante's lyrics go deeper than the familiar comic-book premise into an authority-questioning meditation on violence that'd do John Romero's most allegorical moments proud. And Big Cats, his production partner on the new album, has the kind of chops that can only add to the atmospheric resonance." --Nate Patrin, City Pages

"It really is one of the best local releases of the year and is a must listen for any fans of hip hop." --Josh Keller, Whiskey for the Holy Ghost

"...one of the best rappers in the Twin Cities today, not to mention its best spoken word poet." --Jon Behm, Reviler

"Over bandmate Big Cats!’s layered, dark beats, rapper Guante is an avalanche of words." --Jay Boller, MN Daily

"... has worked hard to create a style and flow uniquely his own. He has also made a habit of exploring issues at greater length and depth than most rappers ever do. On his newest record, An Unwelcome Guest, Guante somehow manages to push the envelope even further." --Emily Mills, Dane101

"Man of many words Kyle 'Guante' Myhre slams poetry, regales with rap and hypnotizes as an emcee." --St. Paul Pioneer Press

NICE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT ME BEFORE:

"Giving you something to think about while nodding your head to his nimble, casual flow, El Guante could very well follow Atmosphere and P.O.S. in the long-line of outstanding rappers to break out from the Midwest." --CMJ 1/16/09

"Whether writing of lost causes or zombie apocalypses, El Guante demonstrates impeccable artistic control; in performance, he has the audience's undivided attention." --City Pages "Best of 2009" 4/21/09

"El Guante quietly rolled into the Twin Cities' hip-hop and spoken-word scenes with a hand grenade, and pulled the pin. If you look anywhere in those scenes now, you'll see his shrapnel buried deep in every wall..." --City Pages 'Artists of the Year' 12/23/08

"[EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is a megaton bomb on local indie rap, bound to be the heaviest breath of fresh air hip hop heads will suck in all year...the activist/rapper/poet/teacher has got so damn much to say that even this project's great length and density can hardly contain the wealth of fresh insight, emotion and information he seems capable of conveying" --City Pages 3/24/08

"[EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is an album that's sure to put El Guante on the verge of national exposure..." --Isthmus 3/6/08

"Equal parts insightful and inciteful, [EL GUANTE'S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT] is an inspiring declaration for those who love hip-hop’s potential for social change but hate how little that potential’s realized" --Twin Cities Daily Planet 4/9/08

"The new album proves expansively witty, El Guante keeping his snarled sense of humor even when harping on the finer points of art and hip hop..." --The Onion AV Club 3/5/08

"Shocking as it may be, somehow between writing plays, literature and poetry and organizing politics, this Minneapolis renaissance man still finds a way to hold down a rap career. Chock-full of biting political commentary, and with all due respect to Slug, this guy is attempting to carry the Twin Cities on his back...." --URB Magazine Next 1000 6/3/08

"Slamming his way through each beat, literally, is the slam-artist, and lyrical slaughter-house known as El Guante with his potent yet poetic new album..." --Rift Magazine 7/9/08

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email me directly at guantemail@yahoo.com

For all bookings, collaborations, adding songs to compilations, getting me to lead workshops, all that kind of stuff, hit up the management:

info@truruts.com | 612-288-9491 | TRU RUTS MYSPACE