About Rat Park

Record

Subject: Rat Park
Active since: 2020
Formed: Harlem, New York City
Last seen: Los Angeles, California
Sound: Anarcho-punk, hip hop, dancehall, ska
Known associates: Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy). Coyote. Raul “Riff” Cuellar.
Status: Recording

Notes

Three songs. One Harlem apartment. An acoustic guitar recorded through a tiny microphone until it clipped to the extreme, a laptop and a pile of lifted samples.

Nobody mixed it. Nobody mastered it. So Rat Park called it the No Mixes, No Masters tape (cheeky bastards) and turned it loose. It got dubbed, bootlegged and shoved hand to hand through the DIY punk underground, basement to basement, until copies were turning up from Belgrade to Osaka.

It wasn’t the first. Older Rat Park recordings and live footage moved the same way. Physical media only. No uploads, no algorithm. They get rarer every year. Find one on Discogs and you got lucky.

The tape ultimately landed with Raul “Riff” Cuellar at Riff Audio in LA. Riff played it for Tim Armstrong. Armstrong said the band needed to meet Jesse Michaels. Michaels ended up making a cameo on the new version of “Rat Park.”

The new record is the first time the rats let anyone else in the room. Riff behind the desk. Guest spots from Michaels and LA rap duo Coyote. First singles in early 2027, vinyl to follow.

Rat Park. Anonymous anarcho-punk and hip hop collective. East Coast punk veterans. Out of Harlem, living in LA. No names.

Recordings

Upcoming album

Untitled. Recorded 2026. Produced, engineered and mixed by Raul “Riff” Cuellar at Riff Audio, Los Angeles. Cuellar has worked with NOFX, Suicidal Tendencies, Simple Plan, The Interrupters, The Casualties, Joyce Manor, DECEITS, Bad Suns, CHON and Mutemath.

Black-and-white photo from the Rat Park sessions at Riff Audio: boots up in the foreground, the engineer at the mixing desk facing the monitors, amps and racks of outboard gear on either side. — Riff Audio, Los Angeles.

Questions

Who is Rat Park?: An anonymous music and art collective, active since 2020, formed in Harlem, New York City and based in Los Angeles.
Who is on the new album?: Guest spots from Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy on “Rat Park” and Los Angeles rap duo Coyote on “Thought Control.” Neither is a member of Rat Park. Produced by Raul “Riff” Cuellar at Riff Audio.
When is new music out?: Singles coming early 2027. A vinyl pressing is planned for mid 2027.
How do I book Rat Park?: Email [email protected]. Press: [email protected].