The first single from the upcoming full-length “EL GUANTE’S HAUNTED STUDIO APARTMENT,” “Harry Potter” also represents emcee/poet/activist/blogger El Guante’s first release for Twin Cities-based Tru Ruts/Speakeasy Records.

“We picked this as the first single because it really represents what I stand for as an artist,” El Guante says. “This is a song about moving forward, about having the courage to attempt to change the canon even if you’re not a household name. I believe that indie-hip hop is too formulaic; too many heads are of the mindset that if it’s not a straightforward East coast boom-bap sound with a rapper rapping about rapping, it’s not ‘hip hop.’ But underground hip hop, in my opinion, can be about more than shit-talking and empty platitudes—it can be a higher form of communication.”

Despite the title, the song is not about J.K. Rowling’s young wizard. Rather, it uses Harry Potter as a metaphor for making a splash seemingly out of nowhere, dramatically impacting the world against all odds as both the “Harry Potter” books and hip hop as a culture did. It’s an unexpected juxtaposition, but it works.

The single’s B-side, the fan-favorite “Esta Tarde,” may at first glance appear to be the A-side’s polar opposite: a warm, laid-back love song to offset the gloom and doom of “Harry Potter.” But the two songs aren’t so different. Both challenge traditional songwriting formulas.

“Love songs in hip hop are always either feel-good, saccharine nonsense or dark, woe-is-me melodrama,” El Guante says. “This song is a more realistic look at how relationships often play out. It’s not always pretty, and it’s not always ugly…I love the whole idea of bittersweetness.”

The single also features three bonus tracks that will not be on the album: a live in-studio recording of the song “Greed,” a political/philosophical exploration of what greed really is; a studio-recording of the spoken-word piece “The Mommy Effect,” a vivid and passionate anti-military recruitment poem; and a special mixtape-style suite called “Black Clouds on Neptune,” four verses all dealing with the evils of organized religion.

'Harry Potter' is released by indie label, Tru Ruts/Speakeasy Records. See www.truruts.com for more information. To request interviews or additional images, please contact info@truruts.com or 612-288-9491.