Gangstagrass goes back to the future with Rappalachia, or, you might say, Jay-Z meets Ralph Stanley. Blending bluegrass and hip-hop seems like an unlikely recipe for success, but don’t tell that to Rench, the mastermind behind the highly successful rap ’n’ grass project Gangstagrass. When he was going to grade school, recess was a time of breakdancing on cardboard to RUN-DMC. But at home, the records on the stereo were Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash and the more you think about moonshiner songs and the like, the more sense this makes. That musical mash up made a lasting impression and sent Rench on a cross-country journey to play country-flavored hip-hop in dive bars. You might have heard Gangstagrass's "Long Hard Times to Come" as the theme of the FX series "Justified"—now hear them in person! Gangstagrass comes to Michigan with a new release, "Broken Hearts and Stolen Money."