Artist profile ·
MAGNA CARDA KEEPS ADDING WORDS TO AUSTIN HIP-HOP’S LIVE VOCABULARY
Megz Kelli and Dougie Do mix jazz-minded players, rap and a slow-cooked rollout to keep stretching the form.
For more than a decade, Magna Carda has kept live instruments at the center of Austin hip-hop.
Rapper Megz Kelli and producer-keyboardist Dougie Do, also known as Chris Beale, built a language where jazz, rap, R&B and funk can trade the lead from project to project while the duo’s chemistry stays instantly recognizable.
Slow-cooked on purpose
Their March 2026 album inninoutcheamind brings jazz back to the front with layers of live players and Kelli’s close, personal writing. The official credits read like an Austin session directory, with names across bass, drums, keys, horns, guitar and strings.
The duo stretched the rollout on purpose and let the album breathe past release week. That patience fits a group whose live vocabulary took years to build, with resources, collaborators and stage time stacking up until the old ambitions could finally show up in full color.
