RH Review: The Lollapalooza Experience (2018)
After a long four-day weekend of countless live acts, underground after parties, and spending over a hundred dollars in Uber’s; it feels great to be in the AC recapping the Lollapalooza experience.
Arriving early on Thursday to see Valee was the perfect way to start off the festival. The energy during “Two 16’s” was insane. One person, who looked about 17, was screaming every lyric directly in my ear. If I wasn’t sure about the lyrics, I certainly am now. Also the photo below is legendary.
After helping tear down the temporary studio set up hosted by Closed Sessions at SoHo House, I found my way to the front of the Bud Light stage to see Travis Scott. With his new album Astroworld dropping an hour after his performance, the crowd was ridiculous. I had a difficult time recording any of the show due to the mosh pits.
Tyler The Creator and Post Malone were two notable acts on Friday. Post Malone receives a lot of hate in the hip-hop community, but his set was much better than expected. His voice sounded strong and it felt like the entire audience knew every word during his performance. I added a clip from Tyler The Creator’s set below to give an idea of the audience.
[iframe id="https://player.vimeo.com/video/283980497"]
Saturday was the least exciting day for me. I missed Femdot from sleeping in too long. Other than LL Cool J, the other acts I saw were disappointing. Lil Pump found a way to be worse than my already low expectations. GoldLink sounded as if he didn’t have enough material for an entire hour. The energy of the festival was redeemed during Hippie Sabotage’s performance at their after party. The two brothers from Sacramento killed it.
The final day ended strong. Knox Fortune had the most intimate show of the weekend. Their crowd was also the most mature I saw all weekend, with the median age above 18 for the first time. Lil Uzi Vert is a rock star. To think about seeing him at the Metro just two years ago, to playing at the main stage at Lolla is crazy. The crowd loved him.
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All in all, the weekend was a success. It’s almost hard to believe Lolla is over.
Watch Taylor Bennett's New Visual
Ahead of the release of his up coming EP Be Yourself (July 12th) Taylor Bennett has released the visual for "Rock 'N' Roll" produced by Naked Gallery. The colors in this video are the first thing that catch your eye, everything is soft and warm, and each different scene . There are a ton of quick cuts in beginning of the video, but as it goes on the scenes get longer, and the plot reveals itself. The non-sequential reveals in the video make it feel like it was directed by Quentin Tarantino. The song is an up beat summer joint produced by CEO BEATZ and features vocals from Zxxk. If the album is anything like the singles, Be Yourself is going to be an anthemic, vibey testament to Taylor's creativity.
This video shows a summertime Chicago story, ivy on bricks, bubblegum on your shoes and of course a finesse.
https://youtu.be/OjdQjWFbFGE
Be Yourself comes out in two days on all streaming platforms.
Akonixx - Broken [Directed by Abiola Are]
It seems like more and more these days rappers are opening up about their mental health. What was once a taboo subject has become a go to topic for the newest generation of MCs. In the video for "Broken", the lead single from South Side rapper Akonixx's latest project Torn, Akonixx brings us into his head to examine what's going on.
The opening is set in a therapist's office and in the very begining he offhandedly admits to suicidal thoughts. His casual approach to his mental health is a signature thoughout Torn. The video has some serious Get Out vibes with Akonixx running away from a masked figure but theres a twist...
https://youtu.be/plq-9F0EIgs
IAMDDB Drops New Single
IAMDDB is one of the most promising talents emerging in the UK. She blew up in England last year with her release of Hoodrich Vol. 3 which had singles like "Shade" and "More". Last night she released "Drippy" complete with visuals. The track has everything we've come to expect from IAMDDB, confidence, style and finesse. "Drippy" is the lead single off of her upcoming EP Flight Mode Vol. 4 which is set to release next week on June 22.
https://youtu.be/ngD9Ps8i9R4
Jorja Smith Covers Rihanna
Ahead of her debut album Lost & Found - which comes out tomorrow - English R&B singer Jorja Smith appeared on BBC Radio 1 to do a live cover of Rihanna's "Man Down".
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Jorja took the world by storm last year when she went on to tour with Bruno Mars after she was featured on Drake's "Get It Together". Check back tomorrow for our review of Lost & Found.
Jay Rock Wins With New Video
Jay Rock has released the visual for his track "Win" and it just confirms that T.D.E. isn't going away any time soon. With adlibs from Kendrick Lamar throughout the song and cameo appearances from Isaiah Rashad, SZA, Ab-Soul and other Top Dawg heavy hitters Jay Rock proves that he is part of the upper tier of rappers.
The video is directed by Dave Meyers and Dave Free (of The Little Homies) who also directed the Humble video. "Win" is the first single off of Jay Rock's upcoming album Redemption, which will come out June 15th. Watch the video below.
SoloSam - Fast [Directed by StripMall]
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Chicago's SoloSam is one of those MC's that you always remember. He has a larger than life persona, able to make anything sound fire with his deep baritone and powerful delivery. His standout single "Fast" caught my attention a while ago and today it is nice to see the song get a renwed lease on life by way of a video treatment.
In a fantastic visual shot by StripMall, Solo calls on the classic heist storyline in an Oceans 13-type, cameo laced epic. Featuring fellow creatives from around the city as accomplices, Solo plans a high stakes theft in a downtown building. The production value for an independently shot music video is remarkable to say the least.
MFnMelo -Whatcha Feel (Feat. DaeDaePivot)
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In his colorful retro inspired video for "Whatcha Feel" MFnMelo showcases a butter smooth delivery. Shot and directed by 119 Productions the video pays homage to simpler times where music videos weren't much more than glorified concert footage with cool effects on them. MFnMelo plays the role as lead singer while his backing band including Saba provides the Funk.
The beat produced by Phoelix and Saba is a Key heavy instrumental with a grooving breakbeat that MFnMelo rides with ease. "Whatcha Feel" is seductive but insightful. A book of poems filled with couplets of knowledge from the authors inner dialogue.
"Won't be just another STAT,
I'm Amar'e in his prime,
Hope I rise like a Phoenix before I make it to New York."