[SXSW Interview] Cheers Elephant, SXSW Veterans
Photography by Andrew Zeiter
Watch Cheers Elephant for even a fraction of a sogn and you can tell they've been doing this for awhile. The majority of the upbeat, indie rock from Los Angeles by way of Philadelphia has been playing together since grade school, plenty of time to get to know one another and smooth out the rough spots in any performance piece. Unlike most somewhat-traditional four piece bands I caught throughout the whirlwind that was SXSW, Cheers Elephant (which may have one of the best band name-backstories there are) had life, excitement and personality lost amongst many 'rock' bands today. Frontman Derek Krzywicki, who has a name only I can truly appreciate, is a breath of fresh air onstage, playfully moving his hips in a faux Elvis impression, gliding across the stage, managing to not interrupt a guitar solo while carefully executing yoga-like moves. If he is the hook then the music is the sinker as the rest of the band backs up his front-of-stage heroics with a general aesthetic that perfectly lent itself to a mid-afternoon day in Austin, Texas. Before they got onstage I was able to link up with the guys from Cheers Elephant and chop it up about their packed schedule of twelve shows in a week, how the world has treated them and everything in between just before they took the stage at the Big Picture Media showcase at the Thirsty Nickel on Wednesday March 12. Read the full conversation here.
[SXSW Interview] Bishop Nehru Embodies 'The Twenty Year Loop'
Photography by Asia Ashley
For the length of my career covering music, one theory has always stayed planted firmly in the back of my mind. Explained to me in one of my first interviews, with 9th Wonder in 2009, the 'Twenty Year Loop' has shaped much of the way I have consumed and understood music, culture and art since. The idea is somewhat simple, that every two decades, themes, aesthetics and ideas will re-emerge and manifest themselves once again in popular culture. It can explain the current 90s trend we're enjoying, the bell bottom craze of the late 90s and even bridge to presidents No. 41 and 43. I've never been more eager to sit down with an artist to discuss this phenomena than I was last week in Austin as I arrived at The Omni Hotel to talk to 17-year-old NYC phenom Bishop Nehru. The young artist from Rockland County, NY has a distinctly Nas-like flow that is easily recognizable throughout his breakout project, Nehruvia which was released last year. If we're following the Twenty Year Loop to a t, then that would put us in 1994. On April 19 of that year, Nas released a little project by the name of Illmatic, which can be fully felt on every rhyme Nehru spits. In essence, Bishop Nehru is the Twenty Year Loop personified. This is not to say he is a carbon copy of Nasir Jones, far from it. Instead, the point is to draw a map of the way influences work and how they manifest in music today. To be sure, Nehru has set himself up for a productive career in hip-hop, having been tapped by WorldStarHipHop as their 'Rap Act of the Week' in July 2012 at age 15 for an 8-bar freestyle over Mos Def's "Mathematics". Since then he has garnered co-signs from his idol, Nas, opened for Wu Tang Clan on their 20th Anniversary Tour and positioned himself as the true boom-bap artist to be reckoned with. Currently working on his MF Doom-produced project which he calls 'the first project he's been proud off all the way through,' epect to hear Bishop Nehru's name talked about a couple decades from now when influences get brought up. Check out my Q+A with the budding east coast MC.
[SXSW Journal] Day 4
Photo by Kristen Wrzesniewski
The weekend in Austin started off quickly with several interviews on the docket early. My feet, blistered, sore and just generally unhappy about the situation, slipped into a pair of Converse boots with the thought it would help with all the moving. Strapped up and ready to go I headed out to The Blind Pig on 6th Street to talk to The Lonely Biscuits, a four piece jam/hip-hop/indie group from Nashville. The Belmont University students were on the back end of a wild collection of shows throughout SXSW and played a fitting mid-afternoon set after we had a chance to sit down and talk. As soon as I was done there, I raced across town to the Omni Hotel where I was to interview New York City’s rising star, 17-year-old Bishop Nehru. Sans photog for the week, I was able to get the lovely pair of Rasha Mosa and Asia Ashley of The Lab3l to lend a hand for what ended up being one of the more interesting interviews I’ve done in awhile. We discussed the theory of the ‘twenty year loop’, his ties to Nas and what we can expect next, words on that coming soon.
After that it was off to 502 Brushy Street on the other side of the highway to catch Chicago local Taylor Bennett perform at the House of Aura showcase. Technical problems led to him doing a rousing acapella performance before launching into a full set list. A trip to the Rap Genius Ranch ended up just getting me more miles on my ragged feet as we made the trip just a bit too late to catch Nas actually talking about Illmatic. It was at about this point I realized the ridiculousness of this ‘festival’ and how impractical a town Austin really is. There is a ton going on in ATX for SXSW, so much in fact you can find music just about anywhere you go. However, once you walk up to that venue with your Bomberman-looking arm of wristbands, trying desperately to find the one for this particular venue, you’ll likely find there is an extra hierarchy above your ‘credential’ (i.e. it’s a corporate party with people who don’t really even like the music), or you’ll be directed to a mile-long line with a shrug and a ‘good luck’. So, I spent a good amount of time Friday walking to shows like SaveMoney’s set at Clive, only to hear Tumblr only likes folks in badges and decided to pack it in and meet up with some familiar faces at D.B. Riley’s on 6th where Marrow played an absolutely fantastic SXSW debut. Going back to Austin being impractical, keep in mind there is little to no public transportation, the highway system is like a toddler’s SimCity game and they have a train that literally runs like every three hours in a straight line down one street. Sorry guys, you have a way to go before you get true ‘city’ status. Anyway, after Marrow injected happiness into the souls of D.B. Riley’s patrons, I decided it was time to get out of the city and ended up at a mansion party about 20 minutes outside of town where we partied through the night. Looking forward to the last day, ready to get back to Chicago.
Marrow at D.B. Riley's
Taylor Bennett at House of Aura
The Lonely Biscuits at The Big Picture Media Showcase
[SXSW Journal] Day 3
Photo by Kristen Wrzesniewski
After a whirlwind Wednesday that had me crisscrossing the town chasing interviews left and right, Thursday took on a bit of a different tone. The festival continued on in the wake of the terrible accident that took the lives of two on Red River Street the night before as a car plowed through crowds to avoid a DUI check. With that in the back of their minds, festival-goers stormed the streets of Austin en masse. Seriously, en masse. The sheer number of people who made it out for either SXSW official and unofficial showcases, the iTunes Festival, the MTV Woodie Awards or one of the dozen parties taking place was pretty astounding. Deciding to experience a little more of what was happening everywhere, I hopped the ATX version of a Divvy bike and headed into town where I made my first stop at the Fader Fort for some much needed early cocktails and people watching. After awhile, I left to see what the Woodie Awards was all about since Austin Vesely was a strong favorite to capture his first major film award for ‘Best New Video’ for his work on Chance The Rapper’s “Everybody’s Something”. Before any of that could go down, or I can continue further with the story, I have to mention that the Woodie Awards really have no business being in Austin during SXSW. There is plenty to do and see without quite literally another festival being dropped right inside of it. But, Vic Mensa took the stage to screams as he opened with “Orange Soda” and moved into his up-tempo hit “Feel That”. I left there to head down to the Complex House where Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul took the stage to a packed house that seemed to know more of the words to their songs than they did. In the middle of the Schoolboy Q show, a fan got punched in the face, only to get called out by Q for not fighting back. “Don’t act like a bitch and let him fuck up your day! Do You!” Shouted the TDE rapper before launching into “Man of the Year” which popped the top off the party in a hurry. Scurrying out of there, I met up with a few local Chicago acts and stopped in the Columbia College AEMMP Hip-Hop Showcase which put on for the full breadth of the burgeoning scene in the city. Later that night, standing near where the accident happened a night before, a wall of people, shouting and walking with intense purpose began marching down Red River in a huge crowd. The crowd turned out to be none other than the A$AP Mob, with General Rocky leading the charge. It was weird, but I guess an interesting show of force. Thursday was slow, but Friday is going to be turnt, stay tuned for more and keep up with my experience at SXSW.
[SXSW Journal] Day 1
Photo by Andrew Zeiter
After sixteen and a half hours in my past-her-prime Chevy Trailblazer, my knees were sore and my back was knotted but I had gotten to Austin, and it was time to dive back into the deep sea that is South by Southwest. After hiking downtown through the cab-less wasteland that is downtown ATX and picking up the proper credentials, I took off for the W Hotel where local Chicago music label Maek was taking part in the Fashion Brain Bar, a cocktail party and show on the fourth floor of the W that served to introduce invitees to new acts. So, there are always lessons, and this year I got one early.
Having found a pair of brand new Converse Chucks in my closet from Christmas, I decided to run around my first day of SXSW tearing up my feet to the point of almost utter disrepair. Gingerly walking my way down the vaunted sixth avenue I came across artists from around Chicago’s scene including Calez, Legit, Eryn Allen Kane and Stefan Ponce as everyone milled about, looking for the thing to do on a fairly dead Monday night offset by the rain. I had the chance to catch Charlotte, NC dance duo Styles N’ Complete who got the rooftop indoor-outdoor space jumping with hip-hop infused production pieces that were equal parts sample and original work. After that I rushed down to the other side of the freeway to link up with Supa Bwe, Karl, Blakkass Westley and Netherfriends who put on a set at the Volstead that set the bar high on night one as he killed his night cap with his looping sounds, interesting overall aesthetic and powerful stage presence got the alcohol-infused crowd that got pushed out at close.
Waking up the next morning, startled again by the lack of white icy hills outside my window in March, I continued a slow transition into the full breadth of what SXSW can offer as Chicago came out in full force, led by the enumerable Mayor Rahm Emmanuel himself for a pre-party at the aptly-named The Chicago House, which was filled with artists, media members and local movers and shakers from around the Windy City. Red 7 on 6th St. and Red River was the setting for Chicago Made Blog’s showcase, hosted by Hologram Kizzie, which started off with a rousing, endearing set from ProbCause, who when paired with his live drummer Cofresh is a true sight to see and got the steadily-building crowd worked up before the very talented singer-songwriter Bonzie took the stage, changing the aesthetic as the sun began to wane. Rockers Autumn Defense and Archie Powell and the Exports did their thing, showing Chicago has much more than just the hip-hop that has burst from it’s streets over the past couple of years. ShowYouSuck did what ShowYouSuck does, joined again onstage by compatriot Auggie The 9th he put on one of his best sets to date, crowd surfing, moving erratically from one side of the stage to the other and waxing knowledge on everything from ‘Big Gulps’ to ‘80’s Boobs’. As fans patiently waited, the show slowly ground to it’s headliner after a heavily Kanye-influenced DJ set from The Hood Internet, who flexed his production muscle a bit by bringing up a host of earlier performers onstage to do a series of tracks including ‘Sub-Zero’ off of ProbCause’s The Recipe Vol. 2 which may go down as one of the cooler moments of this years SXSW, as Auggie The 9th showed how hungry he is to take his game to the next level, eagerly tearing through bar after bar with vigor. Chicago seems to have a new act pop every year, and Auggie made a case for himself surrounded by some of the city’s finest. The big moment finally came around 1 am for Chance The Rapper and Peter CottonTale to take the stage, which revamped the crowd who had stood in line and inside the venue for nearly six hours. Chano started things off with the familiar “Good Ass Intro”, dropping into “Brain Cells” which got a juke mix before rolling through his Acid Rap catalogue. But, suddenly, as seems to happen in Austin during SXSW, the fire Marshalls called, the police showed up and a comfortably outstanding show was cancelled. And that was it. Two days down so far, plenty more to go.
[Video] Pharrell Talks New Album, 'Girls' with Zane Lowe
Pharrell has a knack for finding his way into the news cycle for all the right reasons. The baby-faced 40-year-old super-producer announced earlier this week that he had a new album expected, unveiling the title that was as simple as his epic day-long video for "Happy". It's no great revelation that Pharrell likely lives one of the most satisfying lives in America, and he stopped by BBC Radio 1 to chop it up with Zane Lowe and give the public a little glimpse into how his mind works, what the deal with the hat has been and what the plans are for Pharrell's first solo project. Check out the full video, streaming below.
[youtube id="5hOMMbe8RFc"]
[Songs of the Day] 2/19/14 (Feat. Schoolboy Q, Major Lazer, Hudson Mohawke & More)
Wednesdays tend to be a bit slow for new music on the web, but we scoured our way through everything ot find some gems that hit airwaves today. Schoolboy Q teased his highly-anticipated debut album Oxymoron with the lead single, "Blind Threats" featuring none other than 'The Chef' himself, Raekwon. The Legion of Dudez got together to spin a remix of their hit single "Diamond Girl" by Blakkass Westley and Chandler London, with fellow LOD member Cadillac Duke dropping a verse on the updated version. We got a solid song from newcomer Joyner Lucas in "That's Okay", Hurt Everybody, the duo of Supa Bwe and Carl dropped "God Shit" and Major Lazer continued to keep fans salivating with another cut from his upcoming album, this time reviving Sean Paul for a cameo spot. GXNXVS gave Sway Clarke II's "I Don't Need Much" a remix, Cosby Sweater, a production duo out of Indiana released "Your Girlfriend's a Stoner" and "Bound 2" producer Hudson Mohawke gave listeners a new track with Olivier Daysoul in "Forever I".
Track of the Day: Schoolboy Q: "Blind Threats" (Feat. Raekwon)
Schoolboy Q: “Blind THreats” (Feat. Raekwon)
Blakkass Westley & Chandler London: "Diamond Girl Remix" (Feat. Cadillac Duke)
Joyner Lucas: “That’s Okay”
Hurt Everybody: “God Shit”
Major Lazer: "Come On To Me" (Feat. Sean Paul)
Sway Clarke II: "I Don't Need Much" (GXNXVS Remix)
Cosby Sweater: "Your Girlfriend's A Stoner"
Hudson Mohawke & Olivier Daysoul: "Forever I"
[youtube id="O6Ih1SNzpk4"]
[Video] RH First Look: ZMoney
The temperature continued to drop, hitting seven degrees as my photographer, Bryan Lamb and myself pulled up to Emma's, a restaurant on the west side of Chicago. As we drove west from the heart of the loop of Chicago down Route 64, the landscape began to change. Amongst a neighborhood with more storefronts closed or shuttered than not, Emma's is a bright light, with it's freshly-painted windows and well-kept exterior, a hand-written sign braving the bitter cold to announce the day's special of catfish. Walking in we were warmly greeted, with unexpected laughter erupting when we announced who we were there to see. "They here to talk to Z Money!" his aunt shouted in somewhat disbelief from behind the counter. It's hard to blame her, too.
The first thing I remember about Z Money is how frustrating it was to find a photo of him this summer when trying to post his music. Employing a homegrown marketing scheme, the west side artist, who only started rapping something like a year and a half ago and his team decided to drop two mixtapes, Heroin Musik & Rich B4 Rap side by side on the same day. The release and the songs it contained made Complex Magazine's David Drake take notice, quickly branding Z Money as an artist to know by including him on their list of "25 Artists to Watch Out For". No on had heard of him before that, he hadn't done an interview, few had seen his face; Z Money was largely a mystery.
To solve some of that mystery, Lamb and myself now found ourselves in front of two steaming plates of shrimp n' grits, the special at Emma's. The restaurant is owned and operated by Z Money and from what we could tell, staffed as well by family members. Named after his Grandma, the cozy spot serves soul food with a smile and some home made Kool-aid. You don't hear about a lot of 20-year-old aspiring rap artists who own their own company, let alone a restaurant. But, contrary to much of his lyrical content, Z Money is out to better those around him as his name continues to grow. Thanks to the folks at Vice, much of the country now in one way or another refers to Chicago as "Chiraq", a 'clever' marketing scheme to sell individual's realities as a product. Talking to Z, one can feel his passion for showing a different route, his penchant for being a role model and his hunger to continue to climb. There is talk of upping the game and releasing a trio of mixtapes later this year. For now, though, this young Chicagoan is reveling in life and preparing himself to be the next big thing from a city that has steadily produced some of the top up and coming artists in hip-hop over the past couple of years. Check out the full conversation I had with Z Money, below.