RH Pitchfork Festival Schedule
Over the last 13 years Pitchfork Music Festival has become one of the most important and highly curated music festivals in Chicago, which says a lot considering that Chicago has the most summer festivals of any city in America. This year's festival is dominated by internationally known stars like Ms. Lauryn Hill (celebrating the 20th anniversary of her legendary album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) and Tame Impala headlining, but earlier in the day there are a lot of upcoming rappers and singers from Chicago and beyond like Kweku Collins, Ravyn Lenae and Berhana. Because music festivals can get overwhelming we decided to put together a list of the shows that we're looking forward to seeing.
Friday
4:00 Open Mike Eagle @ Blue Stage
4:15 Tierra Whack @ Green Stage
5:15 Saba @ Red Stage
6:15 Syd @ Green Stage
8:30 Tame Impala @ Green Stage
Saturday
1:00 Paul Cherry @ Green Stage
1:45 Berhana @ Red Stage
3:20 Nilüfer Yanya @ Red Stage
4:15 Moses Sumney @ Green Stage
5:15 Raphael Saadiq @ Red Stage
7:45 Kelela @ Blue Stage
Sunday
1:00 Nnamdi Ogbonnaya @ Green Stage
2:30 Kweku Collins @ Green Stage
3:20 Ravyn Lenae @ Red Stage
4:15 Smino @ Green Stage
5:15 Noname @ Red Stage
6:15 DRAM @ Green Stage
7:25 Chaka Khan @ Red Stage
8:30 Ms. Lauryn Hill @ Green Stage
Kweku Collins Perfectly Captures The Summer Fling With "Sisko and Kasidy"
Kweku Collins' newest track "Sisko and Kasidy" is a summer love anthem. Linking up for another collaboration with fellow Closed Sessions artist Ajani Jones, this is his first release of 2018 and it perfectly captures the heat of the summer and the uncertainty that comes with a fling. In the chorus Kweku sings "It's been hot, it's the summer, what you expect?" in a thickly layered, Dan Deacon-esque, harmony that adds to the disorienting effect that makes the song feel like the subject.
There's a heat that's captured within the production and combined with the lyrics it creates a summer-in-a-bottle effect that will definitely have you coming back in the middle of the winter. Just like with a fling there is a melancholy underneath the surface, Kweku even asks “What if the sun doesn’t come out tomorrow?”.
"Sisko and Kasidy" is a reference to the two black commanders in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
You can see Kweku and Ajani perform together at their Pitchfork after party at Schubas on July 21st.
https://open.spotify.com/track/1DXlJYboCnmNC35GcLyYtm?si=3EIaZxmFRYOc0B3eLq47DQ
Ric Wilson Brings Black Art To The Forefront On BANBA
Earlier this month Ric Wilson, known as both an artist and an activist around Chicago released his newest EP, BANBA (Black Art Not Bad Art) and with it truly established himself as a key member in the Chicago Renaissance movement. The 23 year old Southsider weaves an intricate tapestry with soul beats and lyrics celebrating his Blackness while simultaneously addressing the anxiety that comes with being marginalized in America. Ric Wilson is another prodigal lyricist that cut his teeth as a teenager in Young Chicago Authors, and like the other artists that came up in YCA (Noname, Kweku Collins, Mick Jenkins, Chance The Rapper) he uses his deft lyricism to create relatable and honest music. What sets Disco Ric apart from the rest is that he floats across genres to create bouncy tracks that reminisce of sunny days on the southside of Chicago.
The opening track of the album acts as a thesis for the rest of the project. It is interlaced with vocal samples of children and activists, and the chorus seems to be Ric’s mantra, “Black art not bad art… not mad art… not sad art”. The Hirsch produced beat sounds like it could only come from Chicago, with Monte Booker-esque glitches on top of a bouncy synth and a gospel moment that leads to an exuberant trumpet solo that sounds like it was part of a Chance record. At the end of the title track you hear a woman’s voice over street noise saying, “I am the revolution, and the revolution don’t stop.”
Sinner, the third track on the album which was also the lead single would fit perfectly on D’Angelo’s Voodoo in its production. Having grown up singing in the church choir Ric uses this track as a sort of confessional opening up to the listener about his life mixed in with his observations about the modern experience. But just like the rest of the EP there is an overwhelming optimism even when he’s talking about the problems that he has faced. For the single he brings his friend and fellow YCA alum Kweku Collins who continues the open honesty of the track with his verse, even ending with “still there’s shit that I’m guilty of… all you need to know is that I’m working on it.”
As a whole this album shows the triumph of love and hope over despair which is a relief considering the world that we’re living in. Wilson shows how much he’s grown on his 3rd EP. BANBA keeps all of the positivity from 2017’s Negrow Disco but with more perspective about the world laced in. Ric Wilson summarized it all perfectly, “don’t you take your love away”.
Stream the whole album below.
And check out Ric Wilson performing Sinner live on Fox with Kweku Collins here.
Kweku Collins nonchalantly releases something new.
Out of the blue, Kweku Collins released something new last night, very much under the radar. Taking it back to his, high school days, Kweku had "Meet Halfway" running around in his head, recorded it at home, and uploaded it to soundcloud. Consider this the warm-up, as Kweku gets ready for Pitchfork and has been hinting on social media for a potential new project of some kind.
https://soundcloud.com/kwekucollins/meet-me-halfway
[RH Photos] Fast Times At SXSW by Cooper Fox
Here's a few shots by Cooper Fox showing the high energy hustle that is South By South West. Featuring live performances, quite backstage moments, and everything in between.
Ajani Jones' New EP Is An Exhibition of Growth
Ajani Jones released his new EP today, Cocoons. As the title suggests, transformation and growth is a large theme for the new project.
It's fitting that the EP dropped on the same day that Ajani announced joining Closed Sessions. I'm really excited about this EP. It is layered, it is specific, and it's competitive. Beats, rhymes, and life from a 24 year-old from the southside of Chicago, finding himself and his music.
Listen below on all platforms.
Hear An Uncovered Malcolm London + Kweku Collins Track on the LTAB 2018 Mixtape
"Always bout my bills, no Bill Cosby."
The only things certain are death and taxes. Just below that are other things we can begin to count on every year, the LTAB mixtape has become one of those things. For the last few years, Young Chicago Authors, has put together a free mixtape to coincide with their annual youth poetry slam, Louder Than A Bomb. This year's mixtape includes an almost overwhelming 26 tracks from familiar as well as unfamiliar names ranging from Femdot and Matt Muse to Aeon Moore and Loona Dae. Also included is an uncovered collaboration from Malcolm London and Kweku Collins.
I do remember Malcolm and Kweku recording this in the Closed Sessions C-Room, I believe it was very close to the time Kweku started coming around. I don't really remember much outside of that, and honestly totally forgot about this song. This is actually the first time I've heard it, and I fucking dig it.
Outside of the song's quality, it's just dope to see this record come to life via the LTAB mixtape. Good mixtapes include rarities and b-sides, and YCA is keeping that spirit alive. Peep the full mixtape below, you might just find a new favorite.
[RH Photos] January, 2018 by Cooper Fox
A freezing cold January meant either bundling up outside or staying warm in the studio. Here are Cooper Fox's favorite pics from the month of just that.
