[First Look] Kitty Cash
Photography By Julian Schratter
Over the past year and a half or so there has been a hip-hop resurgence in New York City that has had many, including Hot97's Peter Rosenberg, calling it a "Renaissance of Hip-hop". Then sentiment isn't just because of the music, which has spilled from the city's streets for generation, but rather the re-incarnation of hip-hop culture in society on a real level. Perhaps no one else in the scene embodies that realness as much as Brooklyn native, Kitty Cash, who firmly established herself with an eclectic, thought-out 19-track mixtape, Love The Free, which dropped just before the new year. The project featured a smattering of original tracks from an assortment of artists from across the country, including the like of Vic Mensa, Kilo Kish, Phony PPL, Jesse Boykins, The GTW, Jean Deaux, Justin Rose and more. It's a fun project that calls to mind different aspects of growing up through the 90s and early 2000s, as the newly-minted 25-year-old can attest to. The official DJ for Kilo Kish, who provides the introduction to Love The Free, Kitty Cash has been able to observe things from behind the scenes a bit, and used those experiences to put together the debut release. I had the chance to catch up with Kitty Cash just after the new year as she was preparing for her birthday and thinking about what's next, read it all here.
Mick Jenkins: "Leonidas"
Mick Jenkins has been following up a solid end to 2013 with a frenetic start to the new year. Over the weekend Jenkins dropped his latest track, "Leonidas", before he took the stage Saturday to a raucous crowd at Reggie's Rock Club in the south loop of Chicago as the headliner of a show that included NoNameGypsy, Saba and Dally Auston. The track, produced by OnGaud, is due to be on his next project, The Water[s], expected sometime next month and features the kind of clever songwriting and wordplay that has made Mick Jenkins one of the most talked about among the next-up in Chicago. Check out the track, streaming here below.
Outkast Announces Over 40 Festival Dates
Outkast is gearing up for one hell of a 2014. On the heels of the announcement that the duo, preparing to celebrate their 20 year anniversary, would headline this year's packed Coachella, Big Boi and Andre 3000 announced a tour of over 40 festival dates that are expected to run the course of the year via their social networking accounts earlier today. No word yet on the precise locations or dates of the announced sets, but expect that to roll out soon.
The Atlanta duo has gotten music fans buzzing with the recent news of their reunion, after stopping work together after their 2006 movie Idlewild and just after their last album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which went eleven times platinum and sold over 11 million copies. None of the reunion news has come with a promise of new music, but we can all hope. In the mean time, there is a disturbing amount of Belieber Kool-Aid-drinking Twitter fiends who don't have any idea who Outkast is, which has (thankfully) since been taken down.
The announcement was also made on Outkast's personal website, with the following message:
“Ingenious and iconic recording artists and performers, Antwan “Big Boi” Patton and André “3000? Benjamin today announced via Outkast’s social media platforms that their return to the stage celebrating their 20th anniversary will include festival dates around the world. After headlining performances at Coachella in April, the influential group will be the marquee act at over 40 festivals around the world throughout the Spring/Summer of 2014 (dates to be announced).
“It’s truly an honor to celebrate 20 years and still be free to do music the way we choose,” said Big Boi. “Don’t just think outside the box, know that there is no box. I’m looking forward to rocking the stage with my Bro Ski and to all the fans – stank you smelly much, this is for y’all!”
“And imagine, all we wanted to do was rap! I am thankful to have been a part of a group that allowed me to explore anything that came to mind and have fun doing it. Returning to the stage together is the most exciting way for us to thank everyone for their 20 years of supporting Outkast,” said André 3000.”
[Video] Donnie Trumpet: "Don't Leave" (Feat. Vic Mensa)
Chicago's own Donnie Trumpet stays busy. After last week, which saw him drop a project, Loopie, and appear on Mike Golden's song "Hey Jane" with fellow Save Money member Vic Mensa, Donnie is back with a video for "Don't Leave", another turn with Mensa handling the rap end of things. The video, shot by Naveen Chaubel, is a bit of a mystical dream that starts off with a ballerina performing at the foot of his bed, beckoning him to stay, as he knows he has to walk away. The experience leads to a very ethereal, zero gravity moment of reconciliation and reflection that is especially on point thanks to the talented director, Chaubel. This is the second time in a week that we've heard something new from the pair of former Kids These Days members, who have blossomed over the past year in their own individual lanes that have continued to get bigger by the day. Start your day off right with some Donnie Trumpet and Vic Mensa, "Don't Leave" streaming below.
Like the video? Catch Donnie at his "Farewell Show" next week in Chicago, check out the flyer for info below!
[youtube id="JcQlPLLjXbc"]
Earl Sweatshirt Announces "Wearled Tour"
Earl Sweatshirt, who rose from a expedited, mysterious lyricist to one of the leaders of the next generation of hip-hop artists on the strength of his recent relesae, Doris, today announced his first headlining tour. The "Wearled Tour" kicks off in Fort Collins and Denver next week before taking off for dates in Australia, for Laneway Festival, and New Zealand. The 19-year-old Odd Future affiliate is currently in the process of working on his follow-up to Doris, before spending the Spring skipping around the world. The growth in hip-hop is real, as can be seen from Earl and his peer and tourmate last summer on Mac Miller's Space Migration Tour, Chance The Rapper. Both have parlayed early touring experience into solid headlining gigs. Time for the next generation, check out the full tour dates below, tix here.
01-12 Ft. Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre
01-13 Denver, CO - Cervantes
01-27 Auckland, New Zealand - Laneway Festival
01-28 Wellington, New Zealand - James Cabaret
01-31 Brisbane, Australia - Laneway Festival
02-01 Melbourne, Australia - Laneway Festival
02-02 Sydney, Australia - Laneway Festival
02-04 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
02-06 Melbourne, Australia - Palace Theatre
02-07 Adelaide, Australia - Laneway Festival
02-08 Perth, Australia - Laneway Festival
02-17 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
02-18 Norfolk, VA - The Norva
02-19 Boston, MA - House of Vans
02-20 New York, NY - Webster Hall
02-21 Providence, RI - The Met
02-22 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
03-05 Aarhus, Denmark - Fonden Voxhall
03-06 Helsinki, Finland - Nosturi
03-08 Oslo, Norway - Parkteatret
03-09 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Strand
03-10 Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumphuset
03-14 Schuttorf, Germany - Index
03-15 Cologne, Germany - Luxor
03-16 Munich, Germany - Strom
03-18 Zurich, Switzerland - Komplex Klub
03-19 Paris, France - Trabendo
03-20 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
03-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
03-23 London, England - Brixton Electric
03-24 Glasgow, Scotland - Garage
03-25 Manchester, England - Academy2
03-26 Dublin, Ireland - Academy
[Documentary] Chicago Hip Hop Profiled in "The Field"
[iframe id="http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/embed/65971"]
WorldStarHipHop, the website best known for knock out videos and general ratchet-ness, decided to bring their cameras to Chicago for a special video special titled The Field, detailing the in and outs of not only the Chicago hip-hop scene, but the social and socioeconomic ramifications that surround it as well. Shot by Sher Toor and Jonathan Hall, the doc is an interesting take on the issues facing the Second City, from those who have become rhyming reporters to explain what is happening around them.
The documentary delves deep into the "drill" movement, focusing on the record 2012 murder rate as the major catalyst for the rise of the haunting beats riddled with gunshots and stories of surviving with little and trying to find a way out. Upon first hearing about the documentary and it's publisher, I was immediately skeptical. Although named better than Vice's "Chiraq" documentary done earlier in 2013, The Field digs beyond the surface issues by going to the sources for the answers.
I found it interesting to hear artists like Lil Bibby, Lil Durk and Lil Reese talk about the stress from the success they've realized lately, what it potentially leads to. Hip-hop today has become such a game of numbers, it's interesting to hear some of the artists at the top of the game here talking about how far they've come with almost a semblance of regret, not unlike a star athlete that doesn't especially like sports. Music may be a passion to many, but to these young artists from the rough neighborhoods, it's more than that; it's a way out. Toor and Hall do a tremendous job organically demonstrating this through first person accounts and careful storytelling.
What the documentary really does is hone in wholeheartedly on a specific location in the country and demonstrates how hip-hop music is largely seen not as a way to get famous, but a vehicle to escape their current environment. By highlighting the likes of Bibby, Reese, Durk, King Louie and Katie Got Bandz, the filmmakers did an excellent job in drawing the very thin line between the artists and those around them. Given more time with the subject, the video could have possibly been the hip-hop Hoop Dreams.
The project is both inspirational and upsetting, casting a light on not just the murders that plague the landscape, but also the catalysts that lead to the current situation. It's a surprising production for WSHH, an interesting take on the rise of drill through the violence and crime of the south and west sides of the city. Riding through the streets, talking to the people that live there, it perfectly captures a very certain period in the history of Chicago by highlighting the good and the bad, and the unexpected.
A$AP Ferg: "DTM Awards '14" ("Trophies" Remix)
A$AP Ferg has spent the past few months relishing over the big victory he scored with his recent release, Trap Lord, which has been in constant rotation over here at RubyHornet since it dropped. Today, as "DTM Awards '14", the New York City and A$AP Mob rapper dropped his remix to Drake's "Trophies" and also announced a tentative release date for the full A$AP Mob project with a tweet, pointing at March 4 for the official release. Check out the latest from the 'Hood Pope' streaming here below.
[Album] Mike Golden & Friends: "Utopia"
Mike Golden & Friends have been slowly building themselves into one of the premier acts to catch in the increasingly crowded Chicago music scene and yesterday they dropped their latest release, Utopia to continue that climb. Teased over the last few weeks with the behind the scenes video for the single "Mary Jane" featuring Vic Mensa and Donnie Trumpet, Utopia is a truly transcendental project for the group, who bring together a myriad of influences and sounds to create the soulful, highly instrumental sound that sees the band float between rock, blues and post-punk sensibilities behind the strong-voiced Mike Golden at the helm.
Utopia demonstrates a certain growth that comes naturally for a band in their 20s, a slightly more mature, developed songwriting and computed worldview that bleeds through in the music. On "Best Part", Golden glosses over aiming for the sweetest time in a relationship, aka the best part, singing, "I just wanna make it to the best part,". On the album's title track, he explains, "When you wake depends on when you take a hold of it," As the rap scene in Chicago seems to take over how people view the city, acts like MG&F demonstrate the true range of music coming out of The Second City. A sold out show last Friday at the House of Blues in Chicago was a fitting celebration of the group's latest release since 2011's well-received Groceries and served as a proper introduction for a project that we should see pop up quite a bit throughout this year.