20 Artists You Need To Know: Summer Festival Edition
Header by Bryan Allen Lamb.
With spring getting into full swing, summer seems within reach already. For music junkies, spring just means a couple more months until festival season. Whether you're planning on hitting all, one or none of the festivals listed in this week's playlist, all of the artists are definitely ones you should know.
Bonnaroo - Check out Run The Jewels
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A hip-hop duo from New York with just two albums under their belt, but mucho street cred amongst hipster rap enthusiasts and the hip-hop community. A definite must-see.
Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath
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I’ve seen Black Sabbath live, and believe me, it’s sad. Just a bunch of pissed off seniors narrowly escaping the bus ride back to Shady Pines. Do yourself a favor and check out the funky bunch known as Brownout who add groovy bass lines that even Ozzy approves of.
Warped Tour - Check out Riff Raff
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If you don’t know who Riff Raff is by now, then listen up: the walking, talking, real-life version of the “alleged” inspiration for James Franco’s Spring Breakers character is playing all Warped Tour dates. The nonsense rapper of neon-flavored Bart Simpson shaped Cheetos is just a skip-and-a-hop away from your hometown. His bogus rhymes are catchy, fun and worth the money to see up close. Also, his merch table is probably going to be full of light-up do-rags or rhinestone encrusted McDonald’s toys from the 90’s.
Candy Hearts
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If you’re already at Warped Tour, then you’re probably going to be at the Candy Hearts show, but the general public might not have the pop-punk upper hand that you do. For those that don’t know, Candy Hearts are a cutesy pop-punk trio from New York who could be described as: Paramore + Bubbalicious Cotton Candy gum + a wink + a diary. If you’re a fan of New Found Glory, State Champs, or Set It Off, then Candy Hearts are a must-have in your library.
Bunbury - Check out The Front Bottoms
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The acoustic pop-punk band have been a Warped Tour hit for some time, but they're moving up the ladder of notoriety ever since their 2013 release of Talon Of The Hawk.
Lindsey Stirling
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Don't even act like you know someone who plays the violin flawlessly, let alone be able to entertain millions in the age of technology doing so. Plus, she often themes her songs to a certain era or place, so her outfits and performance are sure to be entertaining.
Coachella - Check out FKA Twigs
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Amongst all of the gigantic, jaw-dropping artists featured at Coachella this year, one who has been kept more on the hush is FKA Twigs. FKA (Formerly Known As) Twigs started out in 2013 as a YouTube sensation and then POOF! Her sultry demeanor and daze-y hip-hop style are what make her so intriguing. Not to mention her image/feminine mystique is the IRL version of Tumblr, which is probably what Coachella is looking for.
Marina & The Diamonds
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I. Love. Marina. And. The. Diamonds. And you should too. She’s an indie-pop artist who has more soul and flavor than most of her sugary sweet counterparts. Her deep, Welsh accent pulls through the electro-Madonna-esque beat of her songs. Also, her outfits are described as “retro cartoon-ish,” so expect an exciting visual; I’d describe her sound as that too. She may be popular among the invested music critics and indie-pop enthusiasts of the scene, but she deserves to be more than just an honorable mention.
South By Southwest (SXSW) - Check out All Them Witches
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The Nashville natives of All Them Witches have the classic-rock, heavy riff act down to a T. What sets them apart from that blase "hip radio rock friendly" sound is that they have a groovier, sludge inspired Queens Of The Stone Age tang to them.
B.I.C. (Bitches Is Crazy)
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The Bronx hip-hop/rap group known as B.I.C. produce raw, Latin-influenced rhymes similar to their modern counterparts (IE: A$AP Rocky, Schoolboy Q, etc).
[Songs of the Day] 2/13/14 (Feat. Jeremih, Kirk Night, Little Dragon & More)
There are a few over-arching themes throughout February that seem to dictate much of the music that is made in the thirty-one days that make up the second month of the year, and it seems each is touched on in our latest entry of today's "Songs of the Day". Leading off our list is Pro-Era affiliate Kirk Night, who lays down what's real in his latest track, "Pussy Facx" while EDM queen Odesza teams up with Madelyn Grant for a dance-inducing romp in "Sun Models". The Game and Problem showed that Midwest slang has finally hit the coast in "THOT", Vulkan The Crusader touches on the important questions this time of the year, offering up, "Do You Remember How To Love?"and Jeremih teamed up with EDM act Shlomo for a new track in "No More". MØ takes things back to "Spice World" on "Say You'll Be There" while Little Dragon gives us "Klapp Klapp". Chicago's young gunners got some play today too as Michael Christmas and Alex Wiley got together for "Step Brothers" and Jams Dean continues the Valentine's Day sentiment with "Why Do I Love You" where he reprises his positive collaboration with producer Netherfriends. Wrapping up today's tracks are RiFF RaFF going country in "Take You Away" and CyHi The Prynce offers up "Coretta" in honor of the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. Check it all out, streaming below.
Track of the Day: CyHi The Prynce: "Coretta"
Kirk Night: “Pussy Facx”
Odesza: “Sun Models” (Feat. Madelyn Grant)
The Game: “THOT” (Feat. Problem)
Vulkan The Crusader: “Do You Remember Love?”
Jeremih & Shlomo: “No More”
Jams Dean: “Why Do I Love You” (Feat. Abbi Rajasekhar, Epic Of BBU, Netherfriends)
Michael Christmas: “Step Brothers” (Feat. Alex Wiley)
MØ: “Say You'll Be There”
Little Dragon: "Klapp Klapp"
Riff Raff: “Take U Away”
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CyHi The Prynce: “Coretta"
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[Video] RiFF RAFF: "RiFF RAFF's REALM Episode 1"
RiFF RAFF is easily one of the most colorfully weird and out there personalities in the hip-hop or general music world at large. The white, braided artist with a neon "MTV" tattoo on his neck premiered his new show, "RiFF RAFF REALM" on Complex TV today. The out-there MC starts things off by showing off his kicks collection, making sure to get watchers acquainted with his pair of "Barry Bondsons" and then interviews Brad Thunderberry. Never one to turn down a publicity stunt or reason for people to look at him, the former VH1 "Love of New York" participant will release a new episode via Complex every Thursday in the lead-up to his album release, slated for January 28. Watch below.
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[Mixtape] Black Dave: "Black Bart"
We haven't really heard much from Black Dave since he released the Stay Black 'tape back in March. Until now, the New York native had been quietly working on yet another project and making sure the quality was top notch. Today, Dave has decided to finally unleash "Black Bart", his latest body of work, and let fans decide if he lived up to the expectations. Bodega Bamz, Smoke DZA, Boldy James, and RiFF RAFF all make guest-appearances, which should show you how diverse this project will sound. Click play below and judge for yourself.
RiFF RaFF plans a lawsuit against Spring Breakers
In the most unsurprsingly surprising move of the year, rapper RiFF RaFF has announced his intentions to file a lawsuit against the makers of Spring Breakers. The polarizing independent film by Harmony Korine is a saccharine spring break film that explores the darker side of the St. Petersburg crime scene. Most viewers have noticed James Franco's (Freaks and Geeks) character as being very similar to RiFF RaFF, despite both his and Korine's assurances that the "Alien" character was mostly inspired by underground Florida rapper Dangeruss.
RiFF RaFF, who is said to want between $8 to $10m, said the following in regards to the film:
"It's like if I have a front yard and you're planting soil and you're planting trees and building peaches and houses and selling parking lots on my property then I deserve to be compensated for some portion of that money."
No word from Korine, Franco, or Spring Breakers' US distribution studio, A24 Films, has been released on the matter.
[via NME]
[Interview] RiFF RaFF: Just Go With It
"If you see somebody hating, point'em out, point'em out."
It's 9PM on Friday night, and I'm drunk. I've been at Reggie's for almost two hours, drinking free PBR's, followed by more age appropriate imports, waiting for the same thing that everyone is waiting for, RiFF RaFF. The thought of me ever waiting to see an artist like RiFF RaFF is surprising to me, and to many of my friends who were also at Reggie's that night, also waiting to see RiFF RaFF.
It's been that way for me, and many others, increasingly over the last few years. As me and my peers grow up and out of our Hip Hop snob stages, music fans and critics throughout the country are holding artists to fewer and fewer standards, and being less rigid as to who can do what, and how it should be done. I don't think it's as much that the old rules don't apply, it's more so that their application has changed. It's like we've collectively decided to "stop hating," and let artists live. They don't need to be placed in the same category as Nas, but they have a category, and it's cool.
"There's more and more people who are different and they're accepted," RiFF RaFF tells me backstage about his own growing acceptance, shortly before his performance. "So it's like, 'damn, OK. Riff Raff's been doing this for a minute, why haven't we accepted him?'" While it's not a complex explanation, it's almost spot on, as RiFF RaFF has been able to go from being considered a joke in many circles, to kind of a joke, to kind of serious.
A big part of this transformation was RiFF RaFF's recent signing to Diplo and Mad Decent, as well as records with Action Bronson and Alchemist, two artists beloved by Hip Hop Heads. Even the ones that are still "hating." This change is interesting, especially given that RiFF RaFF hasn't really changed anything at all. He's hasn't conformed to any Hip Hop standards, in fact he only goes further into his own direction.
"I'm not going to do what someone else wants me to do to make them like me. I couldn't care less," RiFF RaFF says. "I've started fully at the bottom, I've had people hate me since day one. It's nothing going to change now, if anything, I'm going to keep continuing to do what I do and hopefully I'll gain fans and succeed at everything. I can't change based on somebody so-called liking me or not."
In this new interview, I talk to RiFF RaFF about why he embraced Chief Keef early on, signing to Mad Decent, why people like him, and more. Hit the next page to read the full interview with RiFF RaFF.