"No End" In Sight For WebsterX's Restless Summer
WebsterX released the second installment of his Restless Summer today with "No End". The track is breathy and melodic, starting out sounding like something Man On The Moon era Kid Cudi would have made. It fits the overall idea of the restless summer, you can imagine yourself lying in bed on a hot night listening to this song. The melancholic beat is contradicted with an optimistic and at times braggadocios lyrics but overall that contradiction feels genuine. It's like being depressed in the summer but still energetic.
https://soundcloud.com/websterx/no-end-prod-q-the-sun-1
"No End" follows up the first release of the Restless Summer two weeks ago, "Feels". You can expect a release every other week for the rest of the summer.
WebsterX Starts His Restless Summer With "Feels"
WebsterX just dropped the first song of his Restless Summer titled "Feels". This summer the Milwaukee MC will release a new single every other week along with a slew of performances.
"Feels" is a three part criticism of the state of the world, the first verse is a general approach starting with the line, "everything feels so basic, everything feels so racist, everything feels so vacant, everything feels so makeshift, everything feels complacent". He continues to talk about the surface level, coming after social media and article culture. On the second verse WebsterX wonders why people can't form their own opinions before an abrupt stop in the song leading to the bridge/third verse. On the third verse he offers a different perspective, a more positive or hopeful view that he juxtaposes to the first two verses, making the "all my dogs move in stealth" line in the chorus mean even more, the stealth comes from a different world view that they are able to keep, even in a tumultuous world.
Stream "Feels" below and stay on the look out for more releases through out the summer.
https://soundcloud.com/websterx/feels
Late Pass - Lorde Fredd33 emerges with NORF: The Legend of Hotboy Ronald
"Late Pass" was a popular phrase in the earlier days of blogging. See, the key was getting posts up quickly, and if possible, being the first to do so. So, when writers would be even slightly late on posting a song, or album, or video, it was common that the writer would request a "late pass". Anddddd, you were just expected to be up on all the hot new joints.
Anyway - I've been way behind on new music and just writing in general, and I shall be requesting (and hopefully acquiring) several late passes this summer. Let's start with NORF: The Legend of HBR by Milwaukee's Lorde Fred33. This album was released May 1st, making me about 3 weeks behind. I'd now like to take a minute to also call out WebsterX for not letting me know this was out until... F*$KING MONDAY. Damn, Web, I thought we were boys... I feel extra stupid and late cause I've known about Lorde Fred33 for like 2-3 years now, and just never spent the time to fully dig into his music.
NORF: The Legend Hotboy Ronald is an album that feels centered in self-determination. That theme pops up early and often, and is perhaps best showcased on the second track, "Child Support (Need A Lick)". Fredd33 raps, "LLC cost $130, ain't shit to wake up early, get on the internet, craigslist, run the check," before pointing out the large DIY video library of youtube, and free cost of tuition to youtube university. What makes the song even stronger, and more representative of the LP's message, is the beautiful shift in the production that occurs just 30 seconds later.
After a few listens through the album, it seems that the core of the LP is a "I'm here to win, so I'm not here to play" philosophy, immersed in stories of day to day life in Milwaukee, one in which Fredd33 "grew up playing violins, around sirens and violence, not a lot of friends, at least I got fam though."
Fredd33's fam, the NAN Crew, comes through for him in a big way on NORF. WebsterX shines on "NBN", managing to reference Danica Patrick, Larry Bird, and Mike Jones all in the same verse. That song also stands out because of the way in which Lorde Fredd33 melds his style to match Web a bit in his cadence-heavy, slightly singing delivery. Then at the same time, Web chooses more straight forward bars, also recognizing his own change in creative spaces. It's a trip... The song also relays a clear message that Fred33's bad side is not a good place to be.
NAN's in-house producer, the incredibly talented Q The Sun, is the lone producer on 14 of the album's 15 tracks. "Goals" is the only exception, which was co-produced by Markayla (a student in Lorde Fred33 and Q The Sun's music program with Milwaukee Public Schools).
Fredd33's son also is a major part of the LP - both directly and indirectly. His son serves as the battery pack for Fredd33's sense of urgency and catalyst on many of the album cuts. He also is heard directly on "Free (Type Shit)".
I'd be remiss if I did not mention how clever and funny this project is at times. I feel I painted almost too much of a gloomy or serious picture. There is a serious tone on much the album, but also lighter moments. "Possum Play" is one of my favorite songs, and at its core, it is a crash course on spelling Lorde Fred33's name right (delivered with a Busta Rhymes tribute).
Hit play below.
https://soundcloud.com/lordefredd33/sets/norf
[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.
RH In The Studio With: WebsterX
When I started rubyhornet damn near 10 years ago, one of the biggest things for me and Virgil was being the studio with artists. Just the idea of "the studio" was a magic place, something like behind the curtain of the Wizard of Oz. I remember those early days fondly of being in the studio with artists like Naledge, GLC, Mikkey Halsted, Rhymefest and many others. The studio is where Closed Sessions launched, where I first met a 15 year-old Vic Mensa, and got to watch a hero like Raekwon breakdown his approach to music. I think back on that time, my early and mid-twenties, running around like a kid in the candy store. I had a flip cam, and would just hit record. One of my favorite articles on RH were the in-studio pieces where artists would share their creative process and their new work. Since I'm back at rubyhornet, we want to get back to some of our strengths, and the In The Studio articles are at the top of the list.
For this edition, Cooper Fox hung out with WebsterX at SoundScape Studio. He talked to Web about his new music, life since Daymares, and got a glimpse of music to come. Check out the piece below, and look for more of these on the regular.
RubyHornet: What were you working on today?
WebsterX: I was working on this song with BoatHouse, that is either going to potentially be on his project or something for me. Right now I’m just making a whole bunch of stuff. Yesterday I cut nine demos with Kolar, it was pretty crazy. It was awesome. That’s what I’ve been trying to do lately. A lot of the people I’ve been working with on the West Coast and in the Midwest too, we’ll build stuff in person and it’s never finished. That’s how I like to write too, I don’t want to have to necessarily finish something unless I’m presented with a finished beat. We just build it in layers, I’ll record all these demos and send back vocals to them and then we’ll go back and finish the whole song.
RubyHornet: How do you feel about the idea that some people assume that songs are made very quickly and that there’s not all these moving parts and back and fourths going on behind the scenes?
WebsterX: I vibe with that though because I also write really quickly. If I’m making something, the production that a producer and I will make is usually made in an hour to an hour and a half. I’ve stopped thinking so much when I write and let whatever’s going to come out, come out and just do it.
RubyHornet: When heading into these studio sessions what’s the mood and what’s the ideal situation.
WebsterX: The whole mood is pretty much "go hard." I come into sessions doing one of two things, recording or making music. So if i’m making music, the music will be based off whatever I’m feeling, whatever the conversations are about in the studio, whatever’s happening in that room. And then when I’m recording, there is no mood really besides "let's get this in." I have everything prepared already, all the lyrics are on my iPhone. When I’m writing at the crib, I’m reciting that shit like a thousand times over and over again, that’s how I memorize my music and add more lyrics as I go.
RubyHornet: During these sessions are you working towards a larger project or just making it happen and finding a place for the track later?
Right now the phase I’m in is like, let me just create the music at a steady rate, do it however I want to do it and then whatever it is, I’ll just know when it’s complete. I got that intuition and instinct that I trust. I just allow myself to be smooth with it and know when to get it crackin’. It’s way more relaxed now, which is dope. It's less conceptual, I’m just getting it how I get it. Before I used to try to plan every little step. I was very anal about how everything was presented, never just going with the flow. That was the past and now I’m starting to just let stuff happen in regards to making music. I’m just trying to challenge myself and do it in a different way, it’s a new phase and I’m trying to keep evolving.
RubyHornet: What else has been going on between Daymares and now?
WebsterX: I’ve got a few shows coming up between February and March, I’ll be at SXSW and doing a bunch of stuff with NPR in the next couple months because of the Slingshot program, which is cool as hell. The public radio door is really open for me now so I’m trying to go across the country and do as many public radio things as I can do. AND hopefully get that KEXP in-studio performance. I’ve been obsessed with them for a long time. Hopefully I’ll do a Tiny Desk this year, we’ll see. Beyond that, I’ve been really finding out what it means to be real studio rat. Usually if I’m making music it’s not in a way where I need to create every single day. I like to experience things so I can write about it. But now I’m just like, 'let's get it,' because I’m trying to get this cash up, I’m trying to get everything up. I’m trying to make sure I’m doing this for a long time. Kicking up the pace but still keeping it natural and relaxed.
RubyHornet: How did it feel to be apart of the 2018 class of NPR Slingshot Artists?
It felt really good, it felt full circle because my dad used to play NPR every morning before I’d go to school and that was my first time hearing it. It was a needed step and I like how it’s at the start of the year, it just makes everything more crackin’ for the rest of the year, it shows the pace that we’re going to be on. I had this thing I used to do a lot where I’d like to drop something and wait a little bit. But now how the industry is growing, everything is rapid pace. I’m not fully playing to that because I’ll never fully submit myself to how things are ran, but I’ll play the game a little bit. I’m just excited to see what’s going to happen.
