Making the Cut: Who to Keep Showing Love to, Who to Start Looking Out For, and Who To Write Off After SXSW 2018
After another momentous @SXSW find out which artists you should keep showing love to, start looking out for, and who to write off...
Another year of SXSW has come and gone, and another round of artists have put their talents on display for the world to see.
The beauty of SXSW is that it is an opportunity for artists who have been grinding all year to prove themselves in front of a large audience, and it’s time to put up or shut up for artists who generated a buzz for themselves on the internet. At the end of the day, being a musician is about being a performer, and SXSW is where you’re supposed to shine.
These are the artists who lived up to their hype, proved they deserve more hype, and showed that they deserve to be put back on the 2017 shelf.
Look Out For:
This rap duo, consisting of Zeale Rapz and Phranchyze, are local gems to Austin, TX, and deserve to break out internationally. Not only is their music full of kinetic energy and bounce, and produced by Gary Clark Jr., their live performance is absolutely insane. Chemistry is everything in a rapper duo, and these guys came straight out of Walter White’s lab. Their routine is air tight, never stumbling over each other verbally or physically, and they play off each other’s energy which causes a chain reaction with their audience, resulting in epic pandemonium for the finale of their set.
We may be a little partial to G because he hails from our part of the state of North Carolina, but the guy is a certified beast on the mic. He spits with a traditional style flow in a way that gives him the ability to express himself powerfully and succinctly, putting his skills as a champion poet on display. G is already well on his way to international greatness having recently spent a stint of time in Japan, mingling with Tokyo’s rap scene, and currently is on the U.S. west coast leg of Dumbfounded's "The Yikes! Tour".
Bobby Sessions blew everyone away at Mass Appeal’s “Live at the BBQ” event on St. Patrick’s Day, even DJ Statik Selektah who praised his performance as the best of the openers, promising to work with him soon. The praise was well deserved. Bobby, a Dallas emcee, is a new signee to Def Jam’s roster, and has a no-frills style that cuts to the bone. He raps about real life, not chains, cars, and money, and his work ethic as a hopeful rapper who left his full time job with only $50 in the bank to pursue music a couple years ago, shows in his air tight stage presence.
Honorable Mentions: Valee, Bad Gyal, Eearz
Keep Paying Attention To:
Maxo’s new album Punken is a little more toned down than his previous projects, but his live show absolutely is not! Another standout from “Live at the BBQ” Trigga Maxo was literally everywhere at SXSW, putting on live performances that sent audiences into hysterics, keeping the energy going throughout his set lists. Call a promoter and get him to your city ASAP, because no matter how hard the track “Go” sounds through your headphones, there’s no comparison to how Maxo performs it live. With energy like his, and an ability to connect to an audience the way he does, Maxo isn’t just a sensation, he’s got more to accomplish in the rap game.
Smokepurpp’s lo fi simplicity makes him a dividing force in modern hip hop, with fans of lyrical rap and highly technical production calling his music too dumbed down, and Soundcloud rap fans connecting to his DIY, “every man” approach. At the end of the day, it’s what you can do on stage that differentiates hype from skills as an emcee, and Smokepurpp can move a crowd. He hit the Pandora stage on night 2 of SXSW Music in front of an audience that was already annoyed by major delays in the show schedule, a lazy two-song performance by YFN Lucci (because of the delays), and a no-show from Lil Xan, but turned the crowd into a mosh pit. The defining factor of his effectiveness as a performer is that he genuinely has fun on stage which is infectious, and if his positive attitude persists, we will probably see a lot more from the Miami rapper/producer.
Another North Carolina emcee we may or may not be partial to due to hometown alliances, but Rapsody’s body of work has proven itself -- with Grammy nods and cosigns by virtually every notable player in the rap game – Rap is more than hype. She’s the full embodiment of an emcee, and her grip on her audience is tight. What makes Rapsody stand out is that her presence is undeniably strong and feminine, but not pushing the envelope too far to either side. She’s incredibly balanced, which is what gives her the ability to declare to her audience as she did on St. Patty’s day to a packed crowd: “Don’t call me a female emcee, don’t call me a ‘femcee,’ none of that. When you talk about Rapsody, you say, ‘that motherfucker is a beast!’”
Look out for new Rapsody music as she reunites with Kooley High on their album “Never Come Down,” produced by 9th Wonder, and her episode on the new Netflix series "Rapture" releasing on March 30th.
Honorable Mentions: Wifisfuneral, Cuz Lightyear, Slim Jxmmy
Write Off
Lil Xan
The 21 year old called Pac's music boring and almost got jumped in a fast food restaurant parking lot by a bunch of high school kids for it. All of this while he was supposed to be performing at SX. Look, we get it. Sometimes business deals pop up and you must cancel shows – King Mez cancelled his SXSW 2016 shows because he cruised the Mediterranean on Dr. Dre’s yacht instead. Totally understandable. But Lil Xan trashing one of hip hop’s most sacred fallen pioneers on some young vs old nonsense, then getting chased by a bunch of kids younger than him for his blasphemy, is laughable to the point that we need to just put his ass back on the shelf. That ain’t hip-hop and we guarantee we’ll find a more interesting Soundcloud sensation soon.
All photos taken by Charles Morse for Dopecausewesaid
Charles Morse is a music journalist and DJ based in Raleigh, NC. Follow his photography on IG @ironlense.
The Year of the Ear is Upon Us, Apparently
On night three of SXSW Music, Mike Will Made-It rocked ACL Live with a showcase aimed at putting the spotlight on his Ear Drummers Records lineup and unveiling a marketing campaign called “Year of the Ear.”
SXSW is where the music industry year starts, full of big announcements from tech companies unveiling new gadgets, streaming services offering new features, and of course record labels and their artists setting the tone for their new releases and asserting their position in the game.
On night three of SXSW Music, in an attempt at the latter, Mike Will Made-It rocked ACL Live at Moody Theatre in Austin, TX with a showcase aimed at putting the spotlight on his Ear Drummers Records lineup and unveiling a marketing campaign called “Year of the Ear.”
Sound corny? Given that Disneyland had a campaign in 2012 of the same name, it probably should. However, Mike Will Made-It has never been one to duck away from making corny marketing techniques work in his favor.
He was the creative force behind Mylie Cyrus’ exploitation of hip hop culture in her double platinum selling Bangerz. He brought the laughably childish Rae Sremmurd – who he named after his record label (Rae Sremmurd is Ear Drummers spelled backward) -- to the top of the charts in 2015, and has kept them there for the past three years, developing them into a credible act in the realm of club friendly rap music.
He’s leaning the full weight of his hit making abilities into his lineup with solo releases from Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmy, as well as his emerging signees Lil Rico, Shotta Spence, Eearz, and Trouble, all scheduled for 2018 releases.
Friday night’s event put Mike’s grand scheme in front of a crowd of almost 3,000 potential customers and the reception was great. What Mike Will has provided with the power of his brand is an opportunity for his new artists to rock a crowd of people unfamiliar with them individually, but have heard their singles somewhere along the line via recommended search engines on YouTube, Pandora, etc while listening to his more well-known artists.
Showmanship was front and center however, especially with Eearz and Shotta Spence. Both are lesser known rappers with a more underground sound than the rest of Ear Drummers’ roster, and they utilized the tried and true trick of getting in the crowd with the people to get them hyped and keep them engaged. Shotta Spence even threw a stack of dollar bills into the crowd, which surprisingly didn’t turn into a riot.
If Mike Will can consistently make a hit is not up for debate, but what time will tell is whether the memory of flying dollar bills and mosh pits will make “The Year of the Ear” as epic as its showcase did. He’s casting a large net hoping to reel in loyal fans based on Rae Sremmurd’s success. This strategy is as old as Def Jam, and honestly disappointing to see in 2018, but if anyone can use kitsch to turn a profit in modern hip hop it’s Mike Will Made-It, so it’s a story worth keeping track of.
Lyor Cohen Discusses YouTube Music Distribution Channel at SXSW
Assisted by the legendary DJ D-Nice, Lyor Cohen, one of the most important executives in the breaking of hip hop into mainstream culture, delivered a keynote speech to start day 2 of the @SXSW Music Conference, discussing his involvement in YouTube’s new streaming subscription service...
AUSTIN, TX – Assisted by the legendary DJ D-Nice, Lyor Cohen, one of the most important executives in the breaking of hip hop into mainstream culture, delivered a keynote speech to start day 2 of the SXSW Music Conference, discussing his involvement in YouTube’s new streaming subscription service which launches this month.
Mostly mapping out his long career in the music industry as an executive who preferred to get his hands dirty with being involved in building the careers of the artists he signed to Def Jam -- Cohen connected his passion for breaking artists with how YouTube plans on running their streaming service.
He claims the service will be the “best direct to consumer platform available,” for independent artists and labels, ushering in “a new golden era” for the music industry.
YouTube is pretty late to the game on streaming, which is already a complicated market with no guarantee of success, and there’s speculation that this move is more geared toward appeasing the major labels who have put pressure on YouTube to cough up more money.
Cohen insists that the motives are purely in the interest of breaking artists, and fostering a new
distribution model in the record business, however he didn’t specify whether this would benefit artists in general, or if it would benefit the majors.
Though the music streaming business is murky, and there’s no clear cut path to convincing customers to continue to pay for a service, YouTube does have an advantage over its competitors in that, through its 13 year run, it has remained the main way that consumers become acquainted with anything, let alone music. Eighty percent of watched content on YouTube is brought to viewers via one of their recommendation engines, a statistic Cohen cited to explain how the venture plans on utilizing those engines to strengthen the experience of their music streaming service.
How the service will be handled on the artists’ end was not specified, though Cohen briefly mentioned a tiered system, which means there is no indication that the service will be any better for breaking independent artists rather than an offering of a pound of flesh to the major labels.
Can't Miss Events At SXSW 2018
The world’s biggest music industry conference and festival, SXSW, is going down this week in Austin, TX and DCWS will be there for the action!
The world’s biggest music industry conference and festival, SXSW, is going down this week in Austin, TX and DCWS will be there for the action! Everything and anything having to do with music happens at SXSW, and the event sets the pace for the whole year in the industry. From revealing breakthrough technologies, to surprise performances by A$AP Rocky and Drake, SXSW is an opportunity for everyone in the music ecosystem to come together to show off what they’ve got in store for the coming year.
If you’re attending SXSW, you’re guaranteed to get three things if you do it right: free food, free drinks, and spontaneous run-ins with your favorite music stars. With everything popping off all over the city of Austin, it’s pretty much impossible to catch everything, but if you make your way to these events, we promise you that you’ll get at least one of the three mentioned perks per location.
March 14 – 16, 1501 East 7th St.
This is the SXSW party of myth and legend. The one where Amy Winehouse performed her only show ever in Austin, TX. The one where Kanye West jumped on stage out of nowhere. The one where only couple years ago, Drake made a surprise stage appearance.
This year is heavy on rising talent, featuring SOB X BRE, Now, Now, YBN Nahmir, and Soccer Mommy.
The only way to get into this event is via Fader’s private RSVP link, even if you have a badge, but if you don’t even know where to start to gain access to that, it might not be too late to get one by subscribing to their email list. If you’re going to be hitting the streets of Austin this week, politely asking a venue staffer before the night starts, who you can talk to for the list has been effective in previous years.
It may sound like hoops to jump through, but if any event is worth the jumping, it’s this one.
Bud Light X The Roots & Friends Jam Session
March 17, Fair Market, 8 p.m.
This has become an annual thing starting in 2016 when The Roots brought legend after legend to the stage to jam, from Too $hort, to Big Boi, to Naughty By Nature, and more, all in a small capacity intimate bar setting. The energy was raw fun, so it’s an absolute treat for the fans that they’ve been keeping it going every year. This year The Roots will be joined by Ludacris, and Raleigh, NC’s very own Rapsody, along with a variety of other musical acts. Get here early, because the line gets extremely deep.
TBA
Events hosted by SXSW Takeover feature lineups that are crammed with hip hop’s biggest names and rising stars. Past years’ showcasing artists included Ghostface Killa w/ MF Doom, Travis Scott, Flatbush Zombies, DJ Mustard, Dave East, Rapsody, and Lil Wayne. SXSW Takeover has yet to release their lineup, but their social media handles @sxswtakeover are worth a follow if your hitting SXSW or if you’re watching from afar.
Saturday, March 17 10AM – 4PM, Stubb’s BBQ (open to the public)
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 3PM – 10PM, 1102 East Cesar Chavez St. (Badges Only)
If you’re looking for free food and free drinks, this is the day party to hit up. Rachel’s whipping up fresh Tex-Mex street food munchies like nachos and “queso on the cobb” for attendees which will probably be far better than the free food offerings at other SXSW day parties. Action Bronson has been known to consistently pop up at this one (go figure). This year the main event on Saturday is headlined by Salt-N-Pepa. Get there early because even if you have a badge, it’s almost impossible to get into this one if you arrive right when the gates open.