Diplo & Odd Future @FunFunFunFest

For all you techno fans and hip hop fans you should be watching the live stream of Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin on Pitchfork TV. FunFunFunFest Live Stream it's absolutely F***ING NUTS. Flying Lotus just absolutely killed it with a DJ set I had no idea he was capable of and sounded just like what I think the late great JDilla would sound like if he were alive today. Diplo is already dropping dubstep beats and going HAM right off the bat. And the one and only ODD FUTURE WGKTA is on after that and you know that's bound to be absolute INSANITY. Anyway GO WATCH THESE SETS RIGHT NOW.

-AGLapa 

Kreayshawn...Seriously

WHATUP HATERS

Been a minute huh? Things are getting busy here in 'Cuse, November is crunch time. November is also Movember, so fellas remember to start growing your mustaches out to support prostate cancer Mustache Month.

Besides that I got a chance to see a free show last night put on by University Union, the live events division of our student government. A few years ago they started the Bandersnatch series in an effort to bring more indie/underground acts to Cuse. Last night was part of the Noisy College Tour and featured Kreayshawn and Neon Indian. I LOVE Neon Indian, like one of my all time favorites since I heard their first single Deadbeat Summer a few years ago. The band is led by Alan Palomo and they're a sort of chillwave inspired poppy-yet not too upbeat-kinda electro outfit. I'll post more on that later.

This post is about the rap phenom/anomaly/former drug dealer/pink mustang owner/craigslist pimp/most hated chick in music besides Rebecca Black....Kreayshawn. There's a lot of differing opinion being thrown around about this chick. What I do know is she was lucky enough to grace the cover of Complex and she doesn't look half bad (if you're into that). Seeing her live I gotta say, she's kinda sexy (in her own hoodrat sorta way). Check out the article for an in-depth look at Kreay: Kreayshawn: About to Blow?

Her performance was decent at best, I was actually planning on missing it. The way the concert was billed it looked like she was the headliner, which made no sense at all, so I showed up early to see Neon Indian and was planning on leaving before her set. But alas, after a brief DJ set Kreay just kinda jumped out on stage and started going at it bringing with her Vanessa "V-Nasty", another member of her group White Girl Mob. The audio was not mixed well, either that or they were purposely trying to drown her out. When you could hear her voice it sounded shrill and it was usually lost under the beat. There were probably like five white girls who were really really feeling it and maybe a handful of other fans. The only time there was even remotely any enthusiasm was when she did her hit Gucci Gucci. Check out the video...note the Uggs haha.

Now I can't just hate on the chick. If you listen to the lyrics she's actually got a pretty decent flow but her live game needs a lot of work. She didn't interact with the crowd enough, seemed a little awkward in between songs and didn't really have a great rapport going on with her DJ. Overall what made Kreay a success was her viral video. I think she needs to find an element of what made that so popular and bring it to her live show. Apparently she inked a recording deal with nine numbers in it so she's not going anywhere anytime soon. She's got the right hook and she's got a good angle, now she needs to solidify her fan base and really tune up her live show. Maybe release a mixtape with a famous DJ or get some solid collaborations going on. 

Post more on the rest of the show and Neon Indian's awesome set later. In the meantime I would check out the live video, see what you think, then let me know in the comments. PEACE.

-AGLapa

Hyundai RE:GENERATION

For all you techno/house-heads CHECK THIS OUT!! Hyundai has partnered with the a few the hottest and most influential DJ's on the scene right now to promote their latest vehicle (the Veloster?)




The roster includes Pretty Lights, SKRILLEX, DJ Premier, Crystal Method, aaaaand Mark Ronson! One of my personal favorites. This is an unbelievable lineup but the catch is where it's at. Each DJ is going to be partnered with a different style of music from SKRILLEX + Rock (with The Doors!), to DJ Premier + Classical (with the Berklee Symphony Orchestra). The lineup also includes Jazz and Country and a lineup of collaborators including Nas, Erykah Badu, and Leann Rimes. 


Definitely worth a look.

-AGLapa 

#SmokersClubTour2(Part 1)- Curren$y and the JETS

Whatup whatup whatup. Looks like the Haterade is aching for some new content and I, like the messiah himself, shall give unto thee. This weekend I made the trip down to NYC from Syracuse to visit my man @SPCverified and hit up the Smokers Club Tour at Best Buy Theatre. I wrote a post earlier giving some details about the show so hit that up if you want more info on the lineup and tour dates. Watered Down Haterade: The Smokers Club Tour and More Curren$y:

I'm no professional, but I am a connoisseur of the $pitta, The JETLife, and all things Wu-Tang so this show was like a smorgasbord. Unfortunately I didn't get there in time to see the opening acts from recent Don Cannon mixtape collaborator Fiend(International Jones). So check this out if you're looking for a taste.

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.com

From what I heard he killed it and did some songs with CornerBoyP who also had his own set. The Pricks to be honest, I know nothing about, but check them out here: http://pricksforlife.com. I got there right around the time the first big name was going on, lucky right? Big K.R.I.T. is one of my favorite new artists in the hip-hop game right now. He's an interesting personality as he's an indie-blog favorite (Pitchfork) especially, where his album Return To 4Eva was rated an 8.2 and best new music (check the link). He's collaborated on songs with other southern boys like T.I., Chamillionare, and Ludacris did a single with Wiz Khalifa and had a chart-topping banger of his own, Country Shit. They call his style swamp-rap, like Goodie Mob or UGK, and his Mississippi southern style is unmistakable. 

KRIT did all of his anthems including Country Shit and Moon & Stars which both killed. The crowd was into it and you could tell that this was a hardcore group of fans, no casual observers here. KRIT performs with a ton of good energy and was even a little reminiscent of the Method Man himself.

$pitta, just chillin' at home.

$pitta and DZA on the couch.

Now, when comparing the two (almost equally billed) headliners there was no clear cut star of the show for me. They both have very different performance styles, flows, sets, DJ's, entourages, etc which all contributed to the vibe. Curren$y prefers a relaxed, almost extemporaneous performance style that's laid back and includes a lot of his favorite verses done acapella (to check up on your "cool"). He loves when fans fill in his lines for him. $pitta's opening was a little uncharacteristic though, if it's based on past performances I've seen (which would be six now) it was way different. Probably because of his broken leg, Curren$y devised a clever way to maintain his "cool", stay off his leg and still put on a great show. I've genuinely never seen the curtain actually go down before $pitta came on.

As you can tell he spared no expense making sure that his surroundings matched the lifestyle he has become so well known for. Pictures of his favorite things like corvettes and JETS logos adorned the wall of his makeshift living room where he chilled on the couch and still killed it. Bringing the couch to the people is so authentic to Curren$y he could have done that even without the broken leg and his fans would have loved it. I love the way he transitions from one song to the next effortlessly maintaing a smooth flow throughout the whole show. He hit a whole roster of favorites including the new hit from Weekend at Burnie's- #Jetsgo. Luckily I caught the action on my new iPhone (HD baby!).

$pitta made sure to hit all the sweet spots doing songs off Pilot Talk like King Kong and Breakfast. Now one of the things I love about a $pitta show is his group of friends and roster of JETS International artists including Trademark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy, and Street Wiz. Usually sometime in the middle of his set he'll bring out his boys for a song or two together and then let them do their thing.  My favorite songs of the night were done when Trade and Roddy were on stage. They killed hits like Roasted, Flight Briefing, and Still. 

$pitta also did a bunch of songs with Smoke DZA though to be honest I'm not even sure which songs they did together.

Overall this portion of concert alone was totally worth the $50 to my new friend from craigslist. When I get a chance tomorrow I'll put up a post on Meth's half of the show. The Curren$y show is definitely unlike any other, and for those of us that think we know what to expect at this point, there's always a surprise or two.

-AGLapa