RootMusic, Frank151, & Village Voice Present: Skullcandy Sessions in Austin TX. With live performances by Wu-Tang Clan, Yelawolf, Rocky Business, Trae Tha Truth, Marz Lovejoy, Trouble Andrew, Wild Flag, Ume and the mighty Fishbone.
DJ Set from Erykah Badu aka DJ Lo Down Loretta Brown and Live Video Mixing by Eclectic Method.
SXSW showcase with J*DaVeY, Blu, Pac Div, Homeboy Sandman, Tanya Morgan, Stalley and more in Austin, TX, sponsored by Move Forward Music and Fusicology.
Tom Morello (fr. Rage Against The Machine) & The Coup's Boots Riley aka Street Sweeper Social Club performed the Billboard Magazine showcase at SXSW Austin TX Saturday, March 20.
Though burgeoning hip-hop talent from cities all across the country filled Austin, Texas bars and clubs at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) music fest, there was a considerable lack of fresh-faced MCs out of New York. However, Duck Down Records, celebrating its 15th anniversary and the birthday of co-founder Dru Ha, provided the veteran presence from hip-hop’s birthplace Friday night (March 19) at the Scoot Inn.
New signee Pharoahe Monch made a boisterous entrance on the barnyard-like stage, dipping into his Desire LP and classics cuts such as “My Life” and the deafening highlight of the night, “Simon Says.” (view video above)
Almost the entirety of the label’s roster performed, including newer acts Kidz In The Hall and Marco Polo & Torae. Longtime associates Tek and Steele of Smif-N-Wessun also performed their legendary A & B-sides, “Bucktown” and “Let’s Git It On,” before giving way to Sean Price, who held down his native Brownsville with a freestyle over Jay-Z’s “Where I’m From,” among other choice cuts.
Co-founder Buckshot first hit the stage with 9th Wonder, but with DJ Evil Dee on the one’s and two’s earlier in the evening, Buck revisited their Black Moon days, delving into the seminal LP Enta Tha Stage to close out the night with help of his Boot Camp Clik fam in attendance.
AUSTIN – Smokey Robinson, relaxed while sitting on an easy chair, summed up his life as a songwriter in these few words: "My goal is to always write a song," he said. "Every time I sit down, I want to write a song."
That was the gist of the Motown music legend's keynote address Thursday morning (March 18) at the South by Southwest Music Festival. Except that Robinson didn't stand behind a lectern to deliver a pre-written speech.
Instead, in a much looser setting, he fielded questions from music journalist Dave Marsh. Although all Marsh really did was introduce a general topic and let the talkative artist gab.
Robinson isn't shy. He's more than happy to tell stories about the golden days and today. Robinson hasn't slowed down, releasing Time Flies When You're Having Fun on his Robso Records label last year. Plenty of conversation also focused on 2006's collection of pop standards, Timeless Love.
"It was the first music I heard in my life at home," he said of the classics on Timeless. "I consider these songs to be timeless. They are older than me."
Of course, much discourse centered on Berry Gordy, the visionary Motown Records founder that took 16-year-old Smokey Robinson and helped mold him into a superstar singer and songwriter.
When Robinson met Gordy, he had a loose-leaf notebook full of songs that rhymed but made no sense, he said. It was Gordy who, while impressed with the persistent budding artist, made sure that Robinson learned the craft well. So Gordy had Robinson listen to the radio and study the structure of hit after hit.
"I want you to see that songs have a beginning, a middle and an end tied together," Robinson said Gordy once told him. "That's really how I learned to write songs."
A few fun factoids: Robinson wrote "Shop Around" in 25 minutes. "It just flowed out of me," he said. By contrast, "Cruisin' " took five years to pen.
Nothing Robinson said Thursday was particularly revelatory, but it was highly entertaining listening to him reminisce. We did learn just how ambitious Robinson can be and how passionate he is about his art.
"I want to be Beethoven," he said. "I want to be Mozart."
It's not that he wants to be a classical composer, it's that he wants to endure. He wants to be timeless. "I was influenced so much by George Gershwin, by Ira Gershwin," he says, "people like that who wrote songs that we're still singing."
The night's biggest name belonged to Snoop Dogg, who was also arguably the biggest draw at Perez Hilton's now seemingly annual One Night in Austin (Saturday, March 20) show (albeit largely because its was Snoop's only appearance while headliners Hole were marking Courtney Love's third gig in two days).
Perez and Snoop both seem antithetical to SXSW's up-and-coming indie ethos, but it's hard to argue against Snoop's performance skills. After so many years on the mic, he knows how to hype a crowd like few others here.
His recent albums may be a little lackluster, but last night he chose not to saddle his gig with too many new songs. Snoop kept to his current single 'I Wanna Rock' and otherwise played an all-hits set which prompted huge arms-in-the-air rap-alongs to crowd favourites like like 'Gin 'n' Juice,' 'Sensual Seduction' and 'Drop It Like Its Hot.'
But perhaps the biggest crowd response came from a fierce and utterly unexpected cover of House of Pain's 'Jump Around' which less surprisingly induced the free alcohol-soused crowd to do as instructed.
Atlanta's breakout artist Pill is out in front at Ace's Lounge (Wednesday, March 17) while Bun B is set to go on. Not sure which is more fun to watch the crowd or Bun B.
At last night's (Saturday, March 20) Red Bull Thre3Style Event Showcase with Mos Def, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Spider, DJ Klever, J.Rocc, Cut Chemist and DJ Juan McLean took place downtown Austin, TX.
Philadelphia's Bahamadia made a rare appearance at the Women in Hip-Hop showcase @ the Victory Grill Friday March 19. For those who attended, a performance by Bahamadia is a definite treat!
On Friday March 19, Baltimore Rapper & M.I.A. protege Rye Rye aka Ryeisha Berrain performed SXSW 2010 at the Levi's Fader Fort stage. The dancing diva was a surprise guest, as her unannounced appearance which brought massive cheers from a throbbing crowd of rabid fans. Shake it to the Ground was her last song of the set and was filled with her signature moves and licks.
Below, rainbow bright rapper Rye Rye stopped by AOL's SXSW HQ at Brazos Loft and on her second trip to Austin, Texas. She talked about her festival experiences, working with mentor M.I.A. and what's up next for the Baltimore native.
Brooklyn-based Talib Kweli made a point to stop by Austin for an unofficial SXSW performance at the DigiWaxx-sponsored free event last night (Friday, March 19) at The Ranch.
The singer/rapper took to the stage immediately after Estelle's set, and he wasted no time delving into his work. "Get 'Em High" kicked off the 30-minute performance, a song that appeared on Kanye West's 2004 debut album, "The College Dropout," for which Kweli and Common contributed vocals--and a song that the surprisingly small audience knew very well.
Kweli continued on with "Hot Thing," a sexy single from his latest effort, "Eardrum," which peaked at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 upon its release in 2007. On occasion, the performer would work in his signature free-style flow, talking so quickly, it was hard to catch more than a few obvious terms, like the word of the moment: recession. Before the venue pulled the plug--something about time restrictions on unsanctioned SXSW music--Kweli was able to get in "We Got the Beat," complete with a troupe of b-boys (a one b-girl) who flung themselves around on stage, catching the entire audience by storm.
Rising hip-hop star Yelawolf is playing eight shows over the next four days. "It's my first trip out here and my first trip to SXSW," the Alabama native tells The BoomBox following his afternoon set at Austin's Beauty Bar. "I'm definitely trying to conserve my voice. I've never done this many shows this quickly, back to back."
Yelawolf's buzz has media as far as from Norway already lining up for an interview, this before the skateboard fanatic has inked any major label deal or put out an official full-length LP. For a guy who grew up hunting and fishing in the redneck backwoods of the South, Wolf's popularity rides as much on his unusual place in hip-hop culture, as well as the release of three successful mixtapes: 'Slick Rick and Bobby,' 'Stereo' and the newer 'Trunk Muzik,' where rap namesakes Bun B and Juelz Santana are featured guests and fans include Kanye West and N.E.R.D. But by far the most attention grabbing factor is Wolf's Micro Machine Man speech delivery and nasally flow that hails comparison's to Eminem.
For most of his Beauty Bar set -- onlookers included Kid Sister and her older brother Josh Young, one part of Chicago DJ duo Flosstradamus -- Yelawolf entertained with nods to Chevrolets, moonshine and the middle finger found on 'Trunk Muzik.' Classic piano chords juxtaposed the don't-mess-with-me lyrics on 'Pop the Trunk' and if his 'Mixin Up the Medicine' sounded familiar it's his interpretation of Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues,' where he raps "I'm on the pavement/Thinking about the government/[Juelz] Santana's in the basement mixin' up the medicine," a short departure of Dylan's original verses.
"Sample wise we try to keep it as original as possible but still enjoy the culture of hip-hop of being able to sample," Yelawolf says. "That's what hip-hop is about to me -- just bending sounds from all over the world and making it hip-hop. Country can't be hip-hop, but you can take country and make it hip-hop."
For the rest of SXSW Yelawolf is keeping a mellow regimen. "I'm just gonna run in random spots and check out random people ... there are so many, like two-three acts an hour at each venue, so who knows what we'll run into. I wanna see Ninjasonik. I've got some homies who skateboard in Brooklyn, they've been trying to get me to see him. I'm gonna hit up some of that BBQ later though, for sure."
On Thursday, March 18, Estelle (along with VV Brown, Master Shortie, Maverick Sabre, Bubbz) performed at the SXSW Official British Embassy Showcase at Latitude 30 hosted by Ras Kwame (BBC Radio 1 & 1 Xtra) in association with UKTI (United Kingdom Trade Investment).
You can also catch Estelle and V.V. Brown at the Perez Hilton showcase on Saturday at SXSW.
Photos from Estelle's Thursday night performance: Getty Images
Estelle set-list:
One Love Sub Lover Come Over Freak Lil Bit Back In Love Pretty Please/Get Ready Shine American Boy
Thursday night (March 18) at Mohawk, the GZA, was not that man. And I’m pretty sure almost nobody in the crowd cared.
Taking the stage about 40 minutes late at 20 to 1 a.m., the GZA, one of the Wu-Tang Clan’s legendary M.C.s seemed….rickety? Overly relaxed? Barely able to stand up? One of those.
Let me put it this way: He had a hype man, he had a DJ and he had a dude who was essentially a spotter. This gentleman at one point literally put his hand on GZA’s back, perhaps to keep him from tipping over.
GZA stood very still for much of the set and at one point took out a Blackberry (smartphone?) and started texting. To his credit, he didn’t stop rapping. But he also decided to check some messages while on stage performing. Think about that. That’s considered rude when you’re ordering food at McDonald’s.
But again, it was unclear if anyone at Mohawk minded. SXSW crowds are more forgiving that you might think. After midnight, after a hard day of partying, people, to a certain extent, are just happy to still be awake. Mohawk was one of the night’s hotter tickets and as long as the GZA hit highlights from the Wu-Tang catalog (which he did) and rapped a whole bunch of verses from his brilliant debut “Liquid Swords” (ditto) people were going to be happy with it.
(A hype man also yelled, “Bill Murray is in the building,” but ol’ Bill was accused of being about four places at the same time, according to Twitter. Anyone know where he actually was? Are there fake Murrays running around?)
