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Category: Sound Searching
Sound Searching is a section for music we discover online and feel the need to talk about, highlight and share.
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Sound Searching: Kill J
Kill J: Art, bass, creepy and cool.
A trait many people fail to possess is the ability to turn something so deeply embedded in hate into a positive and affirmative thing. Not only does Kill J achieve this, but she spun it into something so beautiful and full of emotion. This Trip-Hop / Pop sensation is making waves from Denmark. Kill J and her unique take on “Pop music” set her apart from the pack. Her single “Bullet” is like a buffet for the senses. The track starts off by seducing your curiosity with the light, pretty pitches that lead you into a dark Pop bass-line. Kill J’s soft vocals wrapping around the deep loop create an eerily powerful dynamic. This artful approach to Pop music is a well-welcomed change, giving you a chance to appreciate the music as an art form.
This song is dedicated to the victims of other peoples bullshit convictions. People who act sinful, hateful and ungodly in the name of their God. — Kill J
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yKSeGh09tc&h=315]
Read more about Kill J
“There is Scandinavian pop and there is Scandinavian pop. Kill J don’t sound much like, for example, Icona Pop. There are few entreaties to crash a car or burn someone’s possessions on this Danish duo’s debut track, Phoenix. It’s not so much brash and in-your-face as heavenly, haunting, with the relaxed essence of a psalm or even balm. You could imagine it soundtracking an advert for a fragrant emollient, or something you put in a bath to make bubbles and soothe the skin. Which is probably a strange thing to say about a song that was, say Kill J, “born out of a poetic longing for something simple, primal, dirty and pleasurable” and that is “about the cyclical nature of pleasure and pain”.” — Paul Lester, The Guardian
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Sound Searching: Kill J
Kill J: Art, bass, creepy and cool.
A trait many people fail to possess is the ability to turn something so deeply embedded in hate into a positive and affirmative thing. Not only does Kill J achieve this, but she spun it into something so beautiful and full of emotion. This Trip-Hop / Pop sensation is making waves from Denmark. Kill J and her unique take on “Pop music” set her apart from the pack. Her single “Bullet” is like a buffet for the senses. The track starts off by seducing your curiosity with the light, pretty pitches that lead you into a dark Pop bass-line. Kill J’s soft vocals wrapping around the deep loop create an eerily powerful dynamic. This artful approach to Pop music is a well-welcomed change, giving you a chance to appreciate the music as an art form.
This song is dedicated to the victims of other peoples bullshit convictions. People who act sinful, hateful and ungodly in the name of their God. — Kill J
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yKSeGh09tc&h=315]
Read more about Kill J
“There is Scandinavian pop and there is Scandinavian pop. Kill J don’t sound much like, for example, Icona Pop. There are few entreaties to crash a car or burn someone’s possessions on this Danish duo’s debut track, Phoenix. It’s not so much brash and in-your-face as heavenly, haunting, with the relaxed essence of a psalm or even balm. You could imagine it soundtracking an advert for a fragrant emollient, or something you put in a bath to make bubbles and soothe the skin. Which is probably a strange thing to say about a song that was, say Kill J, “born out of a poetic longing for something simple, primal, dirty and pleasurable” and that is “about the cyclical nature of pleasure and pain”.” — Paul Lester, The Guardian
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Sound Searching: MONOGEM
Ethereal and distant, but somehow wistfully familiar, MONOGEM is a mystery ready to be revealed. With glittering melodies and bursts of electronica, all blissfully combined with just a potent hint of throwback disco, MONOGEM returns with their new single, “Wait and See”: a psychedelic electro journey, as infectious as it is affectionate.
Fronted by singer-songwriter Jen Hirsh, MONOGEM is a collaboration with producer-songwriter, Scott Smith, and accompanied live with a full band. The group takes us on an intoxicatingly refined journey through delicate vocals, dizzying harmonies and dance ready synths.
MONOGEM’s first single, The Glow, debuted on Paper Magazine, who aptly noted that the project, “makes disco and funk-tinged synth pop that will make you want to groove, gurl.” And rightly so – the video for the track is a perfect montage of 1984 cult movie, Breakin’, an obvious nod to MONOGEM’s vintage roots.
[quote]It’s about letting go and transporting yourself into another realm,” Hirsh muses of the forthcoming release. “Everybody can relate, or at least I hope so, to that feeling you get on the dancefloor.” From the tripped out beats of, Wait And See, to the emphatic and uplifting, All We Have which dropped on Elle.com, MONOGEM arrives with incredible force, from another world where pop music still has sentiment and soul. And just a bit of funk.[/quote]
For more MONOGEM, just click here.
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Song of the Day: “Blue Fragments” by Lexx Black
Name: Lexx Black
Representing: Boston, Massachusetts
Genre: R&B / Soul
For fans of: Frank Ocean
Single from: “dream/ART”
Produced by: Brandon*
Song of the Day: March 27, 2014
Label(s): Unsigned
“Blue Fragments” cleverly infuses an infectious beat with a soulful hook that has a strong early 2000’s feel. I fell in love with this track from the first I don’t want to be alone, and was immediately intrigued by the raw talent that resided within Lexx Black’s voice. Simplistic yet passionate, the lyrics paint a beautiful picture that reflects raw emotion. We need more music like this!
Listen to the track below:
For more about Lexx Black, just click here.
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Song of the Day: “Blue Fragments” by Lexx Black
Name: Lexx Black
Representing: Boston, Massachusetts
Genre: R&B / Soul
For fans of: Frank Ocean
Single from: “dream/ART”
Produced by: Brandon*
Song of the Day: March 27, 2014
Label(s): Unsigned
“Blue Fragments” cleverly infuses an infectious beat with a soulful hook that has a strong early 2000’s feel. I fell in love with this track from the first I don’t want to be alone, and was immediately intrigued by the raw talent that resided within Lexx Black’s voice. Simplistic yet passionate, the lyrics paint a beautiful picture that reflects raw emotion. We need more music like this!
Listen to the track below:
For more about Lexx Black, just click here.
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An insightful interview with Boyfriend, female rapper from N’awlins
“Interview Request: Boyfriend” — reading those words let me know that I have garnered the trust and professional respect from my Editor.
This is my first major assignment for GrungeCake Magazine. Feeling that this will be a defining moment, I immersed myself in all things Boyfriend. I let that Soundcloud rock ’til that shit proverbially popped by being interrupted by a phone call or six. There is nothing worse than reading a generic interview.
An hour before, I’m notified that it’s a “go” and that I will receive a call from her at 9PM, I knew my questions ranged from super personal to fake-political so I wanted to make her as comfortable as possible. With the looming threat of a potential equipment fail, it was Boyfriend that quelled my spirits with understanding. As the questions delved into her personal life, she crafted very thoughtful responses. She took time to process the question and actually ponder before answering. Our conversation on polyamory, open relationships, DTF could have gone on for hours. We were like new cosmic friends trading insights. Unfortunately, our interview had to come to an end but I look forward to experiencing her artistry grow and evolve. Shout out to Boyfriend for busting my cherry wide open. Now read our intimate interview below:
I want to talk about narrative, in interviews you speak of Boyfriend as an act, more commentary than anything else, I would think people would resonate w you more if they knew that this was coming from you personally or do you have a fear of being judged given the content?
The main factor is most of the raps out there right now that I listen to are people really speaking from a 100% transparency whereas I’m rapping about freaky period blood, having sex with old grandmas so it’s necessary to take a step back when talking about it so that I’m not a parody, because that’s not what’s going on. If someone is talking to me as an artist who is creating these songs, I feel like they can walk away with something more valuable than thinking of Boyfriend, simply as a punch line.
Your breath control is crazy, what artists did you model your flow off of? What exercises did you use to get there?
I have a strong history in show choir before Glee was a show, I was off winning championships with my high school choir in Nashville, so we had to sing and dance our asses off. I learned breath control through choir. As far as modelling my flow, I don’t think I’ve done that yet. There have been a couple songs where I say I’m going to try and take a more Azealia Banks approach on this one. She rhymes super staccato. One syllable words packed into one phrase, so I would do it almost as an exercise but my overall song that I write, I’m not consciously modelling it after someone else.
https://youtu.be/sVsA0zRYaVg
How have you been positioning yourself? As a sex-positive person, what crowd do you drift to? What about medium? Who’s audience would you love to tap into?
I would love to find more people like me, actually. I listen to Mykki Blanco and Le1f basically like the whole genre of theatrical art that’s going on right now. Zebra Katz is another great example. People who make music videos that are works of art. I would love for those people to get turned on to me.
What rappers and producers would like to collaborate with?
That’s really interesting because I feel like the sex-positive platform(s) found me. I put out “Hunch n Munch” which was very super sexual. The people found me and contacted me like Playboy Radio, Museum of Sex, and “Sex with Emily” which was a blog and now, it’s a whole show. I didn’t seek that out. I was just making songs. People were like “Sex-Positive Rapper, Boyfriend”, and I’m like, I guess I am sex-positive. For me, it was just like this is the song I feel like writing. This is what I feel like I have to say then, the audience found me.
How do you keep yourself abreast of what’s going on in the world? What are your top 3 sites that you visit in order to do so?
There are so many. It would be such an honor to work with anybody from Three 6 Mafia. I actually sent a Facebook message to Gangsta Boo, but she never responded. Growing up in Tennessee that would be a huge honor. I also really do think what Mykki Blanco is doing right now is the new “new” and that would be super exciting.
Lurking on the internet. Live for the Funk is one of my favorite blogs. They stay playing those jacuzzi jams with a really nice balance of rap. I also think Dose Rate is super under the radar but they’re like ground floor hip. They have actually found me now. Motherfunker is a really good blog.
There is definitely intentionality behind it. I wanted to write the song “Hunch n Munch” because I wanted to write a brashly sexual song that is on the one hand saying, “Isn’t great that that I get to say these things about sex?” On the other hand, it is saying as a female who is rapping, “I’m rapping about sex because I’m very much aware of how that’s like an artistic prison almost that gets placed on women in any industry, not just rap.” You have to use your sexuality as a thing so it’s both celebration and a comment, so there is definite intentionality. My intentions only go so far to dictate the creative process. I’m not thinking about the audience first.
Dare I say the F word “Feminist” or nah?
Sure, there are connotations of feminism that I have issues with. [It is] one of those words that have just become so watered down and diluted that it just depends on who is standing in front of me at the time. I’ve had arguments with people who call themselves feminists, who find strip clubs to be degrading to women.
Initially, I was asking about more political sites that helps keep you informed?
I, like most hip girls my age, like Jezebel and [I think] The Hairpin is great. I’m like a headline person. Honestly, at the end of the day, I go check out The Onion to feel better about the rest of the world.
What and who are your satirical influences?
Sandra Bernhard, Bette Midler, and Carol Burnette. Women that I really watch and love. I recently got turned on to Tony Clifton. It’s all about placing this showmanship of the golden age of musicals and theatre and placing it into this boner atmosphere. It’s like the Dean Martin Variety Show with a giant, raging boner.
Are you still in an open relationship?
Those are the only relationships I’m interested in. I’m not in a place to be monogamous because I’m not done hanging out and I don’t know if I’ll ever be. For me, it’s like human beings are so fascinating, beautiful and complicated, that there will always be new adventures and discoveries I want to make. I think that some people are able to go on those adventures with other people without undermining or devaluing the other relationships that they have. I try to look at people, all the people in my life, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and I’m not complete with all the little pieces. I think it’s foolish to try and make one person be every single piece because that’s a lot to put on one person. They’re trying to be everything for themselves. You know, they gotta wake up in the morning and they gotta wash their dishes, they gotta pay their taxes… Can I be your everything also? It just seems like a lot to ask.
Are you a relationship anarchist or do you have a main person?
At the moment no, I travel a lot so I can see myself being a fifty-seven-year-old woman with a global access of lovers. It’s not ludicrous. It’s like true deep relationships that last years and years but you might only see that person three times a year. It’s definitely a Bohemian ideal. We’ll see if I can pull it off.
In terms of your open relationship, how honest were you with your partner?
It’s a case by case basis. Relationships, romantic and otherwise, are founded on communication. I think there is a difference between honesty and disclosure for the sake of relieving yourself of guilt. Sometimes, you might be telling something so that you feel better about what you have done. When really, if you did something you shouldn’t have done, maybe it’s your burden to bear and you should carry it. It’s really a case by case basis.
DTF… How do you know it should go down? Can you walk us through that moment?
It’s all about the vibes. I try to keep my vibe-meter finely tuned. It’s hard to put the vibes into words. I know personally, if something is too easy, it’s not as fun. I’m all about the slow burn, building the anticipation. It’s an exchange of energy. I know when to play a certain song because the audience is asking for it. They might not have ever heard the song before, but the vibes are like, now is the time for this song. It’s all about perception and doing things people want and being able to give it to them.
How old were you when you had your first orgasm?
Oh girl, I don’t even remember. I was one of those kids who were accidentally getting off in the jacuzzi, not knowing what it was. I think there are a lot of kids that do that. Never linking it to sex.
Sexually, do the ends justify the means? If you don’t have an orgasm will it feel incomplete or are you more interested in the journey or the arrival?
It’s certainly the journey and I keep that in mind in all aspects of my life. I make these YouTube videos because I enjoy making them, not because I want my number to get to a million views. It’s like if you’re in it for that, you’re in it for the wrong reason.
How do you fund your projects?
I work my ass off. I’m a hustler. I have a full time-job, in addition to being Boyfriend. I use that to fund my work. I’m very resourceful.
As a White woman in Hip-Hop, what do you say to those who would label your performance art as privileged escapism?
I try to be very respectful of that. I am in no way as frustrated as being a member of a systematically-oppressed race. I don’t have much room to complain, “Oh it’s so hard being a White rapper” so I am very sensitive to people who have issue with it or have something to say about it. At the same time, I challenge those people to review everything as content, that they’re actually talking about the actual work that someone is putting out instead of the looks of the person that is putting it out.
What was your defining moment that made you realize I can do this professionally?
It was a beautiful moment. I can point to it. A lot of different things in life, you can’t point to that clearly. I took a last minute, crazy romantic let’s-just-get-in-the-car-and-drive road trip to Berkley, California when I was living in L.A. I crashed at a friend’s place and he was kind of playing around and making beats. He ended up making the beat for “Bitches Be Hating” and I kind of freestyled and came up with that flow. It was this beautiful, funny afternoon that the song was created. I just knew [and felt], “Wait, this song is actually pretty good.” I’m not saying that I’m going to change the world, but it’s good enough that I wasn’t embarrassed and that I wouldn’t mind if someone else heard it. That was the start.
If you can go back in time two years ago, what advice would you have given to yourself?
Not to be afraid and advocate for yourself as an artist. I was way too embarrassed to say, “Hey, look at me” for a long time. I think that’s part of why I have been unknown for so long. I was just kind of minding my own business releasing these videos and I finally have a place of confidence where I can say, “Hey, pay attention to me.” It took me a long time to be okay with that. It seems like something selfish. In today’s world, where someone is trying to show me a picture of what they had for lunch, I think it’s fair for me to show them this video I made.
What aspects of femininity have you yet to explore that you would like to make into a song?
There are definite double standards that need to be addressed and I am more than willing to address them, but I want to make sure that I am speaking from a place of maturity. I don’t want to venture out until I’m damn sure [about] how I feel. When I wrote Period Rap, I was ready to put that into people’s faces because I was tired of having to sneakingly carry a tampon to the bathroom meanwhile my co-worker is scratching his balls. How is that fair? Again, it goes back to the danger of the F word Feminism because while people might be offended by people opening a door for them, isn’t it also nice that someone wants to open the door for you? Some of that stuff is sticky. I have to stew on it a little longer.
What artists influenced you?
Definitely strong women voices are the main influence. It’s less the sonic quality and more their overall approach to the industry like what Björk did for the music video or how Beyoncé is involved in every aspect of production or how Erykah Badu is just completely unapologetic of who she is. Those are the type of things I try to take inspiration from because sonically I know I don’t sound like any of these people and I wouldn’t try to because they are their own classics. I wouldn’t try to recreate that and hopefully while aligning myself with artistic processes, I can create my own unique product.
And last but not least, when you hear GrungeCake what comes to mind?
I actually think of bite-sized attitude. Like a plate of really hip cupcakes.
For more Boyfriend, just click here.
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An insightful interview with Boyfriend, female rapper from N’awlins
“Interview Request: Boyfriend” — reading those words let me know that I have garnered the trust and professional respect from my Editor.
This is my first major assignment for GrungeCake Magazine. Feeling that this will be a defining moment, I immersed myself in all things Boyfriend. I let that Soundcloud rock ’til that shit proverbially popped by being interrupted by a phone call or six. There is nothing worse than reading a generic interview.
An hour before, I’m notified that it’s a “go” and that I will receive a call from her at 9PM, I knew my questions ranged from super personal to fake-political so I wanted to make her as comfortable as possible. With the looming threat of a potential equipment fail, it was Boyfriend that quelled my spirits with understanding. As the questions delved into her personal life, she crafted very thoughtful responses. She took time to process the question and actually ponder before answering. Our conversation on polyamory, open relationships, DTF could have gone on for hours. We were like new cosmic friends trading insights. Unfortunately, our interview had to come to an end but I look forward to experiencing her artistry grow and evolve. Shout out to Boyfriend for busting my cherry wide open. Now read our intimate interview below:
I want to talk about narrative, in interviews you speak of Boyfriend as an act, more commentary than anything else, I would think people would resonate w you more if they knew that this was coming from you personally or do you have a fear of being judged given the content?
The main factor is most of the raps out there right now that I listen to are people really speaking from a 100% transparency whereas I’m rapping about freaky period blood, having sex with old grandmas so it’s necessary to take a step back when talking about it so that I’m not a parody, because that’s not what’s going on. If someone is talking to me as an artist who is creating these songs, I feel like they can walk away with something more valuable than thinking of Boyfriend, simply as a punch line.
Your breath control is crazy, what artists did you model your flow off of? What exercises did you use to get there?
I have a strong history in show choir before Glee was a show, I was off winning championships with my high school choir in Nashville, so we had to sing and dance our asses off. I learned breath control through choir. As far as modelling my flow, I don’t think I’ve done that yet. There have been a couple songs where I say I’m going to try and take a more Azealia Banks approach on this one. She rhymes super staccato. One syllable words packed into one phrase, so I would do it almost as an exercise but my overall song that I write, I’m not consciously modelling it after someone else.
https://youtu.be/sVsA0zRYaVg
How have you been positioning yourself? As a sex-positive person, what crowd do you drift to? What about medium? Who’s audience would you love to tap into?
I would love to find more people like me, actually. I listen to Mykki Blanco and Le1f basically like the whole genre of theatrical art that’s going on right now. Zebra Katz is another great example. People who make music videos that are works of art. I would love for those people to get turned on to me.
What rappers and producers would like to collaborate with?
That’s really interesting because I feel like the sex-positive platform(s) found me. I put out “Hunch n Munch” which was very super sexual. The people found me and contacted me like Playboy Radio, Museum of Sex, and “Sex with Emily” which was a blog and now, it’s a whole show. I didn’t seek that out. I was just making songs. People were like “Sex-Positive Rapper, Boyfriend”, and I’m like, I guess I am sex-positive. For me, it was just like this is the song I feel like writing. This is what I feel like I have to say then, the audience found me.
How do you keep yourself abreast of what’s going on in the world? What are your top 3 sites that you visit in order to do so?
There are so many. It would be such an honor to work with anybody from Three 6 Mafia. I actually sent a Facebook message to Gangsta Boo, but she never responded. Growing up in Tennessee that would be a huge honor. I also really do think what Mykki Blanco is doing right now is the new “new” and that would be super exciting.
Lurking on the internet. Live for the Funk is one of my favorite blogs. They stay playing those jacuzzi jams with a really nice balance of rap. I also think Dose Rate is super under the radar but they’re like ground floor hip. They have actually found me now. Motherfunker is a really good blog.
There is definitely intentionality behind it. I wanted to write the song “Hunch n Munch” because I wanted to write a brashly sexual song that is on the one hand saying, “Isn’t great that that I get to say these things about sex?” On the other hand, it is saying as a female who is rapping, “I’m rapping about sex because I’m very much aware of how that’s like an artistic prison almost that gets placed on women in any industry, not just rap.” You have to use your sexuality as a thing so it’s both celebration and a comment, so there is definite intentionality. My intentions only go so far to dictate the creative process. I’m not thinking about the audience first.
Dare I say the F word “Feminist” or nah?
Sure, there are connotations of feminism that I have issues with. [It is] one of those words that have just become so watered down and diluted that it just depends on who is standing in front of me at the time. I’ve had arguments with people who call themselves feminists, who find strip clubs to be degrading to women.
Initially, I was asking about more political sites that helps keep you informed?
I, like most hip girls my age, like Jezebel and [I think] The Hairpin is great. I’m like a headline person. Honestly, at the end of the day, I go check out The Onion to feel better about the rest of the world.
What and who are your satirical influences?
Sandra Bernhard, Bette Midler, and Carol Burnette. Women that I really watch and love. I recently got turned on to Tony Clifton. It’s all about placing this showmanship of the golden age of musicals and theatre and placing it into this boner atmosphere. It’s like the Dean Martin Variety Show with a giant, raging boner.
Are you still in an open relationship?
Those are the only relationships I’m interested in. I’m not in a place to be monogamous because I’m not done hanging out and I don’t know if I’ll ever be. For me, it’s like human beings are so fascinating, beautiful and complicated, that there will always be new adventures and discoveries I want to make. I think that some people are able to go on those adventures with other people without undermining or devaluing the other relationships that they have. I try to look at people, all the people in my life, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and I’m not complete with all the little pieces. I think it’s foolish to try and make one person be every single piece because that’s a lot to put on one person. They’re trying to be everything for themselves. You know, they gotta wake up in the morning and they gotta wash their dishes, they gotta pay their taxes… Can I be your everything also? It just seems like a lot to ask.
Are you a relationship anarchist or do you have a main person?
At the moment no, I travel a lot so I can see myself being a fifty-seven-year-old woman with a global access of lovers. It’s not ludicrous. It’s like true deep relationships that last years and years but you might only see that person three times a year. It’s definitely a Bohemian ideal. We’ll see if I can pull it off.
In terms of your open relationship, how honest were you with your partner?
It’s a case by case basis. Relationships, romantic and otherwise, are founded on communication. I think there is a difference between honesty and disclosure for the sake of relieving yourself of guilt. Sometimes, you might be telling something so that you feel better about what you have done. When really, if you did something you shouldn’t have done, maybe it’s your burden to bear and you should carry it. It’s really a case by case basis.
DTF… How do you know it should go down? Can you walk us through that moment?
It’s all about the vibes. I try to keep my vibe-meter finely tuned. It’s hard to put the vibes into words. I know personally, if something is too easy, it’s not as fun. I’m all about the slow burn, building the anticipation. It’s an exchange of energy. I know when to play a certain song because the audience is asking for it. They might not have ever heard the song before, but the vibes are like, now is the time for this song. It’s all about perception and doing things people want and being able to give it to them.
How old were you when you had your first orgasm?
Oh girl, I don’t even remember. I was one of those kids who were accidentally getting off in the jacuzzi, not knowing what it was. I think there are a lot of kids that do that. Never linking it to sex.
Sexually, do the ends justify the means? If you don’t have an orgasm will it feel incomplete or are you more interested in the journey or the arrival?
It’s certainly the journey and I keep that in mind in all aspects of my life. I make these YouTube videos because I enjoy making them, not because I want my number to get to a million views. It’s like if you’re in it for that, you’re in it for the wrong reason.
How do you fund your projects?
I work my ass off. I’m a hustler. I have a full time-job, in addition to being Boyfriend. I use that to fund my work. I’m very resourceful.
As a White woman in Hip-Hop, what do you say to those who would label your performance art as privileged escapism?
I try to be very respectful of that. I am in no way as frustrated as being a member of a systematically-oppressed race. I don’t have much room to complain, “Oh it’s so hard being a White rapper” so I am very sensitive to people who have issue with it or have something to say about it. At the same time, I challenge those people to review everything as content, that they’re actually talking about the actual work that someone is putting out instead of the looks of the person that is putting it out.
What was your defining moment that made you realize I can do this professionally?
It was a beautiful moment. I can point to it. A lot of different things in life, you can’t point to that clearly. I took a last minute, crazy romantic let’s-just-get-in-the-car-and-drive road trip to Berkley, California when I was living in L.A. I crashed at a friend’s place and he was kind of playing around and making beats. He ended up making the beat for “Bitches Be Hating” and I kind of freestyled and came up with that flow. It was this beautiful, funny afternoon that the song was created. I just knew [and felt], “Wait, this song is actually pretty good.” I’m not saying that I’m going to change the world, but it’s good enough that I wasn’t embarrassed and that I wouldn’t mind if someone else heard it. That was the start.
If you can go back in time two years ago, what advice would you have given to yourself?
Not to be afraid and advocate for yourself as an artist. I was way too embarrassed to say, “Hey, look at me” for a long time. I think that’s part of why I have been unknown for so long. I was just kind of minding my own business releasing these videos and I finally have a place of confidence where I can say, “Hey, pay attention to me.” It took me a long time to be okay with that. It seems like something selfish. In today’s world, where someone is trying to show me a picture of what they had for lunch, I think it’s fair for me to show them this video I made.
What aspects of femininity have you yet to explore that you would like to make into a song?
There are definite double standards that need to be addressed and I am more than willing to address them, but I want to make sure that I am speaking from a place of maturity. I don’t want to venture out until I’m damn sure [about] how I feel. When I wrote Period Rap, I was ready to put that into people’s faces because I was tired of having to sneakingly carry a tampon to the bathroom meanwhile my co-worker is scratching his balls. How is that fair? Again, it goes back to the danger of the F word Feminism because while people might be offended by people opening a door for them, isn’t it also nice that someone wants to open the door for you? Some of that stuff is sticky. I have to stew on it a little longer.
What artists influenced you?
Definitely strong women voices are the main influence. It’s less the sonic quality and more their overall approach to the industry like what Björk did for the music video or how Beyoncé is involved in every aspect of production or how Erykah Badu is just completely unapologetic of who she is. Those are the type of things I try to take inspiration from because sonically I know I don’t sound like any of these people and I wouldn’t try to because they are their own classics. I wouldn’t try to recreate that and hopefully while aligning myself with artistic processes, I can create my own unique product.
And last but not least, when you hear GrungeCake what comes to mind?
I actually think of bite-sized attitude. Like a plate of really hip cupcakes.
For more Boyfriend, just click here.
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Stream Joywave’s New Interactive EP, “How Do You Feel?”
After recently sharing Harry Fraud’s take on their breakout track “Tongues” as well as new EP track “In Clover,” Joywave are back today to stream their new EP in its entirety, following its release yesterday via the band’s own Cultco Music and Hollywood Records. Rather than sharing a simple stream, the band is sourcing from Tumblr to create a unique, interactive streaming experience that draws from listener engagement. For the stream, the band has picked a thematic visual tied to each song on the EP that you can watch while that song plays. Listeners can become part of the experience by tagging GIFs they feel correspond to songs from the EP. Check out the How Do You Feel? EP in its entirety now, along with more details outlining how to get involved in the experience and all of the band’s upcoming SXSW shows.
Tour Dates
3/12 Austin, TX – The Brew Exchange (The Green Room) – 4PM
3/14 Austin, TX – Palm Door On Sixth (Universal Music) – 12:45PM
3/14 Austin, TX – The Fader Fort – 4:30PM
3/14 Austin, TX – Maggie Mae’s Roof (All Things Go/Indie Shuffle) – 1AM
4/04 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s Ω
4/05 Vancouver, BC – Celebrities Ω
4/06 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore Ω
4/08 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom Ω
4/09 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory Ω
4/15 Los Angeles, CA – The El Rey ΩΩ = w/ RAC
Joywave
How Do You Feel? EP
(Cultco Music/Hollywood Records)
3/11/141. Tongues feat. KOPPS
2. In Clover
3. Somebody New
4. Now
For more Joywave, just click here.
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Song of the Day: Threatz by Denzel Curry Featuring Yung Simmie & Robb Bank$
Name: Denzel Curry featuring Yung Simmie & Robb Bank$
Representing: Miami, Florida
Genre: Rap
For fans of: Chief Keef, Mobb Deep
Single from: “Nostalgic 64”
Produced by: Ronny J
Song of the Day: February 27, 2014
Label(s): L&E x C9
I was originally introduced to this song in a video mix and I was drawn in by the thuggish demeanors portrayed. Instantly, I thought the hook was very clever. Personally, I think “We don’t take kindly to threats” is some real, polite thug shit. It’s the type of warning I’d give to a perpetrator before throwing my hands. In addition, Denzel Curry comes off with ease and rides the beat like no other. Yung Simmie has a sharp, rapid-flow like a simmie-automatic, set to burst mode. Robb Bank$ has the trill slurred flow but reminds listeners not to get it twisted because it’s the “savage life nigga”.
Listen to the song below:
Words by Capital
For more Denzel Curry, just click here.
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Song of the Day: Ten Freaky Hoes by 100s
Name: 100s
Representing: Berkeley, California
Genre: [Pimp] Rap
For fans of: Too Short
Single from: “IVRY”
Produced by: U-Tern (Vaughn Oliver)
Song of the Day: February 26, 2014
Label(s): Fool’s Gold Records
Without getting too deep or making this entry complicated, without a doubt, 100s is one of the best “pimp rap” leaders to exist in the 21st century.
As fun as the hook is to learn and say with the Bay Area artist, in a clever way, he also raps about ten women (or freaky hoes) he encountered at some point, and delivered descriptive verses about each woman. Ironically, we as women, feel like we can identify [with] each woman’s insecurities and sexual desire. Here’s a list you should skim through before listening:
1) Michelle, the White joint with no lips and a nice tail, who sucked his penis at the Shell gas station.
2) Portia, the joint with a corporate job who hates her life. When they’d have sex, she’d always turns the lights off because her fuck-face was ugly.
3) Pam, the “bad” and very thick one that he got on camera, you know, like Ray J did Kim Kardashian.
4) Camille, the one that was on some other shit. Her teeth were fucked up, so he wouldn’t let her suck his penis.
5) Fine ass Donna who still lives with her mama. She thought she was fat, so she fucks with a hoody on. In fact, one day, her mama busted in the crib, saw him chilling with an erect penis. (We can bet that was the end of that.)
6) Kelly was his around-the-way joint, from back in the day. According to 100s, she likes that nasty shit. Unfortunately, she pierced the rubber and tried to trap 100s with a 18-year-bid aka child support. (It wasn’t happening.)
7) Mya‘s head game was crazy and her vagina was immaculate, but she was foul. He caught her in his bathroom, trying to steal his hair conditioner. (Not a good look.)
8) Ivorian Olivia was a down ass MF with big ass booty and a big ass MF forehead.
9) His third ward shorty bought him fish to eat and bought credit for his phone. (I can’t.)
10) Tiff believed she’s never be a “hoe bitch” until he served her some of that 100s dick. His hair was flipped when he served her. As a result, Tiff canned and paid for his blowout “and some more shit”.
Listen to this song in your cars, with the top down, if you have that luxury. You’ll be sure to turn some pretty permed heads:
100s drops his Fool’s Gold debut, IVRY, in March. Catch him at The FADER Fort and Fool’s Gold parties at SXSW, too.
For more 100s, just click here.