Recent posts: CARLITA

Almost everyone would agree it’s never a bad thing when artists you admire, connect, their worlds intertwine and dope collabos happen. Each brings out the best in each other and it’s a win-win for all involved. Any knowledgeable West Coast hip-hop fan knows about The Low End Theory events and artist/producer Free The Robots’ left-of-center electro psychedelic jazz hop contributions within this scene. When I heard about his recent project with Souls of Mischief’s Opio ‘Sempervirens’ and viewed their set at this year’s Hiero Day, I knew it’d be a must-listen.

For anyone who’s followed California duo Moonshine Bandits’ careers, several things come to mind. Living comfortably in the country/hip-hop intersection, these dudes rep for the backwoods boys who work hard, play hard and enjoy their liquor even harder. Road warriors for years, they’ve built a large Shiner nation fanbase that continue inspiring music for the pair. Touring to support their latest effort ‘Blacked Out’ which debuted high on iTunes and Billboard charts, they joined forces with renowned producer Ira Dean and brought collaborators like Demun Jones, Colt Ford, Sarah Ross, Bubba Sparxx in tow this time around.

With temperatures reaching the high 90’s in So Cal, Pandora assembled a line-up for its Summer Crush Saturday show in downtown LA to match. Not a fan of spontaneously combusting in sweltering weather, it would take something pretty momentous for me to leave the comfort of A/C but Pandora succeeded in prying me away. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see Tori Kelly, Jason Derulo, Fifth Harmony, Steve Aoki, Rachel Platten and Who Is Fancy.

In a sea of groups who achieve success and flame out, hitting the milestone of 15 years together in any genre is rare. Achieving this accomplishment while releasing their fifth album ‘El Mismo’, Latin Grammy winning and Grammy nominated trio (consisting of husband and wife team Tostao and Goyo along with Slow Mike) Chocquibtown shows no signs of slowing down el “ritmo violento”. Teaming up with acclaimed producer Andrés Castro (who’s worked with Prince Royce, Carlos Vives and Thalia) for their latest effort, their multi-genre mezcla reflecting their beloved culturally blended Colombia, shines through like “oro”.

As July draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on a great music festing year thus far. Blessed to travel into the mountains, desert, city and country for the love of live music, there’s nothing like it. Putting my list of fav fests together in my head, The Art of Cool (AOC) Fest in Durham, NC automatically gets a spot. Even while experiencing opposite spectrums of weather during the weekend, I enjoyed every minute. Checking out Anthony Hamilton’s latest video with Teedra Moses released this week, I fondly remembered my group chat with Grammy Award-winning AOC headliner Anthony earlier this year who graciously chatted with us, press folk, in the pouring rain (when I say pouring rain, I mean POURING RAIN). Warm, down-to-earth and talented for days, our talk cemented my genuine fandom.