The annual SXSW music festival in Austin, TX is always a hot-bed of wild performances and this year was certainly no exception. Many of those performances came courtesy of Travi$ Scott, the highly buzzed about G.O.O.D. Music rapper/producer. Scott took his high energy across a number of stages over the course of SXSW to perform hits like "Blocka," "Upper Echelon," and "Up." Luckily for those of us who weren't able to make it, Scott's crew caught his acts on stage and pieced them together in a video for the world to enjoy. The clip also catches some high-profile cameos from fellow ATL-iens, T.I. and Trinidad James. For a taste of what went down in Austin, and a surefire way to ensure you don't miss your next chance to catch Travi$ live, press play above.
Happy Birthday to the homie Rockie Fresh, who is 22 years young today. Rockie’s had a helluve a year and to celebrate, he drops some new music for us. MMG jefe Ricky Rozay jumps on this Lunice produced track as well. “Panera Bread” is off of Rockie’s latest mixtape,”The Birthday Tape” that drops next week. Panera Bread is pretty awesome, and if you don’t believe us ask this girl.
Listen to “Panera Bread” below.
As an added bonus check out some photos of Rockie in Austin during SXSW 2013.
During SXSW any journalist will tell you that there are a million and one things to cover in any given day. Knowing this I made it my mission to set out and capture moments around the festival that would be easily over looked.
With this in mind I had sought out to capture interviews, performances, and moments that I felt people would have loved to experience if given the chance. This is how I found myself working out a day where I could follow around the Chicago Instagram queen herself Elise Swopes also known as in the Instagram world @Swopes.
Her story all started with an iPhone and a knack for perspective with the camera on it. She started her account on Instagram around 2010, shortly after Instagram’s initial launched. Like all of us who took our first steps in this new land of Instagram, her photos consisted of selfies, pets, and food.
Then, gradually, Swopes’ Instagram account began to turn into something else completely. Her photos went from portrait shots of her meals to portrait shots of the city that almost made Chicago look like a ghost town. She began to experiment with different apps on her phone that lead her to coining her own style of cropping into different scenes spheres and animals that seemed out of place and meant to be at the same time.
Since then, Swopes account has gained over 150,000 devoted followers who all look to her account as daily inspiration. Her success in the Instagram community has became so big that large companies such as Nike and Samsung have sponsored flights out of Chicago for her to come and work on promotional campaigns for them.
When I heard that Swopes was going to be in SXSW while I would be down there I knew there had to be content created from this. It was my chance to finally show her 150 followers a side of the Instagram account profile they had never seen before.
The day started with me simply following her and her friends around. I wanted the interviews to be as casual as possible, reflecting how her photos on Instagram feel. They all seem so intimate as if she is wondering the city all by herself on a private exploration where it’s just her showing the world to her followers. To replicate that feeling I wanted to make part of the interview while we were on the go from place to place. Walking throughout eh mayhem that was 6th Street in Austin, Texas made that possible.
It was casual conversation that drove this entire video from beginning to end. While we stood in the crowd waiting for the Prince concert to start that night, she was invited to attend by Samsung, our interview simply started with a conversation. I had not plan it at all. It was as if I had pushed a button with one question and immediately the flood gates opened to Elise letting all she had in her mind out.
It was a fantastic opportunity to actually capture the artist in the moment, it was an inside look into capturing the new age artist of our generation. A new breed of artist that launches their careers through hashtags and social media. A new breed of artist whose career starts on the internet and that see’s no boundaries when almost everyone that can consume their art can because of the wonder that is internet.
Here is an perspective that required no filters because the magic of the picture was the simple and colorful personality that is Elise Swopes.
We recently had the chance to catch up with young Casey Veggies and his crew during this year's SXSW festivities down in Austin. It's been a an eventful journey for the west coast spitter and we just wanted to keep up to date with all his happenings. From his buzzing P&C Intl clothing line onto his current music plans for the year. He also broke down what Life Changes meant to him and how the power of the internet comes into play with today's music game.
While down in Austin, TX during this year's SXSW festivities, we had the chance to catch it up with TDE capo ScHoolBoy Q at the group's rented compound outside the venue. In the lighthearted conversation Q states that he aims to achieve the same level of success like his buddy Kendrick Lamar and that his upcoming album Oxymoron will be out this year. In addition, he offers some food for fought on why he considers Danny brown as the ugliest in the game and himself as the exact opposite.
Checkout the |x| (Side by Side Collective) recap of the Drive The Noize event at the Karma Lounge in Austin Texas on March 14th during SXSW. Chance The Rapper’s performance of “Good Ass Intro” is a stand out you’ll want to watch. If your anything like me your kicking your-self for missing SX this year but luckily there will be more recap videos to come and you can catch them at the |x| Twitter page.
The second video is the NPR coverage of Chance The Rapper performing “Juice”. Check them both out below.
The rising southside emcee Spenzo headed down to SXSW with a very strong buzz, and that has only grown in the week since the festival. While his label situation is still up in the air, it’s clear he is one of Chi’s next up (w/ Chance) and today we get a new visual for “Kemo Ballin”. The video was shot at SX, and will be featured on his upcoming In Spenzo We Trust mixtape. Stream below & shouts to LEP.
This year SXSW had an unprecedented amount of major artists, more than had ever been previously seen. Even with more mainstream pub and major acts you’d still be hard pressed to find a more energetic show then this one at the Thrasher Magazine showcase. Watch Ferg get gully below.
While in SXSW Nardwuar recently came through with some brilliant insight on Trinidad James’s life and career. From his favorite Trinidadian foods to his favorite ATL artists (Bow Wow) Nardwaur kicks some mind blowing knowledge as usual. In-spite of all that molly and being one of the flashiest dressers in the game,Trinidad proves he’s a humble, well spoken and down to earth dude. Check out the interview below and don’t miss the ending; “This guy is the man at standing still… and he’s still standing still.”
Nardwuar, the human serviette, was able to nab Brooklyn emcee Joey Bada$$ last week during SXSW. Joey and the entire Pro Era crew were in attendance as Nardwuar delved into Bada$$’s NY residence, his love for Sisqó, the strong influence of MF DOOM and more. Watch the latest interview from Nardwuar above, and expect a slew of new clips in the coming days.
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