Photo By Jack Sommer/RESPECT.

Dear hip-hop, the hipsters aren’t faking the funk anymore. They’re creating it. On a somewhat dreary night in New York, three of underground music’s  hottest acts turned out to lower Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom to provide an excellent show for an eclectic and intimate crowd. Together, The Internet, Kilo Kish, and Phony PPL showcased hip-hop’s newest alternative sound.

Brooklyn Youngn’s Phony Ppl woke the restless crowd, with gems from their own EP sprinkled with tidbits of other records. The nine-man collective gets better each time they perform. Not only did they exude a family vibe on stage, but every member felt like a frontman, confident with what they brought to the table. One part Nirvana-esque teen spirit, a dose of New Edition plus a touch of The Roots and you have Phony PPl. They were like an iPod on shuffle playlists, transitioning from genre to genre seamlessly.

Kilo Kish followed Phony’s electric performance. Outfitted in a sheer floral blouse, matching shorts and white converse sneakers, she comes off as half sexy, half tomboy easily making a room full of teenage boys foam at the mouth. If anything, it’s  reminiscent of an early Kelis and an easygoing M.I.A. She remained mildly entertaining, passing out Tootsie Roll lollipops to the crowd: “These are all the shitty flavors.”  Kish passed the mic to members of the crowd, letting them speak random words to their hearts content and she brought out Brooklyn-Psychedelic duo Flatbush Zombies, who provided some much needed energy. Juice, The guy with the brightly dyed hair and the gnarly beard, turned it up a notch, passionately spitting his verse from their collaborative track, “Jupiter Sound,” off  the Zombies debut, D.R.U.G.S. While evoking innocence and fun, Kish’s lyrics give way to much more deep subject matter. Wrapping up her second to last  song she told the crowd, “That song was about my ex-boyfriend. Fuck that dude.”

Photo by Jack Sommer/RESPECT.

Close to the end of the show, the eager crowd bunched together to hear a closing set from headlining act, The Internet. Powered by the release of their debut album, Purple Naked Ladies, they were able to make a small dent in the music world, proving Odd Future is more than just a rebellious clique of LA loiterers. “Tyler made this beat in 2008. It’s timeless music,” Syd said confidently referring to “Live it Up.” It’s true, Purple Naked Ladies feels like it’ll stand the test of time, bookmarking a resurgence of bohemian culture in today’s youth. Middling their set, Taylor Walker, who sings vocals on “They Say,” gave a riveting performance of his song “Karma,” a soulful tune about a relationship gone awry.

Photo by Jack Sommer/RESPECT.

Syd and Matt The Martian referenced their Odd Future friends for much of the set, giving props to their music family. As they performed the single “Cocaine/Tevie” Syd shouted out member Left Brain, who actually gave them their stage name, The Internet. “I wish Left Brain was here man,” she said reluctantly. “Why don’t y’all sing his part.”  The already entranced crowd responded as she pointed the mic toward them. “ I’m high on coke! She high on coke!”

All of these acts maintain remnants of hip-hop’s past, but help define the culture’s future. Their stances on love, weed, and relationships are for the forward minded. Ushering in a new era, these kids are creating the music that our legends used to create at will, but are now too old to re-invent. Hopefully, the mainstream will catch on fast and start letting these newbies define a generation, as they should.

Photo by Jack Sommer/RESPECT.

The post Concert Review & Exclusive Pictures: The Internet, Kilo Kish & Phony PPL Perfect Hip-Hop’s New Alternative appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Kilo Kish drops “Watergun,”  a new track for the summer. Familiar assistance on the production comes in as The Internet provides the beat for the smooth singing sensation. If you’re in NYC, check both of them out this Sunday at The Bowery Ballroom.

The post New Music: Kilo Kish – “Watergun” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Though he dons the grim nickname “Funeral Fab” and hasn’t released a studio album in three years, Fabolous’ career is far from dead. In fact, his recent show at The Bowery Ballroom showed that his career isn’t even in critical condition; it’s doing quite well.
Before the funeral service began, Fabolous was preceded by fellow Brooklynite Troy Ave, a short and stocky emcee with a 50 Cent-like image and penchant for chanting “Powder!” No, he’s not a fan of that old Jeff Goldblum movie. Beginning his set with “Snow,” a track from his mixtape Bricks in My Backpack 3, it was very apparent that the powder Troy Ave [allegedly] deals with is much more literal. Even though he didn’t distribute powder at the show – probably a good decision on his part – he did distribute alcohol, much to the joy of the audience. Troy Ave probably wanted to end his set with his song “Merlot,” which features Fabolous, but that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, he left the stage with a huge smile. Despite his uncanny stylistic resemblance to 50 Cent (Exhibit A: his bulletproof vest; Exhibit B: “Shame”), the audience showed him immense love.

Shortly after Troy Ave made his exit, Asher Roth rocked the stage. “Rocked” isn’t being used casually here.  Playing with a wicked band, the rap world’s favorite college kid was a far different artist that night. Conscientious and soulful, Asher Roth’s set featured surprisingly pensive lyrics like “What happened to rap?” and “The shiny things are only temporary.” Asher Roth showed this more introspective side on his mixtape Pabst and Jazz, but it was intriguing to see these songs performed at a concert where you’d expect him to simply run through his greatest hits. Hinting that this side of himself may be the side he wants to be more known for, Asher Roth equivocally declared, “College was fun.” What exactly this means remains to be seen. Hopefully his upcoming album, Is This Too Orange?, will clear things up.

After Asher Roth and his soulful band finished their striking set, Fabolous emerged, triumphant and extravagant. Noticeably wearing the literal antipode to “Brian Pumper jewels,” the lyrical funeral director started the set with his version of “You Don’t Know Bout It.” Randomly performing with a band, it seemed strange for Fabolous, a prominent artist, to begin his set with another artist’s song. That being said, the choice set the mood for the night. Fabolous is a well-known artist and a veteran emcee, but much of his recent career has been characterized by strong feature verses and mixtapes. That’s not a diss. The truth is just that recently Fab has released so many strong mixtapes and feature verses that he’s become known for repossessing songs. Fab’s penchant for repossession was apparent when he followed “You Don’t Know Bout It” with “Black City,” his version of Tyga’s hit “Rack City.” As soon as the band started playing the instrumental, the crowd knew what was coming and responded with ear-shattering cheers of anticipation.

While Fab began the set with new material, he eventually started performing his classics. The tracks “Breathe,” “ Young’n (Holla Back),” and “Into You” sounded notably fresh with the band backing them. In true New York concert fashion, Fabolous brought out two special guests, Lloyd Banks and Ryan Leslie. Both guests were well received, but Banks definitely drew the most love from the crowd. Performing Banks’ song “Start it Up,” Fab and Banks somehow amplified the crowd’s already-frenetic  frenzy. New Yorkers love their own.

All in all, Fabolous performed about 20 songs. The benefit of having so many well-known feature verses is that you can have a very varied set. While songs from The Soul Tape and There is No Competition 3 filled the set and kept the tangibly younger crowd amped, at the end of the show Fab declared that his next album, Loso’s Way 2, is his next big project. Considering that Fabolous has previously had two platinum albums, it’s not surprising that he wants to go back to being known for his own tracks. That being said, judging from the crowd’s reaction to his more recent songs, New York probably wouldn’t mind another mixtape or guest verse in the meantime.

The post Concert Review: Fabolous, Asher Roth & Troy Ave at the Bowery Ballroom appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

To hear Macklemore express his fascination with David Bowie and the 1986 film The Labyrinth, the comparisons in style are almost uncanny. Sure, one deals with hip-hop while the other is an international rock icon. But on Tuesday night’s sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom, as Macklemore pulled from backstage a hand-painted jean jacket of Bowie on the back with matching tassels, he is just as fashionable.

For “Crew Cuts,” Macklemore bouncing up and down on-stage only provoked the crowd to shout louder and jump just as high. Ryan Lewis, Macklemore’s producer/DJ/hypeman, extended the microphone across his turntables that fed the excitement. Macklemore then stopped to ready a cool guy pose, turning around to point at the face of Bowie when rapping, “Never find the baby: David Bowie, Labyrinth.” After that, the crowd’s high-energy increased in volume.

Read the interview after the jump. -Eric Diep

Behind the amounts of confetti that rained down during songs like “Irish Celebration,” the full on transformation to a 80s dancer for “And We Danced,” and leaps into the crowd, Macklemore’s lyrics tell a story. The added visuals props and enthusiasm only provide color for an MC who once had a troubled past with substance abuse. Just check his viral videos on YouTube for singles such as “Wings,” “Otherside (Remix)” featuring Fences and “And We Danced.”  These are more than just songs, but enriched narratives weaving together his honest emotions, thought-provoking rhymes and a riveting delivery. For the MC named Ben Haggerty, his music isn’t created for his growing popularity. It’s made as an outlet, to help express truth for his fans that have gone through similar situations.

Those same fans were all in attendance that night. They arrived early – the same ones who chanted “Mack-le-more!” moments before he came out – and huddled close to the stage to give him a high five. These same fans also rapped along to every word and quickly hushed up when he stopped to recall stories about his life and the tour. With this much respect, it’s almost shocking to believe he has made it this far independently. No major labels to hinder his creativity. No pressures to put out content or mixtapes.

They are Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, two Seattle artists who are great showmen that do this for the love of hip-hop.

So let’s talk about this year, you are currently on your fall tour. How did you hook up with Champagne Champagne and the Xperience?

Macklemore: We got to pick who we wanted to bring on the road. Xperience has been a friend of mine for a long time, like six years we’ve been really good friends and we made a lot of music together so that was kind of a no brainer and Champagne Champagne have been friends for a very long time as well. Both their music is dope, it’s eclectic. Champagne was cool because they’re a band, and XP is obviously a solo artist, to have that kind of contrast of just an opening act, which is one emcee and a band, it was cool to us.

What going on project-wise, any new albums?

M: Ryan and I working on a full-length right now. We’ve been working on it for a while, and hoping to have it out sometime this year, spring, summer-ish timeframe.

Ryan, do you exclusively produce for Macklemore?

Ryan Lewis: We’ve been working together for two years. Fairly exclusively, but we haven’t put out a full-length record yet. Like he was saying, we’ve been kind of chipping away at it for the last year in the midst of doing everything else, from shows to videos, to all the other pieces that go along with it. We hope to have something fully put together by spring.

Is it all going to be Ryan Lewis? You’ve also worked with Budo and Jake One.

M: Yeah, those are the homies, for sure. This is going be entirely collaboration with me and Ryan.

In your music, you’ve shared past stories of your dependency on drugs and getting yourself right. How has sobriety helped you?

M: I was always the type of drug user that I had no moderation. When I was smoking and drinking, I was full on smoking and drinking. And I am also the type of drug user where I do smoke and drink, there’s no creativity in terms of my writing process. I would just stare at the paper for hours and nothing would get done. So I knew at an early age that it was imperative for me, if I wanted to put out any music I needed to get sober. You know, we wouldn’t be in this interview right now if it wasn’t for me getting clean.

Are you more focused?

M: Oh yeah, songs are just much easier to write for me. Being on stage, everything is just easier. I was a real introvert when I was smoking a ton of weed and drinking a bunch. It just doesn’t affect me like it affects a lot of people. And I was smoking a ton of weed and doing other drugs as well. There wasn’t a big push for creativity at any capacity.

Did Ryan help you out during those times?

M: No, it was family that pushed me towards it.  My dad helped me through it. Ryan and I developed a friendship during the midst of me being in and out of it. So I would be sober for a month, and be real adamant about hanging out with friends and developing relationships and being creative and then I when I go back to using drugs and alcohol, it was just a huge difference. I would screen everybody’s calls and wouldn’t pick up the phone, be isolated in my room. Ryan saw me through that. The real inspiration was really just being completely tired of that lifestyle and burnt out and I wanted to change it.

The music you’re producing speaks for itself.

M: Thank you.

Speaking of your music, are you perfectionists when it comes to visualizing the lyrics?

RL: We are definitely perfectionists. I think it makes for great art, but it also makes things take a very long time. At the forefront, outside of just the music, Ben and I have always highly valued the different types of media we are putting out artistically. From our videos, to photography, to font choice, to whatever it be. We worked with Zia Mohajerjasbi and also “Wings,” which was a big video. But we also did alongside Jason Koenig who began as a photographer and a good friend of ours, “My Oh My,” “The Otherside (Remix)” video, and then we did with Griff J – “And We Danced” video. But throughout all of those, lots of the videos we put out, we definitely are perfectionists to a fault whenever we have the opportunity.

When you write your lyrics, do you already visualize the video?

M: No, I never really have. Sometimes when I’m in the middle of writing I would think, ‘this would be a crazy video off the emotion that is coming up.’ But I never think of video simultaneously – I guess maybe I do. There are definitely some beats that I hear that I can see a video to. I think during the process of that it might come up for me.

It’s interesting that you are an artist who focuses on subject matter. Talk about the emotion you have in your music. You are very honest.

M: I use vulnerability as a tool to express my truth. And that’s been something that I have always done, that’s just the type of writing that I enjoy, it’s the type of artist I like listening to. You get a real genuine sense of who they are. And those are the songs that I tend to write. I think that it connects me with the music that I make because in the process of writing I’m figure out who I am on a deeper level. And I think that the fanbase and that other people can resonate with it because hopefully you shed a little bit of light on potentially there experience or articulated something that they’ve gone through in their life.

But you don’t like being labeled a conscious rapper?

M: [laughs] Nah, I’m not a fan of the conscious rapper. I think it’s a very limited term and I think it’s a term that’s outdated. It doesn’t articulately describe the music that we make. I think it puts a box around something that you can’t really frame.

What would you call yourself then?

M: I’m a rapper, I’m an MC, and I make hip-hop music. But it in terms of what type of MC I am, I think it goes into people’s stereotypes.

There a touchy topic I want to address about hip-hop being built on Black American culture.  You have guys like Yelawolf that are shifting the standards of what color really means. How are you taking the craft seriously?

M: I don’t think there’s any active thing I’m doing to take the craft seriously. I’ve just always have taking it seriously. I don’t have to try to do anything. I just make music and do it from a place of authenticity. I think that it’s all about where your intentions come from. For me, hip-hop music was something I grew up with, it was something that I loved since I was a little kid, and it’s something that I chose to partake in an early age. The issue of race is always a touchy one, in our society in general. And it’s one that a lot of people don’t talk about and if they do, it’s on a very surface level. But I definitely made efforts in the past to bring up race, to bring up my privilege of being a white man in America.

Do you feel hip-hop is going color blind?

M: I see it. I think that there’s enviably going to be white kids – and this is happened since the Beastie Boys to Eminem to whoever comes up – being identified to the people who look like you.  Just like a lot of different races that identify with the people that look like them. That’s human nature. But I do think, the gates are kind of open to who’s a rapper nowadays. It does seem more open-ended. There’s still the white rapper box that you can be put in, but that’s going to be there forever. I am a white rapper, it is what it is.

It’s known that you guys are unsigned and not on a label. Do you aspire to get signed one day?

M: I think as long as we can remain independent we will, until it gets to the point where we can’t manage it. But at this point in 2011, signing a major label in particular doesn’t really make a lot of sense to us. And we really like to be control of the music, control of the art behind the music. We have been successful doing it ourselves. There are a handful of artists that show that they can do it themselves. And I like to think we are in that same category. It enables us to be more hands on with our fanbase. In terms of creating a product that we really believe in and having that intimacy within a team of people that we can put our minds together. That’s cool to me, that’s fresh and that’s something I’m proud of.

RL: It enables you take risks too. Clearly, the music industry is drastically changing and will continue to drastically change in the next few years, and I think the advantage of being an independent artist who is conscious of those changes, you can be proactive and not adapt to a very old model of your relationship with your fanbase and the way you present yourself. It enables you to step up and push the boundaries.

How are you pushing the envelope for your sound to be on a national level?

RL: We are drinking a lot of Red Bull. [laughs] For me, it is just a unique merging of a lot of things. Ben, being someone who grew up almost entirely in hip-hop, me having more grown up with rock and such a variety of influences between the two of us, but just a respect for each other’s taste.

M: Both of us take a pretty unorthodox approach to creating hip-hop music. Me on the writing side, Ryan on the production side, it’s a little bit different. It’s an angle that you don’t hear too often on either front. That’s what makes it unique and stand out a little bit from other people.

The post Exclusive Interview: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the Bowery appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.