In light of RESPECT’s last discussion, TheHxliday delivered on his promise and has released his “Save Me” video.

In a time of sheltering, this “Save Me” release is perfect timing elating awareness of mental health. Outside of his ability to relate to the masses, the visual sets TheHxliday in a lane of his own, painting a picture of what goes on in his mind. Produced by Wallis Lane x Shndo, the metaphor of his thoughts paralleled with the little men convey the meaning of the single and a cry for help.

From the visual effects & animation to the band performance on the brain, Cole Bennett and TheHxliday have a synergy that can be categorized as a volcano waiting to erupt to the world.

Make sure to keep checking back to RESPECT.Mag for more TheHxliday and #TheAltWithMel news!

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The post TheHxliday & Cole Bennett Team Up On His Latest Video “SAVE ME” | #TheAltWithMel appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

We all have our own ways of coping with the quarantine that our world is currently facing. For some people, it’s working out on a daily basis, it may be comfort cooking or trying a new hobby such as quilting. Others have turned to the latest dance craze on Tik Tok or finally putting together that business idea that’s been waiting in the wings.

For the creatives of the world, this has become an unprecedented time to work on their craft. Normally, we’d be deep into social events, album releases, day parties, studio sessions, filming, editing processes and so on but as of now, everything is on pause. Using this time to foster those creative ambitions for a new flow or to connect with other artists to work on features while getting the business side of things handled can all be taken care of now that everyone has the time.

To be more specific all of those things hold true for a bright young star that goes by the name TheHxliday. Born in PerryHall, Maryland, the Hip Hop crooner has garnered over 10 million streams following his latest release ‘Broken Halls’ and has worked with producers Twice As Nice, Danny Wolf, Internet Money, Sledgren and Young Kio.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fZhyzlK40/

Currently quarantining in Chicago, I was able to catch up with him on “The Alternative Road Podcast” and discuss a swarm of topics starting off with his quarantine and what he’s been doing during this time:

Really I’ve just been listening to all my music…it’s just been a lot of music tho, I’m not even gonna lie to you it’s about like 500 songs in the vault I’ve been listening to.

Aside from listening to his 2pac vault level of music he’s been staying on top of keeping the essentials needed to last him the oncoming weeks inside:

I’m set (with Ramen Noodles) for the next couple of months…I’ve got some chiken, some chili, and some shrimp.

With enough Ramen to last him the entirety of quarantine, it seems TheHxliday’s fans may be in for a treat if and when he decides to release more songs from his vault. A song most of his fans may be familiar with now “Save Me”, had its own video snippet appear on his Instagram page not too long ago.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9m041wFa25/

The question was posed and TheHxliday was pretty tight-lipped as to not give away any of the details. Yet, we were able to pull from him a couple of things that pinpointed the inspiration behind the song, the same ex-girlfriend from his viral hit “Enemy”:

That was actually around the same time (as “Enemy”). Look, I promise you half the songs you’ll ever hear from is about the stories from us. I have about 3 main exes that I talk about in my music but she is most of them. Almost all of them. And “Save Me” was around that time where I felt like, I didn’t want to talk to anybody or trust anybody or anything. It just had me really isolated. So at that time I made that song I was sitting in my room and I was just in the moment. I wasn’t expecting it to be such a pop sounding song though which is crazy.

When pushed a tad more, I was able to get a time frame for when this video will be released:

Not a certain date yet but certainly in the next week, week in a half. Or possibly two, two because I have a Lyrical Lemonade interview coming out right before. Once that interview comes out, it’ll be right around the corner.

Again this quarantine time is ripe for artists to be able to connect with fans and specifically other artists to make collaborations that may have been impossible due to their busy schedules. In speaking about a few features he’ll release for his fans during 2020, TheHxliday had this to say about future collabs he has Cowboy and Lil Baby:

It’s definitely going to be for the summer. I promose you that. It’s gonna heat up the summer.

While it may seem as if TheHxliday has already given so much, and has even more stored away in his vault, he also touched upon ideas on a ‘Dead Life’ album that he’ll chip away at:

It’s funny in how I just explained, you know the problems of my ex I told you about and eveyrhting and this first album is gonna be like, that whole story and summing it up so that I can move on and talk about the next siuation. This album is like a story all together. I’m calling it ‘Dead Life’ it’s like a play on words…it’s funny because I dyed my hair specifically for the meaning behind it. I had like green and red dreads. I have one green dread and one red dread and the green dread symolizes life and the red dread symbolozies death and everything. What that means is a part inside of me is kinda dead and green symblizses a part of life coming back inside of me. I feel like I’m finally moving on and coming out of that situaion. But it’s going to be that one bit of memory and everything. So that’s what I’m feeling right now. I’m putting a lot of thought into it and I don’t really have a release date or anything for it. It’s funny because a lot of fans and eveyrhting they catch onto that without me even telling them, it’s crazy.

The Alternative Road Podcast

Make sure to keep checking back to RESPECT.Mag for more TheHxliday and #TheAltWithMel news!

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The post #TheAltWithMel: TheHxliday Talks “Save Me” Video, Dead Life Album, songs with Lil Baby & more! appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Listening sessions are always strange affairs, but this one had an enhanced aura of weirdness. With “Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll” tatted on his right oblique, one would expect to see Machine Gun Kelly in an old, unironic dive bar, performing with some rugged punk band and hammering down whiskey shots between songs. In reality, he is much more complicated. Standing in a vaguely swanky club, swigging a bottle of Ciroc and chanting “Cobain’s back,” MGK proves to be a hybrid breed, a punk rapper who rocks to rap and raps to rock. This hybridity is clearly reflected in Lace Up, his upcoming debut album, out tomorrow.

Straight from the mouth of Machine Gun Kelly himself, Lace Up is “not for people who ‘hear’ music: it’s for people who listen.” The statement was powerful, but ironically most of the people attending MGK’s listening session weren’t listening. That is, until the album started playing.

“Whole city on my back,” he raps on “Save Me,” the album’s first track. Inspired by Ludacris’ “Southern Friend Intro” and backed by M Shadows and Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold, MGK unleashes, painting a vivid portrait of a dilapidated and hungry Cleveland, his hometown. All rappers represent their cities, but for MGK, it feels less trite, more earnest, like there’s something very serious at stake.

“Save Me” was followed by “What I Do,” a beastly track featuring Bun B, who just unloads on the beat. MGK appreciatively mentioned that Bun B was the first feature artist on the album to sit down and record with him. Writing and recording in person are quite important to MGK, hence, according to him, none of the feature verses were submitted via email. The fact that every song was recorded in person is quite impressive when you look at the tracklist, which indicates that 11/13 songs have feature artists.

For an artist’s debut album, this seems like a lot of features, but MGK wasn’t overshadowed. On “Edge of Destruction” he keeps up with Tech N9ne and Twista so effortlessly that the guy next to me asked why wasn’t he on “Worldwide Choppers.” I don’t know; he probably didn’t want to email in his verse. Regardless, even with so many features, MGK hovers above every track, affirming that each song stays within his grasp. Standing at about 6’4, you wouldn’t expect anything less.

The one thing that was really unexpected on the album was “All We Have,” a strangely poppy song that might have been ghostwritten by B.o.B. MGK mouthed the words to every song that night, but when he mouthed “All We Have,” its weirdness was even more pronounced. It was kind of like watching Clay Aiken rap an Ice Cube song; it just didn’t fit his aesthetic. To be clear, branching out and experimenting is always good, but boundaries must be drawn.

The listening session ended with “Wildboy.” MGK prefaced the song with an apology for some his previous antics and a declaration of growth since then, which took away from the song a tiny bit, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless. After MGK left the stage, the DJ promptly started playing French Montana’s “Pop That,” completely dispelling the mood established by MGK. It was unfortunate, but like MGK said earlier, the album wasn’t made for swanky clubs. It was made for “headphones and long rides.” This reviewer didn’t get to listen to Lace Up during his long train ride home, but only because it wasn’t an option yet. Tomorrow, that changes.

The post RECAP: Machine Gun Kelly’s Lace Up Listening Party appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.