Four hundred thousand views on a video here...two hundred thousand on another one over there...and one hundred thousand plus downloads on a mixtape that's only several months fresh. The "Numbers" don't lie son. My man Logic is really starting to make some noise, and the bond between artist and fan is stronger than ever. Logic is as loyal to his fans as his fans are to him. So it was no surprise seeing Reggie's sell out a few weeks ago when Logic took to the stage to perform while on tour in Chicago. I witnessed a bitter Midwest open its arms and embrace the pack. Fans literally showed up hours in advanced, shrugging off piercing cold winds all for the chance to meet the young MC out of MD. Now that's love.
You know my dude had to show it back though. So in return Logic previewed and performed a good amount of the material off his future spring release, which I will say is sounding amazing. Lucky for everyone GWHH's own Stan Perry was able to catch footage of Logic performing two jams off the upcoming mixtape. One being a verse of an unfinished cut and the other being "Numbers," which Young Sinatra filmed a video for while staying in Chicago. In the video up above you'll see that Logic also took some time after his set to lounge on the couch with yours truly, where we spoke about the shoot as well as the overall theme to the follow up project.
I believe the time and place for my homie's February 10th performance of 2012 couldn't have been more fitting. I was able to see friends excel and succeed at what they love doing the most while doing it. The best part about it though is knowing that their journey is only beginning. I personally can't wait for the day in which the RattPack takes over the world. Believe that too, because it's comin'. Yup!
Word to my man Terrence Jones on the awesome editing. Homie brought the skills.
Check out my interview with K.Flay before her show at DC9 on 2/15. Listen to our conversation about her Eyes Shut Tour, the 'Eyes Shut' EP, the puppets in her latest music video for "We Hate Everyone" (below), and more! Shout out to my cameraman Sean Aikens!
We're proud to present part 1 of a our 2-part sit-down with the Philly Freezer himself: Freeway! A little over a week ago, Freeway stopped into the Gowhere offices for a GWHH-hosted media junket where he talked with not only us but a variety of local media outlets as well.
Representing us above is a new add to the team: J Niice, co-host of B96 FM's morning show! In this deep and refreshing interview, J Niice focuses solely on Isalm with Freeway, who practices the religion. They discuss how Islam is a way of life, making your Hajj, the acceptance of Christianity and other religions in Islam, and even how his beard ties in with the religion. Also included in the video are snippets of Freeway sharing some of this knowledge during his set later that night at Reggie's (the energy was crazy!) and some clips of him mingling with #TeamGowhere around the office. Be sure to keep a close eye and ear to this engaging and enlightening new interview above and stay tuned soon for part 2. Shouts to Terrence Jones with the masterful job filming and editing and for more pictures of Freeway @ GWHQ, head on over to our Facebook page: facebook.com/gowherehiphop.
Back in early February at the 930 Club in D.C I had the amazing opportunity to interview the man, Theophilus London. Check out the interview above and listen to our conversation on how the Tour De Roses was going, working with ASAP Rocky, what it means to be a progressive artist, and when we can expect to see those shades Theophilus has been working on.
On the weekend of February 10th, Logic (rapper out of Maryland) invaded Chicago for a live performance @ Reggie's as part of his tour with OCD. Logic's time in the city was real groove as he and the pack spent their days shooting a music video for a single off his upcoming spring tape release. You know...that swag sh*t y'all ain't ready for.
Peep the first interview the Gowhere Hip Hop team and I popped off with Logic while he came through and kicked it with us @ headquarters. Throughout the piece you'll catch Logic speak out about the new mixtape, the RattPack, his stay in Chicago and the music video he shot here, plus more. Tune in and enjoy as the homie and I share some good times and good laughs. Shouts to the Jugrnaut fam for keeping a homie fresh #RattPack boi!
A few nights ago, GowhereNY was at attendance for Karmaloop's event at Dominion with Maybach Music Group artist Stalley headlining. The event was also a showcase for a few other emerging hip hop artists. One of them being Kris Kasanova. Kris was cool enough to meet with us after his performance and speak with GowhereNY's PlacDos for an interview. Here's the experience through his point of view.
"Being that I was born & raised in NY I know what it is to grow up listening to hip hop. It’s been around me ever since I was in Osh Kosh overalls." That night at the Dominion, the essence of hip hop was definitely felt. As one of the performers named Kris Kasanova got on stage, the pressure was on. The crowd was already a bit restless due to the wait. Once the beat dropped for his single "War Paint" off his mixtape called War Paint the crowds vibe switched up. Heads started bopping & with that he caught the crowds attention. Being a Brooklyn native, Kris Kasanova knows how it is to perform in front of a NY audience. We’ve had so many great artist come from NY so the expectations are always high. That didn’t stop him from entertaining first time listeners. Hearing from people in the crowd commenting on his lyrics & flow, I heard nothing but good reviews. I stumbled upon Kris Kasanova threw a XXL magazine review where he talked a little about himself and what he’s been working on. That’s when I looked up his mixtape War Paint & heard a couple of tracks off it. Oh Lord is one of his singles on his mixtape and my personal favorite. We chopped it up and went further in to details on what inspired him to create that track. So check out our show footage and my interview with him above. Also don’t forget to check out his mixtape, War Paint!
The Plain White T's made an appearance at Haray Caray's Tavern in Navy Pier, for a special guest performance at Woody's Winter Warm-Up (Kerry Wood - Wood Family Foundation).
Check out this interview with Dave and Tom, where we discuss how they came up with their band name, Plain White T's, their new projects such as the last album, some of their upcoming demos and hopes for a new album this year.
Some topics outside of music was their partnership with Bobsled and what they are planning to do for their fans, and the best/worst dates they have ever been on, which included a funny story that involved both Dave and Tom.
Be sure to catch some more performance footage in the additional video below after the interview!
Thursday is honestly one of my favorite days of the week, because you know right after Thursday, Friday is here! "I love Thursdays" theme night at the Funky Buddah in Chicago is one of my favorite places to celebrate the fact that the weekend is here!!
On one lovely Thursday Slim of the R&B group 112 stopped by to host the night and perform, and I got a chance to chill out with him. Slim is back on his solo mission. After the success of his first solo single "So Fly" Slim has even more great music in store for the fans. Slim just dropped his newest mixtape entitled Cruisin' the City Vol. 1, including a snippet of his new single that will be dropping this year entitled "Baby, Baby" featuring the late great Biggie Smalls.
During my sit down interview Slim let me in on a little secret ..there will never be another 112 album..ever again..man that hit me hard!! 112 was one of my favorite groups R&B groups of all time, at least they left us with several amazing songs like "Cupid", "Peaches and Cream", and "Only You", not to mention their amazing albums. Slim is picking up right where 112 left off and he is definitely doing is thang! Check out the video of Slim performing live at "I Love Thursdays" at The Funky Buddah.
Also in the house was R&B singer/songwriter J-Lyn so you know I had to chop it up with her and see what she had in store for her fans in the new year. Also included are clips from her new video "Housemaid". Check it out!
Back again with more footage from this exhilarating show at SOBs. In case you missed it, we introduced the bold and outspoken duo, The Doppelgangaz. After a great interview with the two, there was another performance that night with the energy strong enough to have us bop'n uncontrollably. STS (Sugar Tongue Slim) took the stage and gave us pure gold. He did a few tracks from his latest album The Illustrious including my personal favorite track "WWW". STS even had Dosageaccompany him to perform their ground shaking new track "Earthquake" that has a video with footage from the same night at SOBs.
After blessing the venue, we caught STS for a brief interview to congratulate him on a great performance and see what he had in store for the listeners. Simply, he made it impossible to forget how to find him after repeating "STSIsGOLD" over 25 times to any and everyone that crossed the path during the interview. It was hilarious to say the least. So check out the video above and don't even think about closing out your computers without heading to STSIsGold.com to follow the Gold Rush.
From her style to her voice, I just love everything about Estelle. This British-born beauty more noticeably hit the scene with her global hit "American Boy" featuring Kanye West in 2008. Now Estelle is back and ready to drop her newest effort entitled All Of Me. I got a chance to sit down with the songstress during her Chicago stop on her "All of Me" tour.
All Of Me being Estelle's third album, will be dropping this month.
"I have been living and writing about it, and this is what has formed 'All Of Me' its a little deeper its more soulful; Someone just told me its like the break-up album, I call it the album of how you get over a break-up."
A lot has been said about the unspoken stigma in the industry about what beauty is. I am a true believer that beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. In light of black history month, I asked Estelle her thoughts of beauty in the industry and her experience of a beautiful dark-skin woman in the spotlight, since there isn't that many.
"I think it's just a shame and it upsets me that people take the lightskin/darkskin thing for more than it is, cause there is wretched on both sides of the fence ...every single part of the line there is wretched."
Estelle also let me in on her new love of acting and that she will be appearing on "The Game" this season. Check out the interview above and take a deeper look at another side of Estelle.
