I don’t know wether to call the storm that hit New York a blizzard, a nor’easter or a bomb cyclone and the news hasn’t named it yet so I can’t even cuss it out for the crazy travel interruptions that it has caused me.
I was already on a TIGHT schedule but thanks to rampant flight cancellations I had to skip the Vancover show with Michelle so that I could high tail it back to NYC before they called last call on travel. And when I say last call I mean it cus they put a travel ban in effect from 9p Sun - 7a Mon.
I must have booked at least 3-4 flights to NYC and they all got cancelled but our tour manager had the brilliant idea of flying me into Philadelphia on a red eye and from there I took the Amtrak home.
And if you were wondering why I was rushing home it’s because of the Ambies.
I’m on a billboard! Wyatt’s hosting and I’m DJ’ing the ceremony. I made the music cues for the show so I guess that I could say I was the music director for the show. Yeah, let’s just call it that instead of DJ. By the time you read this the show will have happened but I’m writing this a day in advance because there is no way I’ll be doing this on Tuesday morning lol. The show got postponed until Tuesday which is today so expect updates next week.
I’m also on a tour! The shows have been really fun. Finding fresh ways to do old songs for new crowds is such a cool challenge. Fun fact is maybe 10 minutes after we took this photo I was standing in the middle of the street looking for my uber to rush to the airport so that I could make my flight.
SHOWS
Feb 26 - Aspen - Wheeler Opera House w/ Michelle Buteau
Feb 27 - Denver - Paramount Theatre w/ Michelle Buteau
Mar 1 - Pheonix - Arizona Financial Theatre w/ Michelle Buteau
Mar 2 - Frankenstein’s Baby - I’ll be back at Union Hall with the gang!
Mar 5 - Dallas - Majestic Theatre w/ Michelle Buteau
Mar 6 - Austin - Bass Concert Hall w/ Michelle Buteau
Mar 7 - Nashville - Ryman Auditorium w/ Michelle Buteau
*I’m only listing two weeks worth of dates at a time but if you want to see the full show schedule the dates are listed here.
NEWS
The Almanac of Rap is coming back this Thursday! Cupid is the first guest and we have a really fun conversation about line dances, zydeco and the chitlin circuit. I even learn a new line dance! Please go to the streamer of your choice and subscribe!
GOOD - TSA Pre Check is back! With the amount of traveling that I have to do in the coming weeks not having TSA Pre as an option would be TERRIBLE.
BAD - TSA Pre Check got cut! What the fuck was that even about? How does that make sense? I was on my way to the airport when the news broke but when I got to the airport they were like “TSA Pre is closed!” which just made it all worse but they still let me use the Pre line. I got to the airport 15 minutes before my flight boarded!
UGLY - This administration just finds new ways to be ugly everyday. Big ways, little ways, silly ways, heinous ways and any other way imaginable.
VIDEOS
This new Thundercat song with Mac Miller is a jam. I would have just posted the single but the video is pretty cool.
Ras Austin is a member of Coast Contra and he’s been putting out solo stuff lately. I think he’s the only one doin solo stuff at the moment too. It’s dope.
Okayplayer pitched Hanumankind to me for the podcast and I didn’t know who he was so I said send me some links and this was one of the videos they sent. I had definitely heard the song before but HOLY SHIT the video is crazy.
Yedoye Travis finally dropped his comedy special and you should watch it. He’s one of the smartest comics working and has a very sharp wit and well informed perspective.
ALBUMS
I half listened to this Baby Keem album and I really enjoyed what I heard. It feels like a more accessible Mr. Morale or something. I dig it.
Larry June and The Alchemist have teamed up with Currensy and every Currensy verse feels more aggressive than usual. I enjoyed this one too.
I’m listening to this right now as I type this newsletter. I’m definitely gonna be running this one back over the next few days.
I haven’t heard this yet but when has Moonchild ever let you down?
I heard one song from this Tiana Major9 album and I liked it. I don’t remember what the song is and I honestly don’t know if she is a rapper or singer but I want to like her so I typically just check for whatever she’s doing.
The bro BLVCK SVDE send this over the other day and it’s high quality as usual. The man does not miss.
SONGS
I don’t know why this exists and I’m not going to Google it to find out why either. I’m just going to assume Kellogg’s asked him to make a song about Tony the Tiger. I like JID btw.
I only skimmed this song but I liked what I heard enough to include it because PawPaw Rod makes jams.
Another skim pick but it’s Yebba so I’m posting this more as a reminder to myself to listen to it. (yes, i use my own newsletter to remember what dropped lol)
I have no idea what this song is but Pocket Queen is great so it’s here.
RANDOM
Mini-documentaries are nothing new but it seems like there are more of them than usually popping up as of late. I think it’s a by product of artists needing more space to tell their story outside of the classic interview.
One series that I am enjoying tho is Baby Keem’s because his story is doing a lot of work to fill in the blanks of Kendrick’s story. They are cousins and are pretty close at that so a lot of ppl Kendrick has mentioned in songs are in the Keem’s Booman docs.
J Cole’s doing a sort of docu-series around his album as well and it’s honestly the smartest thing he could have done. That battle will follow him for the rest of his life and you can tell he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Say what you will about that moment in time or his music but seeing him go directly to the people who are affected by his music really makes you appreciate it a bit more in context.
Okay that’s it.