Thoughts From The Rap Nest
vol023-058
Thoughts
Another Bandcamp Friday has passed. With that comes some mixed feelings. On one hand I am really happy for the artists and labels that were able to sell a bunch of physical goods and get the whole cut. Bandcamp Friday has bee really good for artists and labels to make some extra money in these days where press runs are small and profits are minimal at best. So not having to give upon cut of the sales is super helpful and may be the determining factor for some on whether the next release is a physical one.
However, has it sort of run its course and jumped the shark like Record Store Day has? Something that had really good intentions to help independent brick and mortar shops has lost its way in a sense and evolved into something that is less sustainable. The advent of the special edition releases from indie labels to help support and drive people to these shops was really cool initially like its counter part on Bandcamp Fridays. Over time RSD has become big business and sort of lost its way and appeal. I still peruse the RSD release pages when the drop and look for things I am interested in and I still head to my local record shop and line up and wait for the shop to open and grab the title or titles I wanted. I will do this again on this coming April 22nd.
Much like RSD, I think Bandcamp Friday has kind of lost its way. The idea was to drive people to Bandcamp to pick up things from their favorite artists and allow the artists to maximize their profits as Bandcamp waives the fee associated with the transactions. What started out as a way to help struggling artists during the pandemic buy driving fans to their Bandcamp page, much like the early days of RSD in driving record collectors to shops to buy existing merchandise and celebrate collecting music.
Now it is a day where your inbox is absolutely bombarded with emails from anyone you ever bought something from on Bandcamp. The emails don’t really bug me that much. I actually like artists/labels sending me emails to alert me to things. It is a great tool actually except for the hours leading up to Bandcamp Friday and on the actual day. I scroll through emails and click on the links then add things I am interested to my cart. Money, being what it is and not going as far as it once did (especially with change rates and shipping b being what they are), I start to make the tough decisions on what I think I need to buy asap because I think it will sell out and what I can put off for another pay period. It is always a delicate balance and not without its frustrations and disappointments. It is a no win situation for both the artists/labels and the fans.
A trend I am seeing more and more is that Bandcamp Friday has become a day to drop pre-orders for records that will ship months later. So everyone waits until this day to drop preorders or new projects and it makes it incredibly hard for rap fans not just fans of a particular artist to grab all of thees releases that day. There were a handful of things that I will have to cop and hope they don’t sell out in the interim. It feels more like a game than it used to and it is surprising to me how many people actually continue to participate in it including myself. I think music collectors are getting a bit burnt out and that is bad for artists. There is just too much quality rap music being made. It should be something that is celebrated and I think it could be to a larger extent with things being more spread out. The competition for dollars from fans has never been higher and I think that many artists/labels are beginning to lose out to these types of promotions. I am happy for everyone that was able to sell a bunch of music and especially if they were able to move some back catalogue stock. I am also really happy for everyone that was able to grab the things they wanted last week. These, as always are just thoughts and observations based on conversions I have with people and things I observed. After all there is a reason I titled the newsletter as I did.
That being said, a big week from the homies at Hand’Solo Records. First a new single from a teamup I learned about from Lxvndr from the interview I conducted with her for Ugsmag issue 2 is a full length team up with Lxvndr x Tachichi. The lead single from the album is really dope and has me so excited for the album. Streaming now.
Fortunato and Sean One are back with a follow up to the Blue Collar album with Blue Collar 2. I really enjoyed the first one and I am happy that there is a follow up to it. I am looking forward to giving this one some spins when it drops! Available now for preorder on Vinyl and CD.
The last but not least new release from Hand’Solo Records is the latest from ArealRapsGood. This album features pruduction from heavyweight producer The Dirty Sample. They are a greta team up and I am excited for this release! Available for order now on CD and Cassette.
Well I know I teased this Serengeti album dropping and you probably thought I was kidding about whether it was going to drop or not, but I can assure you I wasn’t. I am really happy it did though. In case you missed it check it out here as there are still a few copies available.
If you are in Saskatoon this weekend you will definitely want to check out the Live Mixtape Event and other associated events this weekend at the Remai Modern. The specifics for the event are as follows!
PERFORMANCE FEATURING CADENCE WEAPON
APRIL 15, 7 PM | RIVERVIEW ROOM
Get your tickets for a night of hip hop, performance and collaboration. The Live Mixtape brings together established and emerging prairie hip hop artists to create a performance of new works. This concert will conclude with a 30-minute solo set by Cadence Weapon, winner of the 2021 Polaris Music Prize. Odario Williams and DJ Ofield will provide the afterparty soundtrack as you dance the night away.
Tickets are selling quickly! Get yours here: Members $25; non-members $40. (Members, check your inbox for a special ticket code.)
The Live Mixtape is conceived and organized by emcee, educator and pioneering hip hop workshop facilitator, Elliot Walsh (Nestor Wynrush). First presented in Winnipeg, Walsh has worked in collaboration with Remai Modern to present a new iteration featuring guest artists Cadence Weapon, Odario, Winnipeg Poet Laureate Chimwemwe Undi, Andrew.O, and Marisolle Negash. Local artists include Eekwol, Zhe the Free, The Northwest Kid, and Chaps with production by Factor Chandelier, Rove, and Kimmortal.
The Live Mixtape is presented in collaboration with Trinnipeg & Synonym Sound, Winnipeg.
CADENCE WEAPON: READING & CONVERSATION
APRIL 15, 2 PM | RIVERVIEW ROOM
On the afternoon of April 15, join us for a book reading and conversation with Cadence Weapon (Rollie Pemberton) and Elliot Walsh. Cadence Weapon's book Bedroom Rapper is a wide-ranging and crucial history of hip hop with an international perspective that’s often missing from rap music journalism. Integrating the gestation of American hip hop with UK grime and niche scenes from the Canadian prairies, Pemberton brings his obsessive knowledge of hip hop to bear on his subject.
ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION
APRIL 16, 12 PM | RIVERVIEW ROOM
On Sunday, April 16, join the cast of The Live Mixtape for an informal conversation about the development of a vibrant hip hop culture on the prairies. The artists will touch on the specificities and complexities of place, inherited histories of the region and various prairie experiences.
EXHIBITION TOUR
APRIL 16, 2 PM | LEVEL 3
Following the conversation at 12 PM, Elliott Walsh will give a public tour of the Stan Douglas and Denyse Thomasos exhibitions where he’ll share observations and context of place through the lens of his Trinbagonian background and experience as a hip hop musician.
Tickets are limited for the performance on April 15, so get yours soon. No registration is required for the other events, with admission by donation (free entry for members and youth).
Missed Third Verse last night? Ugsmag has you covered once again to stream or download NOW! Catch Third Verse on CFCR 90.5 fm in Saskatoon, SK every Wednesday 9-10:30pm CST. Stream online via CFCR.ca or Radio Garden.
As always the last 10 episodes of my other weekly radio show You Know Know the Rules on UMFM in Winnipeg airing every Sunday night 10:00pm -11pm CST. Episodes availible NOW!
Record One
Maki - We Are an Image From the Future
This week is a double hit from the homie and super producer Maki. Well I posted these last week when they dropped and now I am posting them in the physical form. Thank you of the super fast shipping. I usually order things and sort of forget about them for a couple weeks and then I start to get excited about their arrival. Obviously preorders excluded. I was really surprised to see these this week, but also really excited as the look really good. This album is Maki on another, once again pushing the boundaries of production. It still has those hard hitting signature drums that you have become accustomed to over the years, but it is the other layers that progress the music to the next levels. The mix is incredible and everything is laid perfectly amongst each other and sonically. This is the ultimate headphone music to loose yourself in. Maki once again proves why he is and always has been one of the best!
Record Two
Maki - American Road Films
This has been out for some time digitally, but I am really happy to see it get a cassette release. I think Maki makes perfect walkman music and especially when you are actually walking outside. There are a handful of tapes still available if you were unable top grab one last week when they dropped. The description from the Bandcamp page includes some next level audio that I don’t even understand, but sounds cool as hell. This album still sounds as incredible as it did when it dropped. I am going to have to do some research and see if I can decode and view those signals.
Blacktop Edition is the cassette release of American Road Films. This version features movie samples that didn't appear in the original digital release. The cassette version also includes an analog signal at the end of each side that contains the encoded images of the cars referenced in the song titles, album art and an image of the artist. The signals are encoded in Slow Scan Television broadcast format (256 luma, 64/64 chroma x 240), and can be decoded and viewed using compatible hardware/software.
Rap Shirt
This weeks feature is from Saskatoon’s The Intelligentlemen. This was a shirt that dropped along side the 7” picture disc of the same title. Sick artwork by Matthew Feyld.
The homies at Audio Recon dropped couple really fresh label flip shirts. Check em out here.
Classic Material
Snowstyles 2000
I genuinely don’t care much for this kind of events. I really for the most part just like staying in my lane when I DJ and that lane is Rap shows. However every once in a while I get caught in a weak moment and agree to events outside of that lane. I think another reason I would have agreed to this was that the homies wear also playing, so no matter what went down I would have a good time kicking it with the homies.
Now this was in an era prior to Serato and having the ability to play any recorded song in history if you wanted to. We all loaded up a crate of our best records and took them to this event. This was a challenge in itself as we all generally liked the same rap music, so there would be lots of overlap in our crates. This meant you would have to play other album cuts, b-sides or remixes. This was a real challenge also given this was out doors in the winter. We were set up on a deck of the “Chalet” which was more of a shack, with no overhead covering and in the elements all day. Now looking at the flyer we probably agreed to dj for like 8 hours between the 4 of us and probably for some beer and probably like 25-50 $ each. We brought our own turntables and mixer and records. It was an outdoor event in the winter and thankfully weather was really mild for some reason and like only temperatures below zero in the single digit to low teens.
Now one of my biggest memories and something you don’t have to deal with when you stick to your lane is playing music in a public setting that may be deemed offensive. I think for the most part we played radio edits but whenever you are in this type of settings you hear songs in a whole new light and every swear or obscenity just seems to jump right out. It seems that all of a sudden all these songs seemed to have swears and stuff in them. Like, I listened to some of them hundreds of times and I could have sworn they were clean. It is like whenever you are in these types of setting obscenities just seem to jump right out. So we kept getting shit from the management for playing music with obscenities. It was the worst. It seems like no matter what we played there was foul language in it. It was a real nightmare. It was so frustrating. I think I just quit playing music at one point and turned it over to Innate who generally played a lot more safe rap music. Nowadays I just avoid these types of gigs as they are generally not fun, a lot of work and just a lot of hassle.
We were all really thankful for the special guest that was some sort of EDM DJ of sorts and was more aptly suited for this type of event as they took over the party until late and we were able to pack up after a long, cold day and peace out.
Closing Ramblings
As always, thank you for reading and for the feedback!
**legal disclaimer all records and songs were run through the RAP NEST 5000 SUPER ANALYTIC COMPTROLLER MACHINE that is certified by the I.A.A.R.R.A (International Association of Analytical Rap Recordings Analysis) in layman’s terms, it means the machine is never wrong.
Catch you next week with more thoughts from the rap nest.
Peace
-chaps
Yo, the mixtape and related events are gonna be dope!