Music Addikts

While recording for BET’s “Music Matters”, a campaign geared towards highlighting upcoming artists, Jesse Boykins took us behind the scenes to give us a glimpse of what his recording process looks like.  Take a peek.

Photo credit: Pastemagazine.com

The chatter on Facebook was building as fans waited for the announcement of where Big Boi and his friends, Jay Electronica and Yelawolf  would be performing for Microsoft’s Kin secret, free show Thursday night.  ”Shhhh!! It’s a secret. We’ll tell you when you need to know.” Not in those exact words, but that’s basically what the Facebook page said to the 600+ people that had RSVP’d for the concert , including myself. It’s not every day that Big Boi performs for his hometown and I needed to be there.

After getting the “come on in” nod from a friend of a friend at the door, I skipped the line, got through the door and got myself ready for a good time.

The show, sponsored by Microsoft Kin, was corporate product promotion at its finest. A spacious, unique venue – check. Free goodies – double check. And the Pièce de résistance….free drinks – triple check!!

Jay Electronica (Yes, one of Erykah Badu’s baby daddies) opened the show by first expressing his appreciation for the city of Atlanta – his self-proclaimed 2nd home following Hurricane Katrina.  I admit…I was a sleeper. I had heard of Jay, but never paid much attention to him.  During his performance, I had to hang my head in shame.  I am an ADDIKT, I should have known better. The guy is a great lyricist and he brought just the right type of energy needed to get the crowd going.

He even chopped it up with the people on the floor during and after his performance. Find out more about Jay here and follow him on twitter to keep up with all the stuff he has coming out.

After a quick DJ break, rap newcomer Yelawolf bounded out on the stage tatt’ed up and rhyming faster than I had used up my 4 drink tickets. Recently signed to Interscope Records, Yelawolf has apparently been around for years and is finally getting some widespread exposure. His song, “Pop The Trunk” seemed to be a crowd favorite.

Again, I am ashamed. I knew very little about Yelawolf and on first glance I was a little suspect. But in the infamous words of DJBooth.net, “Be careful of first appearances. White, slim and heavily tattooed, at first glance YelaWolf looks more like a punk rocker than a rapper, but take one listen to Trunk Muzik and it’s clear that his hip-hop roots run deep.”

Yelawolf is featured on Big Boi’s new album and his mixtape, Trunk Muzik, is available online for free download.

Just a short 10 minutes later, one half of the legendary Outkast duo (Big Boi) was on stage in front of his hometown family. He immediately jumped into Outkast classics like, “Ms Jackson,” “Elevators,” “Southern Playalistic“, performed a new track or two and then went back in to the classics we love, “So Fresh, So Clean,” “Ghetto Musick” and “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad).

And although I left with flat hair, a sweaty shirt and sore feet, it was all worth it.  I’m still talking about the show and so is CNN.  And if Thursday’ show is any indication of what fans will get on Big’s Boi’s solo project, then forget July 4th!! I’ll be shooting fireworks off on July 6th when Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Dusty Chico hits stores.

4daLove

DJ PHAZE is proving why he’s ‘Your Girl’s Favorite DJ‘.  I’m sure you want to know what MDMA means right? Well…it means MAKE DA MUSIC ADDIKTIVE, which is certainly what PHAZE does.

Peep the playlist and download for a weekend soundtrack!

MDMA Playlist

For more information on DJ PHAZE, follow him on Twitter and check his site!