New York

They Are Brooklyn Rappers Now by Alex Young

NVSV and Jvggy Hendrix release their collaborative album.

“The Lords” by NVSV and Jvggy Hendrix

“The Lords” by NVSV and Jvggy Hendrix

Two young men used Pittsburgh as their hub, building themselves, letting experiences mold them, patiently studying, and only producing content when they felt ready to do so, aware of the times when art fell on deaf ears in the Steel City. Just like any creative person in a small town, the great migration to massive cultural hubs like New York City or Los Angeles called to them while they woke and while they slept. But the subjects, Jvggy (pronounced Jiggy) Hendrix and NVSV (pronounced NASA), never balked at their set up in The ‘Burgh. Both of them rappers, Jvggy from Swissvale nine miles from Downtown Pittsburgh and NVSV from Baltimore, Md., met at the studio space and music collective that NVSV partnered with in the west end of Pittsburgh— Library Collaborative. Jvggy “came in for some sessions and we’ve been tight ever since. Not on no funny type shit, but he’s my protégés. Dead ass. And he enjoys the same things in hip hop as I do. But he also teaches me what the kids are up to,” the senior NVSV said about his younger Jvggy.

NVSV and Jvggy bloomed their studio engineering relationship into frequent collaborators on each other’s records. By my count, they have eight songs together that we know about spread out across Soundcloud releases and digestible extended plays on Apple Music. Their styles mix well, especially over classic boom bap beats fit only for true emcees to conquer. They sound very much like the rap that currently emanates from the Griselda fellas out of Buffalo, N.Y. “Listening to West and Benny,” NVSV admits while he crushes his own version of the brown mafioso, speaking a cadence so gritty and intentional in the song “Deadstock,” which also features Jvggy. “Come from where the Stillers be. Live by where them killers be,” Hendrix went for his city.

During the duos gestation period, NVSV moved to Brooklyn in the back half of 2019. “NY influenced me from birth. The city is hip hop… I think the tone of my music now is a direct reflection of my life here in Brooklyn now. I don’t think I would have been able to achieve that same sound while living anywhere else,” he said to ITR over Instagram DM. Also answering the call to the Big Apple was Jvggy. “New York has given me an opportunity to be more myself,” he said, going onto mention how he resonates with sounds from Griselda too and “of course Mac Miller,” who you can certainly hear tones of in Jvggy’s “Dirty Tapes” volumes. Both rappers frame their own testimonies technically through a classic East Coast lyricism for a case study on rap, and their work together is so exciting once you recognize how they have masterfully leveraged the techniques mimicking gun sounds and bars over jazzy sonics like Griselda. Do yourself a favor. Listen to “DR BIRDS,” and then play “Sammy’s.”

Today, NVSV and Jvggy released an album together entitled “The Lords” invoking the street. “Gangs were created to protect its people from outside forces that were destroying or vandalizing the community. Often Gangs were met by rival gangs battling over those same streets. Order was created due to unity and street justice. NVSV and Jvggy Hendrix explore this lifestyle, its pros and its cons,” read the album description on Bandcamp. Skits from the 1974 film “The Education of Sonny Carson” filter throughout their album too, emphasizing a “unified black culture,” Jvggy wrote proudly. Until media owned by white people misunderstood and “created negative preconceived notions about” these organized groups like the Black Panther Party, calling them gangs and police dispersed them with fatal bullets. Importantly, NVSV DM’d me Bobby Seale’s speech where he reiterated Huey P. Newton’s basic 10 Point Program of The Black Panther Party. All Black people have ever fought for is the practical defense of their human rights. We have to do that in the face of oppression from white people every day all the time— housing, education, healthcare, workforce, politics, law.

“Many of these ideas aren’t new or revolutionary ideas. We just have to take action,” NVSV finished.

Foursix - LVL1 by Alex Young

Foursix captured by @branndannart

Foursix captured by @branndannart

Members of Foursix, a music collective and art label with New York roots, understand the importance of chemistry, especially in a group of seven people.

When Foursix linked to make music last, J-Payso and Verdé Madera, two of the groups members, crafted "Favors," a song detailing the nature and lifestyle of a nine-to-five job.

After recording "Favors," "we felt so good about it we wanted to carry that energy into a new song," Foursix says.

The individualistic creativity each member in Foursix has builds rapport amongst the crew, comprised of Amoedo, Ashlee, J-Payso, Jahnei, Verde Madera, Zach Day, and Zino. They create a fun, good quality in their music when the group's good chemistry reflects in in their art.

Such is the case in Foursix's newest song, "LVL1." Performed by J-Payso and Verde Madera, the song is produced by Jahnei, one of the collective's two in-house producers along with Amoedo. Also, the track is from Foursix's debut record, "The Manhattan Project," which is due for release soon.

If you are in New York, see Foursix for their show at Webster Hall on July 6, and watch and listen to their most recent works, "Favors" and "LVL1," below.

Liana Bank$ - Off by Alex Young

"I've always found it alluring, the way we buy clothes to please the eye, and the eye in turn only wishes to remove them," says Liana Banks, a New York native songstress.

While Banks explains her latest single, "Off," her vocals evoke sensuality and caress listeners into the mood. With each release, following her success on "LVLUP," Banks gives tastes of her future debut project, and her soulful sounds. Enjoy "Off" below.

A$AP Ferg x Tory Lanez - Line Up The Flex by Alex Young

Via A$AP Ferg's Instagram

Via A$AP Ferg's Instagram

A$AP representative Ferg, hailing from New York City's Harlem neighborhood, is in promotion stage for his upcoming album, Always Strive And Prosper, and for his joint tour with Toronto rapper Tory Lanez called 'The Level Up Tour.'

Both A$AP Ferg and Tory Lanez pair now for a rocking collaboration in song "Line Up The Flex." 

Listen to the duo's new song because it will make you feel energized and "hella" confident.

Purchase Ferg's Always Strive And Prosper album on April 22 and get tickets for the tour here.

 

 

Dan Witz Paints Mosh Pits by Alex Young

Limbs flail, heads bob up and down, bodies squish together, chests hit chests, elbows and fists connect with faces, people stumble, people embrace, and people dance in mosh pits.

Chicago native and Brooklyn resident Dan Witz observes the chaos that occurs in a concert's mosh pits, and skillfully illustrates the experience in paintings. His particular artwork is astounding because of his self-proclaimed "academic realist" painting style.

Feel your jaw drop as you browse the images of Witz's paintings, and put yourself in the mood with ITR's "Lemme Mosh" playlist. 

Catch the painter's solo exhibition called "Mosh Pits, Raves and One Small Orgy" at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York from April 2 - 30, 2016.

Jonathan LeVine Gallery: 529 West 20th Street, Gallery II