music

Kremmy Six and The Big East Championship Rap Show by Alex Young

Photos of Kremmy Six Saucin by Alex Young

Kremmy Six Saucin invited me to his 24th birthday party at the Gooski’s bar in Polish Hill, Pittsburgh. Graffiti and stickers plastered everywhere mixed with the smoke tinge and rock classics playing all night. Kremmy’s nails painted black. Two silver crosses hung from his right ear. More silver pierced his nose cartilage and septum. The punk aesthetic worked for the rapper Kremmy Six Saucin whose taste is very of the moment which you can tell from his bulky European size 43 Balenciaga Triple S Trainer sneakers.

Describing his music as “in a mode,” Kremmy’s songs are cinematic journeys laced with auto-tune trap jams where he starts realizing “some things in my life,” he said, like working on self-love. Over the course of his albums like, “RIDE 4:12 AM” or “TE$T YOUR LUCK,” Kremmy’s self-discovery dealt with what type of man he strived to be finding himself going against his morals, or the internal thoughts of a black man.

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Now, with help from the “home team,” including producer Jaybee and rapper NATO Rounds among others (Finessin Wes, Manu, Ron James plus more), Kremmy readies the release of his next project called “SIX.” He said, “it’s more just working towards being a better person.”

Though the “SIX” project is on the way, people should attend The Big East Championship show at Haus of Vain on Feb. 9, 2019. The rap show features native ‘Burgh emcees Kremmy, LiveFromTheCity and Ron James. Jaybee handles the DJ set, and the crew will welcome New York artists Bknott, Kudoz and RAF of Thrifty Retro Records as the “home team” must show out on their turf.

Haus Of Vain

4711 Centre Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Show starts at 9 p.m. 2/9/19

Tony Cruise's new mix sounds like something out of The Matrix Reloaded by Maxwell Young

Tony Cruise Dj-ing at Full Service Radio. Polaroid by Maxwell Young

Tony Cruise Dj-ing at Full Service Radio. Polaroid by Maxwell Young

Early Wednesday, ROOM, whose scant SoundCloud and Instagram bios proclaim “freedom of association,” premiered a 48-minute live mix by Tony Cruise.  The first streamable offering since the release of his 2018 LP, Replica, features the trademark cacophony and distortions that Cruise explores in his productions and live instrumentations.  Recorded at The Line Hotel in Washington, D.C., disco, house, drum & bass, and rave tracks are contorted to create this sonic composition that, for me, is reminiscent of the sex scene in The Matrix Reloaded, where Neo and Trinity escape a subterranean, dystopian rave—not to be mistaken for Tech Yes— to have prophecy-ordained coitus.

Stay tuned to InTheRough pages as we talked with Aamir Khuller, the designer of Cruise’s Replica cover art and website.  That interview drops next week.

Watch Thraxx King's new music video for "Mula on Medula" by Maxwell Young

Washington, D.C.—The collaborative duo of rapper/audio engineer Thraxx King and multimedia artist Maps Glover has yielded more audiovisual complements, this time regarding King’s project Tribe Ties.

Similar to “The Master of Sound’s” 2018 LP and singles Project 72, “Anarchy,” and “Talking about Nuclear War,” Glover has once again designed King’s cover art. A much simpler illustration than past covers still provides a puzzling composition, though, as Thraxx King is drawn from behind looking at a painting that resembles an identical image shown on his jacket.

What’s more, however, is their link up in Thraxx’s new music video for “Mula on Medula,” the third song on his latest 19-minute offering complete with high-pitched chords that mimic plucks on a sitar. Glover’s paintings, sketches, and sculptures he has been making inside A Creative D.C.’s studio space in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C., inform the backdrop of the visual.

It’s an intimate space that becomes all the more personable as viewers get a front row seat to both King and Glover bopping around and interacting with different art media. Watch the video above and catch another live performance of “Mula on Medula” this Thursday, January 31 as part of Glover’s closing show to his 27-day residency at A Creative D.C., Don’t speak to the artist while in practice.

January 31, 5-9pm

A Creative D.C.

716 Monroe St. NE

Lunar League Delivers A 'Smash' by Alex Young

Art by @senzei.art

Feel the excitement from three best mates sitting in a room facing a blunt staring at the computer anticipating the release of their proud new rap song. Called “SKRRT!” by the Lunar League hip-hop crew, the group are rambunctious, eager youngsters with ant windu, keith.wav, Life of Swoosh, Mar The Artsit, Rue, Sobah, tvblack, and Zende. “SKRRT!” is keith.wav’s track featuring sobah and tvblack. Keith.wav plugged into Instagram live ten minutes before the new song dropped at 7 p.m. Tvblack started singing melodies to Internet beats while Rue punched a freestyle. “It’s a fucking smash,” keith.wav said about “SKRRT!” Lunar League has other good songs too. Check out tvblack’s “READY OR NOT!” with Keith.Wav or “PREDATOR!” that has the same Lunar trio as “SKRRT!”

“Lunar League Going Light Speed.”

Pk Delay and Slicky Williams are the Best Duo Since Martin Lawrence and Will Smith by Alex Young

Pk Delay (left) and Slicky Williams (right)

Pk Delay (left) and Slicky Williams (right)

Pk Delay has dropped a new song every single day this month. Apparently, he works towards a full 365-song catalog by the year’s end. He wrote an Instagram caption two weeks ago, “Day 4/365.” That’s a lot of music.

Somebody needs to tell Pk the gumbo he’s cooked with Slicky Williams is fire though. The rappers are friends. “Slick Will, yeah, that’s my twin. I think he me now,” Pk said. ITR heard they were on to something back in 2016 once they put out songs like “Ain’t Nothing” or “Here.” Now, their latest tunes just snap. The guys are smooth, nifty rappers. From neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pk from the Hill District and Slicky from Homewood, they can thug out representing their hardened hoods. “Blood rushing watching niggas kill they cousins. Shady,” Pk said in his new track “How I’m Comin” with Slick. “Retaliate. Do a nigga greasy Imma fry him,” Slick finished. Or the duo has fun with music like their new party record “Temple Run.” Faint ad-lib ‘shhs’ turn the song on its head getting you to dance thinking about the playful arcade app called Temple Run.

It’s safe to say the people want to hear more from Pk Delay and Slicky Williams. Listen to more of Pk’s 365-day project here.