Slicky Williams Gives Acapella Freestyle and a Message to Lost Youth / September 16, 2017 by Alex Young

Slicky Williams photograph by Alex Young

Slicky Williams stands on pride rock speaking to InTheRough. This thing is huge, the rock sits in Pittsburgh's Highland Park. Walk down a path next to the picnic pavilions and hope to find it under a canopy of trees. Slick tucks away from his native Homewood neighborhood to smoke blunts back here. "It's a nice way to start the day," he says.

The blunt passes back and forth, and the 22-year-old R&B talent named Sh'mi White describes his music. "My music is just me. It's how I'm feeling. It's soulful. The only way I can describe it is like Bryson's shit, Trap Soul."

Which means sensitive and raw qualities of 'trap soul' present in Slicky's newest song, "Fake Moves" produced by WavinLane.

Further, balance is the key element to Slicky's music. Past tracks like "My Wrist" smash with stories of riding around in a Mitsubishi Lancer with rap friend Pk Delay. Though the tales of mobbin' around the city are fun, Slick shows compassion too. He touches on a romance with his songs "Fiend For You" or "Me You Us." Sincerely, Slicky tries "to talk about how I survive the situations that could damn near break people," he says.

Hardships in the city leave people stuck choosing between "the good and bad shit," Slick says. Right now he's pondering buying a gun 'cause "too many niggas out here dying I can't be another one," he raps acapella for ITR.

A post shared by InTheRough (@intheroughstyle) on Sep 16, 2017 at 10:30am PDT

“I paint the picture for the troubled kids, the kids in the mix between good and bad who everyday have to figure out which way to go.”

Purposefully, he speaks for lost youth, and Slicky also champions the 'Burgh's hip-hop community. "The scene in Pittsburgh is coming around. Artists need to support each other," he says.

In 2015, Slicky's mate in The Company Only rap collective, Joel Kellem (Pet Zebra), won The King of The 'Burgh rap competition. That title gave notoriety to everyone in The Company Only like Deem, Fat Corey, Pk Delay, and Seas. "Things started poppin' off" after the collective got their first headline called the "Hotbox" show in Downtown Slicky remembers.

Since then the trap-soul artist finds his sound. Great tracks like "Ain't Nothing" will appear on the Slicky Williams SoundCloud account and disappear months later if he's not satisfied. The substance is important to his messages. "I live life in between the music. This is a lifestyle," he says.

Altogether, Slicky wants his fans to know that regardless of the circumstance, "you're not alone."

Slicky Williams - Fiend For You / August 30, 2017 by Alex Young

"In your ocean, I just want to swim... She make me want to have a junior."

Primarily, R&B artist Slicky Williams separates himself from the pack because his music confidently explores intimacy, love, and relationships. He isn't "stuck in the stigma of being a hood nigga" making trap music he said in a forthcoming interview with InTheRough. The Homewood, Pittsburgh native has bangers and soul with some funk in between.

Enjoy Slick's new song "Fiend For You" below, and look out for an acapella freestyle along with the Slicky Williams profile soon here.

NVSV - Villain / August 11, 2017 by Alex Young

Producer and rapper NVSV [NASA] sustains himself in Pittsburgh's music community. He spends long hours at Library Collaborative, a full-service recording studio and independent record label located between the Dormont-Whitehall boroughs.

The 'Burgh has welcomed NVSV with open arms since he moved to the city from Baltimore in 2011. In the hip-hop scene, he's brushed shoulders with trap-stars like Stevie B, the infamous producer who crafted Jimmy Wopo's "Elm Street," and Reese Youngn's engineer.

At Library Collaborative, NVSV meshes well with a crew of talented artists who produce in the hip-hop and rock genres. Their space is interesting, racks of vinyl line the walls, purple hallways feature sensational art, there's a full-environment green screen, plenty of recording studios, and much more. Library is a diamond in the rough that is Pittsburgh.

Now, NVSV dedicates himself to his music and all the resources that Library provides him. Off the cusp of enjoying "Like Me" on VibeRotation 27, NVSV releases a new song and video called "Villain."

Listen to the new track and understand his perspective when he says, "I'm in a dream I gotta leave 'cause the real world never wait." ITR readers can have a thorough review of NVSV's processes, life experience, and the Library Collaborative soon here.

Choo Jackson - Make Me Laugh / August 10, 2017 by Alex Young

Known for the Stillers and the bridges, you might be surprised to find Pittsburgh is also known for its parades. Whether that is relevant to rapper Choo Jackson's new "Parade" album executive produced by I.D. Labs studio is to be determined.

Before "Parade" releases, Choo wants us to simply "enjoy" his new song, "Make Me Laugh." So listen and #MakeChooLaugh. Watch this here, Chooie Lennon.

Aïcha- Finding Her Voice / August 9, 2017 by Maxwell Young

Last September, we introduced you to a woman who was just beginning her musical journey, writing and ‘developing her sound’ as she calls it, in Paris and LA with artists and producers.

We began to hear the actualization of Aïcha's time spent abroad on recent SoundCloud playlist, Elle The Diary. She sings in french on “Entry 2”, a remix of Drake’s “Bria’s Interlude” and Bryson Tiller’s “Sorry Not Sorry." For "Entry 1," over the instrumental of Common's "Go!" she recognizes the poignancy of being a young woman in the music industry.

“Entry 1 I actually performed live on the radio in Paris like in March, it was so dope. I was so nervous though, it was definitely a learning experience,” she says of her joining French R&B artist Skreally Boy on OKLM Radio’s Rap/Hip-Hop show La Sauce (track 2).

Aïcha’s recent spoken word poems “ELLE” and “Abbas and Iman Pt.1” showcase her dense lyricism. In "ELLE" she aligns her flow with the delayed bass kicks produced by Duce, she says "Is it because I am woman she wonders/ That I could mend my words with many truths and execute With injury/ a pretty melody to match my frame/ Would still have more appeal?"

To provide a little more insight on current inspirations, we asked Aïcha for a taste of the music she's been listening to. "The Gap Year" is a 22-track playlist featuring songs from influences like Kendrick Lamar, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Wizkid but it also has an international flair indicative of her time abroad. An iteration of French trap by Damso gives context to the adaptation of hip-hop across foreign countries.

“He isn’t on SoundCloud but I’ve been listening to a lot of afro-trap from this kid MHD and it just made me want to try and work over similar beats... it’s been interesting. But I’ve been listening to a lot more music from West Africa. These are my roots so it’s dope to have all my languages come into play and blend into my music.”

Today, she combines SZA’s “Normal Girl” and “Go Gina” on a smooth instrumental for what has become our new favorite vibe.