Woolane - STUK / October 22, 2018 by Alex Young

Popstars from Pittsburgh live and die. Woolane moves right now live and direct. That bop, that culture of being a dope human, that’s Woolane. I could write all day about his style and glitz digital hum, but you should just spend some time combing through his SoundCloud. Sample two tracks, a past song and his latest, then go digging on the Internet.

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Woolane’s newest track, “STUK,” and “Comfortable,” an old cut, are in rotation. Both bang and shine on musical stardom in Pittsburgh. You might have heard “STUK” hyping the “Steel Teeth” film that will show how fun this ‘Burgh scene really is. “Comfortable” lit actually. Play it for your girl. “I wanna symbolize a glow. I wanna shine past the dark trap scene that got a curse on our city,” Woolane said when ITR asked why he wears a white Steelers Troy Polamalu Jersey instead of a black one. Woo’s a different mood. He’s a popstar.

“Popstar is basically just for a very long time no matter what genre of music. Colored people made it. It was considered R&B or Rap when pop was a more successful genre. On the other hand, I’m truly a pop star. I make pop, and I’m a star. I got good energy when I’m on any scene even with complete strangers.”

— Woolane on the definition of a "Popstar"

Listen to his music, and go to his show at The Smiling Moose on Nov. 8, 2018. Woo’s associates even carry heat. Check out “Purple Hearts” by YungDrip.

Pk Delay Finds A Rhythm With New Records / October 17, 2018 by Alex Young

Pk Delay hydrating when a ‘fashionista’ walks by him. Photograph by Alex Young

It started with “I Take It Easy.” This bop came clear through the speaker. “But these niggas need me. Package the whole thing.” As cocky as the line sounds, I think Pk Delay just recognized his role in this music scene. Cool as confidence, sometimes Pk’s records come in with the full anticipation of a professional rollout like his “Silver” album. Or his records hit you unannounced, like his song with Benji, the hip-hop musician, and brother of super producer Christo.

Even better, the rapper Pk Delay has a new album, “Pretty The Pico.” We’ve anticipated his song “Move Away” with Taylor Gang’s own Chevy Woods for a minute. When Delay debuted the song at Cody Baker’s Pop Style bar party in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville, Reese Youngn featured on the song, so another hype version of “Move Away” exists. “Pretty The Pico” delivery below.

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“I might move A WAY.” ITR grammatical error got the city trippin’.

10 Jonts From The DMV / October 10, 2018 by Maxwell Young

Y’all keep coming with the heat and we’ll amplify.

*Jont: Washingtonian slang to generically describe something or someone. In this case, songs.

UUV c/o Lordy | Photograph by Maxwell Young

1. REZT - WORTH IT

A representative of Prince George’s County Maryland aka “the Whop,” Rezt’s latest project, Murrlin was featured in this summer’s Sounds of D.C. vol. II playlist. “Worth It” has this ‘close your eyes and nod your head’ type knock to it, which makes sense as its tagged as ‘crank-soul’ on SoundCloud. Much of Rezt’s music follows this 8-bit video game bop that is prevalent in today’s hip hop sound, but the difference is his rapping skills are more apparent than some “mumble rappers” would like to show.

2. ledroit ft. SIR E.U - fuck off

Ledroit is the mastermind behind the omnipresent Tech Yes—an array of electronic genres and original sounds with Sir E.U as the backing emcee. Watching the duo in person is like watching Shaolin Fantastic and The Wordsmith command crowds in the Netflix original series, The Get Down. To have a streamable tune from them is epic. It’s one thing to watch artists cross pollinate and perform in other bands (Ledroit and E.U both moonlight in Rob Stokes Band and have conceived a new punk/hip hop/electronic group called Michaelangelo) but it’s a whole other dynamic when the project is executed for online consumption. As fans, we can appreciate the moment. Speaking of moments, you might have caught Sir E.U in the remix of this instant classic internet video.

3. DEN-MATE - XOSO

Released just several days ago, Loceke follows up Den-Mate’s self-titled 2016 project. Lead vocalist Jules Hale compliments spacey guitar riffs and wobbly bass notes with her unique monotone voice that evokes alternative/punk feels.

4. CISCERO ft. BLACK FORTUNE - BITE DOWN

Ciscero dropped new music for the first time in five months last week. “Bite Down” was teased to a sold out crowd at Union Stage on the Wharf during April + Vista’s first-ever headlining show.

5. TASHAZE - INTERMISSION BY MARTIN J BALLOU ft. MUDI (CHOPPED AND SCREWED)

Tashaze recognized the need to prolong the vibe set by Martin J Ballou and Mudi in the original track off Ballou’s You& The Space Between - EP because at two minutes, “Intermission” leaves listeners wanting more. From D.C. by way of Seattle, Tashaze has found a home with mxdhouse—an art and music collective that has supported the consistent programming of GIRLAAA, which you could have attended several times at John Geiger and Davin Gentry’s boutique hangout, Diet Starts Monday.

6. JENNA CAMILLE - 3000 ROSES

Jenna Camille released “3000 Roses” last night, but she’s been playing it during her performances for awhile. Mellow synths carry over Camille’s vocals that slowly build throughout the track. We’re looking forward to her Luce Unplugged show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on November 1st. She’s been quietly fine-tuning her album Free while also collaborating with rapper Odd Mojo.

7. INNANET JAMES - THE COOL

“I should cool it/‘cause these potholes real live stupid/Why they keep ‘em in the hood?/Not where white folks movin’,” ponders James, the Maryland-based rapper. “The Cool” comes from Innanet James’ recent Keep it Clean project, which includes a feature from Pusha T.

8. MUDI - SIREN

Mudi and Martin J Ballou have found a magical connection and they share the fruits of their creations mutually. Sometimes MUDI features on Ballou’s tracks and other times, like in this instance, Ballou will produce, mix, and master tracks for the R&B singer’s catalog. “Siren” has been in heavy rotation since it dropped last month.

9. MATT MCGHEE ft. ALEX VAUGHN - UNCOMFORTABLE

The catchy tune on the back half of McGhee’s newest EP, Since You’re Watching, features Alex Vaughn, who stepped out for a cameo at Odd Mojo’s curated Urban Outfitters Live in Chinatown several weeks ago. It’s reminiscent of early 2000s garage production from the UK, like “Has It Come to This?” by The Streets.

10. FILET MIGNON - I LOVE YOU TOO…

Her name is Filet Mignon and she has pink hair. Unsure how her persona as a DJ gets more cohesive than that. To be determined. This mix sounds similar to the set she spun last Friday at Open Studio D.C.’s closing event featuring UUV & Nomu Nomu. She flexed a rendition of Immature’s “I Don’t Mind” as well as a captivating mashup of Drake’s “Free Smoke” and his crush Sade’s “Lover’s Rock.” Let Mac Miller’s “What’s the Use” fill your room at 21 minutes.

Listen to Last Niight's Converge Playlist / October 8, 2018 by Maxwell Young

In anticipation of their first collective show this Wednesday at U Street Music Hall, Last Niight has dropped a posse playlist featuring a number of its producers and DJs. Common themes amongst the millennial collective are remixed afro beats as well as the spinning of classic 1990s and early 2000s hip hop and R&B records. Koleco, the founding member of Last Niight, who’s about to embark on a European tour, plays with an edit of Usher’s “My Boo,” while Melik Deal, aka Mfundishi, reworks Field Mob’s “So What” with Ciara. Deal also contributes verses to the collective. He and fellow Last Niight rapper THEANTISOCIAL came locked and loaded with freestyle bars a couple weeks ago during their episode of Late Bloom Radio. Martin J Ballou, however, has this Rico Suave demeanor that we talked about on radio and you can hear it in his songs “Wantin’” and “Intermission” featuring Mudi . They’re meshed in with TheSpaceBetween mix below—a short EP he released in 2017. Listen to the playlist and don’t forget to step out to Converge this Wednesday at U Street Music Hall for Last Niight’s sonic exposé.

‘Converge’ flyers designed by St. Clair Castro.

10 Cool Songs From Pittsburgh / September 30, 2018 by Alex Young

Music videos and tracks featuring Hardo, Josephine, Nizzy and more.

Josephine | Photo by Alex Young

1. Jordan Montgomery - Black Folk 4 Life (Bad Boy For Life Remix)

It was Jay tracks only. Slim Tha DJ proved up to the task combing through Jay Z’s music catalog to entertain a crowd at the Boom Concepts gallery venue in Pittsburgh. Rapper Jordan Montgomery was there as Hov’s super fan spitting every lyric bar for bar with acute cadence. Montgomery’s music could play at intermission during a Jay Z concert. He rhymes around the beat like Hov. His wisdom speaks to other young, black Americans and that deserves more attention. The classic flavor on Montgomery’s “Black Folk 4 Life” tastes fresh from the cut’s cool music video directed by Jordan Armstrong. Artists’ cameos by Jaybee Jackson and Livefromthecity are hype.

2. Slicky Williams - Remain Humble

A sensitive trap tale from Homewood, Pittsburgh rapper and singer-songwriter Slicky Williams. Buy his new EP on iTunes.

3. Josephine - I Need Teeth

Super chill song from an Irish-Jamaican songstress from the ‘Burgh. Any DJ worth any finesse could play Josephine’s track at the function. She has more music on the way so, don’t sleep.

4. The Keymakers - Tell Me Something

When we observed The Keymakers at the Always Money studio in Toronto, it was clear, Rome and Rederic had a plan to roll out their music. The assist from the Always Money collective, engineer B.C., writer Jesse Christophr and Cash Money Records representative Anshuman Sharma, boosts The Keymakers’ quality. From prep school life in the ‘Burgh to radio ready, introduce yourself to The Keymakers. If not, you may come across the group in a Spotify playlist.

5. Rome Fortune & Toro Y Moi - Hoodrich Disco (Music Video Directed by Glasshead)

Media production company and music group, Glasshead adds to their clientele with this music video direction for well-known musicians Rome Fortune and Toro Y Moi. Glasshead rises out of The Steel City to meet opportunities across the country because they entertain with whacky, flattering content kind of like a meme. Whether its hip-hop mimicking Doja Cat’s “Mooo!” song with The N word or general comedy about the culture, Glasshead shoots straight. Feature article on that squad soon.

6. Camp Yola x D Clak - Home Invasion Part 1

50 Cent got people wanting to turn their lives into TV like “Power.” It goes to show the inner-city underbelly really tries people. What’s perceived as entertainment is survival mode.

7. Hardo - Fame or Feds

Hardo follows up his 2011 “Fame or Feds” mixtape with OG Pittsburgh rapper Deezlee. This time, “The Fame or Feds Story” album illustrates Hardo’s trap origins, while paying respect to the relationships that affected him most. Hardo’s latest project culminates his development as a rapper to those who’ve watched his rise.