Thanks for a Great Year - Keep It Pushing Into 2019

The plan was a two-level party at Boom Concepts in the Friendship section of Pittsburgh. InTheRough curated the space to celebrate creative communities of Pittsburgh. DJ Based Grvce handled the crowd upstairs as people steadily flowed in the building all night. First, people headed for the free drinks trying to get “gnarly off the jungle juice,” as Woolane would say. Next, they stopped at the Commendations voting platform to cast physical votes for the individuals who worked with diligence and consistency throughout 2018.

There was a blank ITR poster on the wall that said, “Write Here.” The clean canvas piqued people’s interest. The poster was covered by night’s end with social media tags, penis drawings and positive messages. It’s not a party unless someone draws a dick with a sharpie.

Thank you everyone who came to the Year End Review Party with DJ Based Grvce.

Downstairs in the basement, what was supposed to be a print shop for local streetwear brands turned into a smoke session with underground artists and creatives. Rappers JvGGY Hendrix, Keith.Wav, Sobah and Julio of Wave Beast Productions were found in the plumes of smoke having photoshoots. Keith.Wav controlled the aux chord to keep the basement crowd engaged. When he wasn’t playing songs, singer-songwriter Josephine rang her unreleased music for the scene to critique.

Many people celebrated themselves and others last night at the Year End Review Party. You know who you are. High school friends pulled up on a reunion attitude. That was touching.

Photo by Matt’s Music Mine - Check out his photos from the party here.

Emcees Taylor Bush and ITR’s Maxwell Young set the stage for rapper Woolane’s performance. “What’s your goal for 2019? Where you wanna go? Who you wanna be,” prompted Young. The Year End party gave Woolane a fresh audience to introduce his music, too. While tending bar, I bopped around to “STUK” and “Purple Hearts” pouring a girl whiskey and water on the rocks. Keith.Wav asked if he could have an impromptu set after Woolane. His assertion was appreciated, especially because of his highly anticipated song on the way called “DAMN!” that would’ve transitioned nicely from Woolane’s pop star. The night ended in bliss as DJ Based Grvce played a house song by Toro y Moi. When the last note played, Based Grvce thanked everyone and headed for the basement. The smoke box rightfully became an art party after her set. Quaishawn Whitlock fulfilled Melanin prints for people sitting around the print tables rolling blunts. Matt’s Music Mine grabbed a Stillers™ shirt and printed some ITR logos down the chest. He said nothing made him feel more about the culture than making T-shirts in a basement.

Overall, the goal has always been to celebrate positive communities and achievements that impact peers. Thank you to everyone who showed up last night. Thank you for playing a significant role in the culture here in The ‘Burgh.

Polaroids taken by Maxwell Young.

Commendations Nominees Who Received Votes At The Year End Review Party

UPDATE: See Where You Finished In The 2018 Commendations

This concludes the Commendations for Pittsburgh 2018. This list includes the tally from both online votes and physical votes cast at the Year End Review Party. Physical votes counted five times more than an online vote.

Why You Should Attend The Year End Review Party with DJ Based Grvce

As part of the Commendations for Pittsburgh polls, which is a directory to recognize the creative communities in the city that consistently progressed with notable work, is the Year End Review Party.

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A post shared by InTheRough (@intheroughstyle) on Dec 11, 2018 at 7:14pm PST

On Saturday, December 22, 2018, the hype DJ and citywide myth Based Grvce plays an unreal hip-hop set. Grvce’s music selection is something you only could’ve heard in your dreams. For the Year End Review Party, DJ Based Grvce delivers the trap, the bops, the energy vibes and more hip-hop consumed by the youth. To explain how on-point her taste in music is, I’d like to say that Grvce first put me on to “Drip or Drown” by Atlanta phenom Gunna. She knows songs that hit and get the crowd excited, shaking, moshing, loving life. The tunes will sound right with free drinks all night if you buy a ticket, and the fact you can smoke in the basement of Boom Concepts, where the party will be, is added incentive. Celebrate yourself. Celebrate community with likeminded individuals so we can start 2019 positively. Merrymake for the holidays.

For a sample of what you could hear, below is a playlist of songs from the “Favorite Song,” “Best Hip-Hop Album,” “Favorite Producer,” and “Best Music Video” Commendation categories.

Every year the Commendations polls drop, there will be people in the community left off the list who deserve to be on it and celebrated. The list needs to remain curatorial, although while also being thorough in picking the work of a lot of people to celebrate. Here is some work not featured on the Commendations for Pittsburgh list for 2018:

Best Hip-Hop Album Snubbed

“The 2W0” by Pk Delay

“big game james” by JvGGY Hendrix

Favorite Song Snubbed

“BADTIME! [LMA]” by TVBLACK!

“GAS” by Big 24

Year End Review Party with DJ Based Grvce

5139 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224

(Tickets below)

Year End Review Party with DJ Based Grvce Ticket

$10.00

Geechi P's Award to The Most Stylish

As Part of Commendations for Pittsburgh 2018

To kickoff Commendations 3 by InTheRough, Geechi P sponsors the award he won last year, the most stylish award. Now, it is called “Geechi P’s Award to The Most Stylish.”

Geechi spent 2018 flying under the radar, but his influence still present. He collaborated with photographer Sarah Bader and streetwear gurus Social Status and Nike forming a lookbook to promote the Nike Air Max 270 sneaker. Additionally, Geechi P was an ambassador to his friends’ clothing brands like SOSIMO and HeatKlub. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh style icon readies to release his own label, Safe Haven.

The nominees for Geechi P’s Award to The Most Stylish people from Pittsburgh are as follows:

@artbrown

@igbohippie_

@pixburghcam

@tamiablue

@unamericandragon

@uncleden_

Look forward to commentary and interviews for all nominees of Commendations for Pittsburgh 2018 soon at intheroughstyle.com/year-in-review. The Commendation voting polls opening date is TBD. Keep working.

Commendations for Pittsburgh Winners

Familiarize yourself with those up for Commendation here. See who won the Commendation polls for best of Pittsburgh above or below.

Commendations show appreciation for the productive and progressive communities in Pittsburgh.

Specifically, these Commendations acknowledge people in the 'Burgh who produced consistent content and who was worth recognizing in particular lifestyles such as art, music, or products for the 2017 calendar year.

We received 26,922 total Commendation votes by InTheRough readers. The polls closed on January 2, 2018. However, many more votes were submitted up until the Review Party for Commendations on January 12, 2018. See where the best of the 'Burgh finished in the polls.

The nominees for Commendations were selected based upon the articles about Pittsburgh life that featured on InTheRough. Known achievements, creations, and events determined nominees too. Winners had the highest vote total shown in parentheses.

While the nominees and winners of the Commendations receive praise from intheroughstyle.com, those who attended the Review Party at Senseless on January 12 also received a physical award. Geechi P attended the event to receive his Most Stylish Commendation. Art Like Us walked away with the "Teenie" Award for Best photographer, and the Lokal Foreners accepted the award for Best Music Artist on behalf of the late Yung Mulatto. Additionally, DJ Femi braved the severe ice storm and proudly took home Best DJ. By the time the Review Party had ended, Senseless placed their Commendation for Best Shop on their top shelf. It was fitting to have Art Like Us photograph pieces of the night after his second ‘best photographer’ award for 2017.

Ultimately, understand that ITR still grows and works to push an honest commentary about an authentic scene. The Commendations for peoples' best work of 2017 represent research and appreciation of contemporary culture in Pittsburgh. There's always more to learn from the communities in the Steel City and elsewhere, so 2018 is about broadening our horizons and exposing a new cast of heroes. It matters to be thorough and accept all feedback to improve the 2018 Commendations.

Familiarize yourself with those up for Commendation here. See who won the Commendation polls for best of Pittsburgh above or below.