The Uptown Interview

'The Uptown Interview' is a series of candid conversations with some of D.C.'s cultural influencers in an attempt to interpret and preserve the artistic heritage of the city.  In homage to the late Hugh Hefner and 'The Playboy Interview,' InTheRough sat down with two of the most dynamic forces in the District's creative ecosystem: producer/singer Davon Bryant aka Dreamcast and journalist/D.C. cultural archivist Marcus Dowling.  Read on for a couple excerpts from the conversations, and head to the Uptown Art House website for the full interviews. 

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Davon Bryant photograph by Maxwell Young

Dreamcast on making "sit down" music...

MY: So, a full album,  When can we expect that?

DB: I’m thinking within the next 3 to 4 months, man.  I need to have it out.  I really wanna maximize me being on the radio now to push it.  I’m just having fun with it dude, like, it’s really not a job right now.

MY: Is that the main thing you do?

DB: I was just working at a dental office for maybe 6 months to a year, and I ended that before I went to Europe.  But what I’m focusing on now is just making some new content.  I just wanna make some shit that makes people sit down.  There’s so much turn up music.  I want to have that same realm of performances as James Blake, where people come and sit down.  They stand when they really feel the music.  You don’t have to be turnt up.  I want you to come on some acid.

MY: That’s some jam-band shit.  Some Grateful Dead shit.

DB: Yea and just enjoy yourself.  There’s no pressure to look like you’re going to the club.

Marcus Dowling

Marcus Dowling on D.C. being great unto itself...

MD: Before Obama was elected, things would happen in the darkness and they would be amazing.  They would be amazing unto themselves.  There was no mainstream for it.  The Fleur Guys were booking Armin Van Buuren and Tiesto and all of that, and they were killing it.  But it wasn’t like they were killing it and the world needed to know.  Like they could make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and nobody knew.  There was no need for D.C. to become this explosive and expansive scene.

MY: Why do you think that is though?

MD: Because D.C. was a federal town at this point.  D.C. was a government town first and an arts town second.  A government town first and a creative hub second.  When we had jazz and we had go-go, these were things that were nationally renowned if only because people from other places came here and took the culture to their hometown.  Rick Rubin would come down for Junk Yard shows all the time.  So, if you wanna understand how go-go expanded outside of D.C., Rick Rubin would come down to punk and hardcore shows and book go-go bands as the openers.  So you would get Fugazi and Junk Yard Band on a bill.  So, when he started Def Jam with Russell Simmons, he’s like, “Okay, we have to make rap records that are sonically different.”  And Rick was into this sound that’s brash and big and tough.  So, he’s listening to Junk Yard and Trouble Funk and all these bands and he’s like, “Wait, the drums on these tracks are ridiculous.  The rhythms on these tracks are ridiculous.  The least I could do is get these guys up to New York and have them play, so I can sample their drums and rhythms.”  And that’s what he did.  That’s how Trouble Funk’s “Dropped the Bomb” got sampled and Junk Yard Band got signed to a record deal.  And that was only because Rick Rubin was coming down to D.C.  Had he never come down here, the music would’ve never left.  D.C. has been great unto itself, like legendary great.  Not just great in a way where it’s just “cool,” but legendarily great unto itself.

The New Wave Podcast Welcomes InTheRough, Cameraman Nairobi and Terrell Robinson

A post shared by The New Wave (@thenewwavepgh) on Sep 7, 2017 at 7:40pm PDT

Simply, The New Wave Podcast gives talented people in Pittsburgh a platform to talk about their work and the culture that surrounds them. Rap star Jimmy Wopo visited the show within two weeks of being released from Allegheny County Jail to reminisce about his life and speak about his new tape "Back Against The Wall." New Wave tracks relevancy in the 'Burgh, chatting with national tastes like comedian Marlon Wayans at WAMO radio and the best of the local underground.

When it was time for InTheRough to speak about the journalism and archiving we've done for Pittsburgh, as well as Stillers, New Wave Podcast had to be the place. It's a pleasure to write for the popular and sub-culture scenes here. It's an honor to show the personalities of positive people here and in other cities. But being able to speak out about ITR and the almighty Stillers was liberating as fuck. Thank you, New Wave, for having us on the show. Also a shout-out to the co-guests Nairobi Jones, a photographer and personal documentarian for Steelers wideout Martavis Bryant, and Terrell Robinson, a film director.

Importantly, the best part of the ITR episode with The New Wave Podcast was how we represented for Pittsburgh. Everyone in the room had a piece of the city in their own right. Nobody touches ArtLikeUs when it comes to catching famous people with his camera lens and he was there filming the episode. Cameraman Nairobi and Terrell made it a point to name drop R&B crooner B. Knight who has a mixtape coming out executively produced by Stevie B, the man behind Wopo's tracks. ITR did our due-diligence with a top 5 list of best rap pens in the 'Burgh. Mars Jackson, Blackboi, Choo Jackson, and Hardo made the list.

Enjoy the full episode below. Subscribe to New Wave.

Yung Mulatto Illustrates the Hip-Hop Sound from Pittsburgh

Yung Mulatto photograph by Alex Young

Yung Mulatto can't help his native Southern Charm. He's the type to brew fresh tea leaves for a house guest. Tea time is one of Mulatto's hobbies, "just like doodling has always been," he said. The transplant makes a good impression upon Pittsburgh's resident artists and cool makers. 

Officially named Miles Saal, 20-year-old Mulatto speaks optimistically about his time in the city. "Pittsburgh is nothing like my hometown," he said. "There weren't a lot of arts programs at my magnet high school in Jacksonville, Florida." When he moved to the 'Burgh in 2013, Creative And Performing Arts High School opened the doors for Mulatto to explore his artistry and ingenuity. "A lot of agreeable people here" get his vision.

As an illustrator and music producer, Mulatto satisfies his desires while "trying to connect people with other people," he said. 

At eight-years-old, he handled the piano and the double bass. In high school, he played the trumpet. Since dropping out of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he studied music and film, Mulatto began to produce hip-hop. "I wanted to know more about the local scene beyond Mac and Wiz," Mulatto said.

He adores Pittsburgh for the creative people he meets. CAPA is the reason Mulatto met young rapper, James Perry. The big city, small town vibe familiarizes Mulatto with social circles. Although, SoundCloud digging and the unification of his drawing and musical skills puts Mulatto in the center of Pittsburgh's underground hip-hop community.

Mulatto's sphere of influence grows from drawing cover art for rap mixtapes or Local 412 Trading Cards done on coffee sleeves that idolize the 'Burgh's hip-hop heroes, like Pk Delay in a fur coat from his "M's" cover. Mulatto shouts out the scene regularly and casually. He doodles when he's working at the Jitters coffee shop in Shady Side. He selects local rappers, like Patches, to play through the shop's speakers. What goes in Mulatto's ears travels out of his hand on to the trading cards. The coffee sleeve drawings depict the life of the hip-hop scene and its actors like cartoons. "Danny Phantom, Anime, and Adventure Time are huge influences on my drawing style."

Importantly, Mulatto's work archives what is happening now creatively in popular Pittsburgh. He wrote out a long list of everyone he knew who made hip-hop here and the list travels as a beacon throughout social media space. Wait until the radar detects it.

#Pittsburgh media has a responsibility to support local hip-hop. We need to have our own @VICE "Noisey" for real. https://t.co/bbIzSqNIk2 pic.twitter.com/Oaw92KgVgX

— InTheRough (@InTheRoughStyle) March 31, 2017

The respect Mulatto has for the music community breathes organic collaborations with other artists. He drew the "Astro O2" album art for youth rap star Blackboi, and Mulatto sent him beats. Another rapper in Akono Miles received a storyboard cartoon about textbooks from Mulatto. "Cover art is the visual connection with music." Additionally, he joined with lifestyle label Reviving Real to release a mix featuring 15 local artists. He also drew the mix's artwork and placed some of his beats on the project. 

He knows the rap history. "The Bushnel is one of my favorite spots in Pittsburgh," he said. A lot of musicians throw house parties at that venue in the Oakland neighborhood. "I heard extensively about the Shadow Lounge when I moved here."

While exploring the landscape, Mulatto has become a fan of R&B artist Amir Miles and boom bap producer C. Scott.

“[I’m] trying to connect people with other people.”

Further, Mulatto's beat tapes are tranquil. His production matches the realism in his doodles. Listeners hear suave trumpets. His sounds come to life, and diverse instrumentation builds his music. "Producers shape where the sound will go," he said. "Sampling is big," too. "I kinda want to make the weirdest hip-hop possible. The kind that makes you turn your ear and say, 'This is amazing!'" For a reference, Mulatto likens himself to legendary hip-hop acts like Danger Doom, Outkast, Lil  B, and Tyler The Creator.

Ultimately, Mulatto calls himself a "big picture guy" and must thank the community he engages with and honors. "Pittsburgh has been really good to me," he said. Good times continue on September 16 at The Bushnel where Yung Mulatto hosts a birthday show.

Cool Things Happening at Uptown Art House

Travis setting up the light filters.  Photograph by Maxwell Young

Art work by Marc Bryant.

Every time you walk into Uptown Art House, you're liable to find new installation pieces and contraptions or catch it amidst a cosmetic transformation. Camille and Niles Parker designed a DJ booth and projection walls for their techniclored-event, 'Hue Lounge,' featuring DJs Naive Nebula, Kno I'm Not, Romero, Atanga and Bast who formulate their creative collective. Resident artist at the Art House Maps Glover, has been busy constructing several performance art pieces, while Yacine Fall and Sarah Craft have installed a metal hanging apparatus, as they conceptualize an upcoming show.  Mensa Kondo has popped in-and-out of the space continuing to progress his vibrant mural, as other paintings from Marc Bryant and an evolving array of graffiti tags have manifested inside the space.

Nate G and Naive Nebula photographed by Maxwell Young.

Uptown Art House is a multi-disciplinary venue.  Whether attending a weekend event falling into a sensory experience of light projection and experimental sounds or walking into a boutique of Native American jewelry, the various disciplines of art and cultural expression are evident here.  Last month not only featured a performance by April + Vista, but D.C. thrift-retailer Earl's Closet hosted a vintage shopping event at the Art House.  There's no intent to slow down the space's programming as co-directors Jamal Gray and Sebi Medina-Tayac have committed to Uptown Art House until January 2018.  Take a look at a number of the events taking place at the Art House this August.

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1. August 11th, 7-11pm, $5- A Period of Appreciation: a Solo Exhibition by Maya Sun

Visitors to the Art House may have already seen some of resident artist Maya Sun's work, as she was integral to Maps Glover's art piece, 'Home' during Dawkins and April + Vista's show last month.  Her solo exhibition attempts to amplify the bondage of self and mind, peeling through present and past constructs created by self, sexuality, love, womanhood and blackness.  Sun welcomes us to her inner-working through a range of different media.

2. August 12th, 7-11pm, $10- Dawkins, Dreamcast, Leach, Crue

A Dawkins band member checks out the aluminum TV set during their event last month. Photograph by Maxwell Young 

Dawkins and Dreamcast are familiar faces to the Art House, having already performed groovy sets here this summer.  The latter you can also hear on ITR's Sounds of D.C. playlist. OTHERFEELS a DMV-based artist collective and blog is bringing these artists back this Saturday along with Leach and Crue.  Visual projection mapping will be on display as well as physical and performance art.

3. August 13th, 7-11pm, $5- XK Scenario Homecoming Tour

Northern Virginia band XK Scenario is returning to the DMV scene following their first northeastern tour.  XK is supported by an A-list bill of D.C.'s budding independent artists such as Canker Blossom, Lies Kill and Jamal Gray as RAYGUNOMICS.

4. August 19th, 5-10pm- The Artist Solidarity Foundation House of Art 2.0: Ways of Healing

Join the ASF and MNM Creative & Underground D.C. for their second iteration of House of Art.  This year's program is dedicated to discovering the various means humans and artists have for healing.  DMV-based artists and vendors will bring their art and participate in the artistic discussion.  There will also be live music of the andean 'folk' and northern Native American singing/drumming varieties, handmade goods and new wave sounds spun by DJs Luchaoso and DJ A-lex.

5. August 20th, 6-9pm- Psychedelics and Art

The D.C. Psychedelic Society exists and boasts a community of around 250 followers on Facebook.  Later this month, they will be exploring the intersection of psychedelics and art.  Local artists including Khalid Thompson, Luke Stewart, Carmen Jackman and Farrah AbuBaker will speak on how psychedelics have impacted their art and life.  Live painting, visual projection and vending by donut shop Glazed & Infuzed will be amongst the list of activities for the night.

UPTOWN ART HOUSE

3412 CONNECTICUT AVE NW

WASHINGTON, DC 20008

Cool Things Happening in Pittsburgh (Vol. 3)

a piece of history - respect to late Mayor of Pittsburgh Bob O'Connor

Youth and popular culture in the 'Burgh flourishes because the movers are extremely active in pushing their innovation, creativity, community, and business minds. With this, the responsible public creates masterpieces like events or products that residents and tourists can enjoy.

Basically, the following reports on cool things happening in Pittsburgh to look out for.

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1. Uptown Florals 2.0 by Makayla Wray

Cheers to this design prodigy. Since releasing a couple custom Nike Air Force 1 back in 2015, Makayla Wray returns to her bread and butter. Wray's Uptown Florals 2.0 are extensions of her "Warhol Flower AF1" and "BLK AF1" projects, Nike's iconic sneaker decorated with flowers. Officially under the "MAW" label, Uptown Florals 2.0 appreciate Swoosh heritage, Wray's ability to craft premium leather goods (the flower petals on 2.0 are calfskin), and "my uproot from Pittsburgh to New York—parallel to the same path taken by Andy Warhol," she says.

Stylistically, Florals is great. Though Wray spends a lot of time in New York, the Pittsburgh native is back in the city often, and she linked with locals model Donovan Green and photographer Preslav for the shoe's visual presentation.

Only 50 pairs of the Uptown Florals 2.0 will be available on July 1 via www.makaylawray.com at 4:12 p.m. EST. [$280]

2. No Joke with Paizley

Do you want to dance? Come to No Joke and be turnt. Paizley, the DJ, will keep the bangers going. The first time I heard Paizley was a year ago at Finesse with EYEJAY. He threw down, and I left the event sweaty. You can have fun at No Joke because Paizley advertises it as "Trap, Rap & Whatever Else." It's lit.

To give yourself fuel for No Joke on Saturday, July 1 at Remedy in Lawrenceville, listen to Paizley's new mix called "Blue Collar" that celebrates the 'Burgh's underground rap and hip-hop culture. "To be something special in Pittsburgh means working non-stop on your own time and with little resources," he says.

Remedy

5121 Butler Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15201

3. Creatives Independence Collection

"Creatives" becomes a way-of-life in Pittsburgh. The brand and slogan honor the people behind great productions. The staple that Cody Baker and Chancelor Humphrey have established in their Creatives Drink party they now transfer into core Creatives garments. The Creatives Independence Collection includes two Champion mesh short colorways and three Champion T-shirt colorways. Each comes with an American embroidered flag. Creatives' range drops on July 4 at 11 a.m. EST and will be available for 24 hours at creativesdrink.com.

4. Summer Livin

Splash around. Enjoy summer. Summer Livin provides energy and feels with food and music at the Highland Park Pool on June 30 from 1-9 p.m. Songbird Sierra Sellers and hot rappers like James Perry, and Lokal Foreners, have performances.

If you miss the pool party, attend LiveFromTheCity's Sun Fest '17 on July 7 in partnership with the 1Hood Media and Boom Concepts collectives. Support a community clothing drive and music.

Highland Park Pool

151 Lake Drive

Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Boom Concepts

5139 Penn Ave

Pittsburgh, PA 15224

5. Supa Jefe Tour with Kap-G and J.R. Donato at Spirit

Georgia spits out rappers like faucets spit out water. Up and comer Kap-G, the dude who moans "I just took a flick with your girlfriend," is the latest product from The Peach State and he comes to Pittsburgh on July 10. Some of the city's prime rappers like Calvin Portsworth, Pet Zebra, and Pk Delay open for Kap-G.

Spirit

242 51st Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15201

6. JAILBREAK Festival

“[The] intent is to create strength in numbers by bringing together the diverse groups in this city while having a banging good time doing it.

The theme and date of this event was inspired by Bastille Day, where a mob of over 1,000 people united and stormed the walls of the Bastille prison in Paris, sparking a turning point in the French Revolution.”

May JAILBREAK start a massive movement in Pittsburgh that people cannot ignore, an annual festival that brings local talent and local consumers to a big party. Heavyweights Choo Jackson, Benji, Mikey P, Tairey, Slim Tha DJ, DJ Seams, DJ Topgun, and much more entertain the crowd. The underground's best will also be in attendance on July 15 at JAILBREAK. Acquaint yourself with BABYT33TH and 1Geno. Review the entire festival lineup and show up to JAILBREAK for the culture. 

7. InTheRough Features with Geechi P and Yung Mulatto

Here are Pittsburgh's fashion forefather and Pittsburgh hip-hop's creative director. Geechi P and Yung Mulatto respectively move in their own lanes while influencing their peers. Geechi's attention to high fashion and streetwear educates a Pittsburgh public who is behind the fashion curve. Mulatto collects production credits for rappers like Blackboi, and he is the visual connection between artists' image and their music. Both young men are key players in the 'Burgh's progressive society. Learn more about them soon under Life's Goods.