Tag: Cincinnati

PLAYING CINCY: Elsa Kennedy Celebrates Longing with “Redwoods” Single

Elsa Kennedy redwoods

Cincinnati singer-songwriter Elsa Kennedy released the beautifully forlorn “Redwoods” as the first in a series of singles that will lead up to her EP, Cadmium.

“‘Redwoods’ is an expression of acute longing,” she told AudioFemme. “I find longing endlessly gorgeous. It’s so painful, but it means so much because we never long for things that we don’t cherish in some really honest way.”

The single was born out of feelings of chaos and hopelessness and written for Kennedy’s partner, Amy, and the life-changing people whose love brings us out of dark times.

“I wrote ‘Redwoods’ in one night, and I was very sick, just out of ICU,” she said. “I was feeling a bit dismayed by the weird clusters of catastrophe that have riddled my personal life, longing for some quiet predictability – this was just as the fires in the Amazon were first being heavily-publicized.”

elsa kennedy redwoods
Elsa Kennedy / Photo by Madeleine Hordinski

“‘Redwoods’ is essentially the amalgamation of longing for all of these impossibly magnificent parts of the world to somehow make it through all of this – including my love, Amy – who is perhaps the most unbelievable, enchanting force in my life. And it’s a promise, to her, the world, and myself, to keep unflinchingly yearning for wonderful things.”

The track marks the first of four singles that Kennedy will release at the end of each month, leading up to the release of her four-song Cadmium EP on December 27. She will also release a video for “Redwoods” on October 11.

“I feel lucky to be able to yearn for things, to love someone so deeply, that the longing for them becomes songs, sketches, paintings, and poems, or new ways of seeing things, new ways of listening to the world,” Kennedy continued.

“It’s a dogged love, that’s almost larger than life, like the redwood forests, like the people closest to us that somehow shape our entire world, like the upside-down galaxy of the ocean. And feeling all of that, the impossible beauty of it all, it transcends pain, life, death, everything.”

PLAYING CINCY: Khari Unites Cincinnati Emcees In “Da Art Of Ignorance” Remix

Da Art of Ignorance remix

Earlier this year, Cincinnati rapper Khari released his debut project, Sinsinnati. Now, he’s enlisted some of the Queen City’s best talent to hop on a remix of the standout track, “Da Art of Ignorance.” Maintaining his hard-hitting chorus, Khari swaps his verses out for bars from Allen4President, Dayo Gold, Phresh Kyd, Roberto, B.A.N.K.$. and ¡Jay Hill!

The original “Da Art of Ignorance” arrived with a thought-provoking visual, directed by Kevin Garner and backed by Khari’s affiliated production company, Be The Best Entertainment (BTB). In the newly remixed version, the Cincinnati emcees apply the pressure to the bold and dance-worthy track.

After Khari’s initial hook, Allen4President cuts in around the :40 mark. “I seen it all / From the dope killings and the potholes / From the Queen City to the King’s Island / We got queens, really, so why kings wildin’?” he raps.

“I hopped on the remix for numerous reasons,” Allen told AudioFemme. “It’s a good song and I can relate to it. I truly believe it’s a crazy world, but I can’t speak to what I don’t know. I’ve seen, heard, and have done a lot in Cincinnati. It just made sense and was on par with what I normally make music about – the real-life experiences of Cincinnati.”

“I’m happy for Khari, simply because I like all of the moves he makes, along with his team,” he continued. “There’s a big support system behind Khari and the rest of BTB and I’m happy he reached out in the way he did. He’s 1,000% accomplishing a lot in a small amount of time and it’s inspiring to see. Gotta respect and show love to the real!”

Following Allen’s verse, Dayo Gold arrives to lay some heat of his own.

“Khari is just a guy with a lot of energy and passion when he’s performing and I immediately connected with that,” Dayo said of working with Khari. “He hollered at me about jumping on the remix and I said yeah, no question. I’ve always wanted to jump on a remix—it’s just so hip hop to me. Especially with the song being from someone I view with dope talent.”

Landing at around the 2-minute mark Phresh Kyd hops in with his own flow. “What’s inside I bet will differ / From whatever you consider / Let me guess, I’m a high-class pothead / On the way to penitentiary since I’m not dead,” he spits.

B.A.N.K.$. marks the track’s next arrival with a boost of energy. “Mr. Miyagi, we turn up the party / Popping the bottles, I’m pouring Bacardi / Feel Like a Migos, I’ll take a Ferrari / Offset, now I got me a Cardi,” he raps.

Patterns of Chaos’ ¡Jay Hill! and Roberto trade the remix’s remaining bars, maintaining fierce intensity until Khari closes out the track.

“I decided to recruit those guys because, first and foremost, they are good artist friends of mine here in the city and I respect all of their artistry,” Khari said. “The idea of doing a remix came about when I put on my show for my album Sinsinnati. All those guys were on the bill with me and we all put on a great show in front of a nice crowd at Arts’ OTA. The idea hit me instantly after seeing everyone rock their sets to do a remix with those guys.”

“‘Da Art of Ignorance’ was the fan-favorite off my album and every time I perform it people sing all the words,” he continued. “So it felt right to bring the city together even more with a remix that included some of my favorite Cincy artists.”

Check out Khari’s remixed “Da Art of Ignorance,” featuring ¡Jay Hill!, Roberto, B.A.N.K.$., Phresh Kyd, Dayo Gold and Allen4President below.

PLAYING CINCY: Oski Isaiah Compiles Show Footage For “Company” Music Video

Company

Fresh off the heels of his F*ck A Job album release, Oski Isaiah drops a new clip for smoothly-served project cut, “Company.” Oski released the 10-track Autumn Jivenchy-produced album this summer, which celebrated the Cincinnati rapper focusing full-time on his music career.

Directed by Dre Shot This, the clip opens up on a signed poster for Oski’s Sept. 6 “F*ck A Show” at Madison Live. The concert celebrated the rapper’s latest album and was filled with lively F*ck A Job performance cuts, along with guest performances from Cincinnati’s Bla’szé and Chris Crooks. Oski also brought out his album collaborators Aziza Love, who is featured in “Anytime,” Jus Clay, who raps in “Business,” and Monty C. Benjamin, who can be heard on “Over.”

The visual goes on to compile footage from the show, from backstage to the jumping crowd, to the For Tha Cribb merch table. With F*ck A Job being one of Oski’s most successful projects to date and with stunning performances from the show’s featured acts, the venue was bursting at the seams with crowd energy and support. As the first visual to drop since the show, the new “Company” clip perfectly reflects the night’s contagious energy.

“It was genuine,” Oski said of the video. “It couldn’t have existed without such good energy from everyone. The crowd included. Everything fell into place.”

Company
Oski Isaiah/ Photo by Dre Shot This

The “Company” video follows previous album visual, “Anytime,” directed by Dre Shot This and CEOPE$O and featuring TRIIIBE‘s Aziza Love. F*ck A Job is Oski’s third album to date and follows his 2018 sophomore record Adventure 2 and 2019 singles “Rent” and “Catch It.”

Check out Oski Isaiah’s latest F*ck A Job clip for “Company” up above and stream the album below.

PLAYING CINCY: Indie Rock Trio Strobobean Drop Two New Singles Ahead Of Tour

Strobobean Ghost

Late last month, Strobobean released two new hauntingly beautiful singles, “Ghost” and “Walking Alone,” ahead of their fall tour. The Cincinnati shoegaze post-rock trio is fronted by Pop Empire‘s Katrina Eresman and Jake Langknech and Soften‘s Brianna Kelly. Their debut 4-track EP, Winter, arrived this past May.

“I’m excited about our new tracks because they feel more mature and more intentional than the recordings on the Winter EP, which we did ourselves for demoing purposes, but then liked them enough to release them,” Katrina tells AudioFemme. “I like those still, but in the case of the two tracks, ‘Walking Alone’ and ‘Ghost,’ we had more experience playing together and maybe more confidence and style going into it. Plus, we had our talented friend Henry Wilson do the recording for us, which let us relax into the songs and the parts rather than worry about things like mic placement.”

Anchored by iridescent guitar patterns and hypnotic vocals, “Ghost” and “Walking Alone” can be streamed digitally and are available as a split cassette tape with Cleveland surf band Forager. With their first year behind them and their debut EP and two new singles out, Strobobean hits the road this October.

“Making this single reminded me how much I like the recording process, and how transformative it can be to a song,” says Katrina. “‘Walking Alone’ was the very first song I wrote for this project, and it became my least favorite to play. But when we workshopped it for the recording we ended up tweaking a few small things, like how it starts and how the guitar sounds, and made some slight adjustments to the arrangement, and now I love it again.”

“I think the two songs pair well together, too, which is nice, like a little soundtrack to a campy spy movie,” she adds.

Check out Strobobean’s current tour schedule – with more stops being added soon – below.

STROBOBEAN TOUR DATES:

10/30 – St. Louis
10/31 – Lawrence, KS
11/1 – Sioux Falls, SD
11/2 – Minneapolis, MN
11/4 – Chicago. IL
11/8 – Birmingham, AL
11/9 – New Orleans, LA
11/19 – Louisville, KY
11/20 – Yellow Springs, OH

PLAYING CINCY: Pop Empire Talk “Novena,” Finding Their Sound & Incense

Pop Empire / Novena

Cincinnati trio Pop Empire recently dropped their nine-track album, Novena. The indie-rock outfit will head out on a supporting tour this month.

Novena marks the 10-year-old group’s first full-length album since 2014’s Future Blues and the first album with the group’s current lineup – founding member Henry Wilson, guitarist Katrina Eresman, and drummer Jake Langknecht.

Teased with singles “Sister Chaos,” “Black Wine,” and “For Maggie,” the record navigates glittery soundscapes of psychedelic and progressive rock, tied together by what the band labels as a feeling of “familiarity.”

Here, Henry, Katrina, and Jake talk about their recording process and learning to communicate as a band, which ultimately led to Pop Empire finding its unique sonic home in Novena. The bandmates also discuss the virtue of patience, studio magic, and the helpful scents of Nicki Minaj incense.

Stream Novena and check out their upcoming tour dates below.

AF: Congrats on your new album! Can you tell me about some of the underlying themes?

H: The songs came from each of us throughout different periods of time. Really what you hear on this album, is just the three of us playing in a room together and something, that the three of us have developed over a couple years, that is its own distinct sound. It’s certainly got plenty of familiar influences. I think there’s a lot of themes in the album that tie the songs together.

J: The recording of the album took place over a good couple of months. It was just the three of us, we didn’t really have anybody else’s time we were occupying and we weren’t spending a bunch of money at a studio. We were in a familiar space and we could really take our time to run takes of the songs, as many times as we needed to. Some of them hadn’t really been written or arranged, to a large degree, yet. As different as the songs might seem at first listen, from song to song, I think to all of us there is definitely a feeling of cohesion between them. We hammered them out in the same process and the same place with a lot of patience.

AF: What can you tell me about the significance of the title, Novena?

H: I would get in trouble if I didn’t give credit to my mother for actually coming up with the name, she suggested it. We had tried a bunch of titles—the album had come together long before the title was given. The number nine is significant—there’s nine songs on the album. The number nine is related to the word Novena, which means a nine-fold in Latin. It refers to an ancient form of prayer that was also adopted into Catholicism, which is a nine-day prayer in a traditional form. The reason for the number nine sounds, like, way more Hocus-Pocus than I really am [laughing].

AF: This is Pop Empire’s first album since 2014 and with the new band members. How does Novena differ from Future Blues?

K: The way that I feel all the songs are tied together in one piece is that we were trying to write them before we learned how to communicate as a band and as friends. Personally, I was communicating through the songs. I joined this band on a tour last minute so I came in and literally learned the guitar parts to play so it was very impersonal to me and I did that for a long time. I think that there was a period of time when we were trying to work on these songs and I was sort of, like, trying to play in that style still, like as the old guitarist, and fill those shoes. And then there was some point where I connected more. I think in general, I’m a little less traditionally skilled—a little bit more dirty, dissonant, and noisy as a guitarist. So now that I could see it in my own way I think that influenced the style, ‘cause all the songs existed in some form, and some of them for a really long time.

AF: What is each of your favorite song on the album?

K: I would say I’m surprised by how much I ended up liking “Riding The Crest” ‘cause it was very frustrating for a long time. I didn’t know what to do with it. And then it became something real different than what it was.

H: This is the song that, for Pop Empire nerds out there, was technically released as a bonus track on a Bandcamp download. Well, there was a song with the same name. It’s pretty vastly different. There was definitely a direct evolution from the beginning of the song into what it is now.

K: Now, it’s totally made me tear up before. It’s a really nice, emotive song.

AF: You’re also going on tour this month. Any new places for you?

H: I think there will be some new in-between spots. Even though Cincinnati is so close to so many towns, there are still lot of places we haven’t gone to as a band.

AF: Where do you draw inspiration from?

J: There’s a lot. Everything that I listen to nine months prior probably influenced this album. But the songs didn’t really come from any particular place except from me. It was natural enough with my style and the way I played, and our style, driving the album. We’ve been a band—and I’ve been playing with Henry for five years or more and I’ve known Katy now for two years—so we’ve established our own sound. I feel like the album itself had a sound before we even touched it.

K: Your style is like dark blocks. Dark-colored shapes and blocks–that’s how I picture your style, visually. That’s where you got your influence [laughing].

J: [Laughing] Cool.

K: Yeah, I don’t know for me either. I think I ended up thinking in the context of Drone-y music, like really heavy playing. I don’t like consciously point to people that I am inspired by, but I do find myself finding influence from bands.

H: For me, it’s going to be a lot of old stuff. A lot of 20’s and 30’s. While we were making this album we weren’t even listening to any of the same stuff. We just knew what sound the songs had once we heard it. When they’re all played together, to me, the songs all have to do with evoking a very calming and reassuring presence that feels very familiar, from like before you were born. If that kind of presence could be found, that’s what all of these songs were trying to go for.

AF: So maybe, stylistically, if there weren’t too many outside influences, this album was just you hitting your collective stride?

K: I think it could be. I’ve definitely read interviews where people will be like, ‘Oh, we just went in the studio and it was just there,’ and that’s kind of messed with my head because I have to try and would get frustrated if something didn’t come immediately. So I don’t like to say that, but on the other hand it is kind of what happened with this album. We were just working really hard all winter, over and over and over, and just kind of somehow ended up coming together. It showed that there is like a magic that can happen when we connect as musicians, it just took a while.

H: I think that’s a really good point. To anybody that wants to learn something, this absolutely is something that requires grit and perseverance. It was really tough, there were plenty of times where it could have felt easier to give up on the project, but we really stuck through it. The album only happened because of that.

AF: Exactly. What are some key takeaways you learned from recording this album?

J: We really came together as these three people. But also, for me, I never had the opportunity to really like take time in recording and be really patient with my parts. Short of deriving expectations—how do you get to where you have a song that is presentable as a final iteration? Both through the tools you need to use and also the working process.

H: Also, we used lots of incense to conjure the moments we were trying to create.

K: We had a Nicki Minaj incense.

H: And Ariana Grande.

AF: What do those smell like?

J: Who can say [laughing]?

K: Also, a little Charcuterie tray is very nice.

H: Yes, meats and cheeses and a fridge full of sparkling water.

POP EMPIRE TOUR DATES

9/4 – Fort Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail
9/5 – Chicago, IL @ The Owl
9/7 – Minneapolis, MN @ Palmer’s Bar
9/9 – Nashville, TN @ The East Room
9/19 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Mr. Roboto Project
9/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ House Show – RSVP for address
9/21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
9/23 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Desperate Annie’s

PLAYING CINCY: Dave Chappelle Brings Stevie Wonder, Chance the Rapper & More to Dayton Benefit Concert

gem city shine

For this week’s Playing Cincinnati, we traveled 20 miles north to Dave Chappelle’s Gem City Shine Benefit Concert in Dayton, Ohio.

Chappelle, who lives in the neighboring Ohio town of Yellow Springs, threw the enormous block party to commemorate the nine lives lost in a recent mass shooting at a local bar that left nine people dead. Over 20,000 people attended the star-studded event to see Stevie Wonder, Chance the Rapper, Teyana Taylor, Jon Stewart, and more.

Throughout Gem City Shine, Chappelle preached unity and resilience.

“We’re not just doing this for our city,” Chappelle said. “We’re doing this for every victim of every mass shooting in our country.”

For his efforts, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley also took the stage to deem August 25 as Dave Chappelle Day.

The day began with a Sunday Service lead by Kanye West in Dayton’s RiverScape MetroPark. Rumors had been circulating about what A-listers would attend the evening benefit, including Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, John Legend, and Barack Obama. There were some murmurings about Gaga working the funnel cake booth – however, she did not perform.

gem city shine
The crowd gathers in the Dayton Oregon District Sunday, August 25.

DJ Trauma kicked off the event, with performances followed by Thundercat, Talib Kweli, and Teyana Taylor.

Taylor, who brought her daughter Junie onstage, broke down while a video montage of the shooting victims played on the screen behind her.

Jon Stewart arrived to lead the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to Chappelle, who turned 46 on Saturday, and to introduce Chance the Rapper.

“Dayton, Ohio, you have reclaimed this area with love, with hope, and with resilience,” Stewart said.

Chance turned up with old favorites and new songs off his latest album, The Big Day.

“I appreciate ya’ll so much for showing up as a city, for representing love, to represent healing and to represent community,” Chance said. “I pray that we get some type of protection from this and grow from it.”

Stevie Wonder emerged as Gem City Shine’s headliner, performing hits like “Higher Ground,” “Superstition,” and even singing another round of “Happy Birthday” for Chappelle.

“This is how we really will honor them,” Wonder said of the Dayton victims. “By making sure we change the gun laws of this nation.”

Throughout the event, attendees were encouraged to donate to the victims’ families through the Dayton Oregon District Tragedy Fund and to sign the petition in support of gun control laws in Ohio. Donations are still being accepted online here.

PLAYING CINCY: Ihlana Niayla Makes Moves In A Male-Dominated Industry

Ihlana at Timeless Recording Studio. Photo by DeAndre Favors.

Ihlana Niayla is a force to be reckoned with. Since developing a love for all things audio during college and in an audio/visual role working at the Cincinnati Zoo, the producer-engineer-songwriter followed her passion behind the board and recently became Timeless Recording Studio‘s first female recording engineer. The new title is one of many for the Cincinnati multi-hyphenate, who also heads up a cosmetics line – her second since college – called Expand Beauty Company.

Here, Ihlana gives AudioFemme a sense of the audio magic behind recording and how she balances engineering and cosmetics. She also shares how she’s been able to stay true to herself in a mostly male industry and why confidence is key.

AF: What’s your role at Timeless Recording Studio?

IN: For the most part, at Timeless, I’m an engineer. So I’m recording people, I’m mixing some songs, and that’s pretty much my job there.

AF: Do you do any producing?

IN: I do! I’ve been producing probably since 2011 but I’ve recently gotten away from it. It just became a lot to do. So I stopped and I’m getting back into it. I quit my 9-to-5 a few months ago, so now I’m going back to my passion projects, like producing.

AF: Do you think you’ll end up producing for people that come into Timeless?

IN: Yeah, for sure. At some point, I’ll be offering my production along with my sessions. It’ll definitely be in tandem with my brand and what I do.

AF: How did you get into engineering and mixing?

IN: I started at Timeless in February and before then I was at the [Cincinnati] Zoo doing audio and visual work. I’ve been doing audio work since 2014 / 2015. Audio production was my [college] major. I learned all the basics in college and then when I got out of college I started doing a whole bunch of everything. I’ve also worked in a lot of live-sound here and there throughout the years.

AF: Would you say producing is your passion, or do you like engineering more?

IN: Everything with audio is my happy place, so whether it’s working a live concert – setting up the concert from the beginning, when there’s nothing there – I really love that. I like building a whole production, from the audio side. I love being in the studio, I love engineering. I love making a song from the start. I think I just like the creation aspect of audio and how you can shape somebody’s whole experience and capture somebody’s whole experience. So anything with audio I just love. There’s not one particular thing, that’s why I’m dabbling in it all.

AF: You’re also the first female engineer at Timeless. Do you ever find it tough working in a male-dominated industry?

IN: I’ve gotten used to it. The younger me probably would have gotten super intimidated at the thought of it. Now that I’m here and I’m doing it daily, day-in and day-out for hours on end, just being surrounded by men of all different types – they’re not all great and they’re not all bad – I’ve learned to still be myself.

I think a lot of women get intimidated even in the midst of their careers by certain men but as I’m progressing – I mean, I’m still in the very beginning – I think women can get intimidated and change themselves just to appeal to the men around them. I quickly wiped that out. When I start in the beginning, I think I was kind of like that, trying to be something for somebody, but I found a lot more comfort and a lot more success from just being myself. If people don’t jive with that, that’s fine, because those are people that are not meant to be around me. The more I’ve accepted that the more successful I’ve been in my career and spiritually.

When you’re working with men, you’ve got to be like overly confident in yourself. At first, it feels like a stretch, but you get used to it.

Ihlana Niayla
Photo by Frank Young

AF: Besides being in the studio, you also have your own makeup brand.

IN: The makeup brand is called Expand Beauty Company. It’s my second company. The first company I had was called Ihlana Lip Care, which was natural and organic products, and I started that one in college, and then I kind of made that into Expand. Right now, I’m trying to balance out the audio world with my cosmetic business. I’m working on a way of intertwining the two – shaping that into something.

AF: Is it tough balancing them both?

IN: It’s so tough. On top of quitting my nine-to-five, which also made it even tougher. So, like right now everything is in a limbo where it’s kind of floating around and I’m grabbing bits and pieces and making sense of it as I can. I’m not racing myself, I’m just pacing myself this time around. So every now and then I do something makeup related. I just don’t promote it as much right now because it’s a lot, but I have plans on getting back into that for September.

AF: How did you get started in makeup?

IN: When I was a child I was always mixing things, thinking I was making makeup with just things I would find around the house. I would, like, try to make perfume or acrylic nails – I don’t know how I thought I was going to make a full set out of baby powder, lotion and water but I definitely would try it [laughing].

I’ve always been kind of a mixologist in that way and then I got to college. I went to school and Athens, Ohio; there’s nothing out there. We have like one CVS, there’s no real mall, and not a lot of access to makeup, especially not for Black women and then especially not natural and organic, so that’s where Ihlana Lip Care spurred. After college it turned into Expand because I just started to know myself better. It’s something I’ve always done, something I’m going to continue to pursue, kind of in the same sense of what Rihanna is doing. Like, she’s got the music, cosmetics – she’s killing it.

AF: With such an entrepreneurial spirit, do you see yourself opening another company someday?

IN: Absolutely! I don’t know quite what yet, but I always have ideas, for sure. As soon as I get these off the ground – get the audio aspect of my life where I want it to be and get the cosmetics to the point where it’s up and running without me being around, then I’ll be looking to the next one. Historically, I usually have so many things going on and I’ll drop the ball on one or two things. That’s one problem with having an entrepreneurial spirit – you have all these ideas and you want to pursue all of them.

AF: What’s your favorite part of engineering at Timeless?

IN: My favorite part is meeting everybody in the city that’s involved in music. Whether it be rappers, R&B singers, country singers, voice-over artists, DJs – I just love meeting everybody that’s involved in music. It keeps me inspired and I also love that I can help them create a product that matches their visual idea.

Timeless is such a great studio because it opens the door for a lot of people. It’s accessible to a lot of people. I know there are a handful of studios in the city, and I probably don’t know about all of them, but I know with Timeless we get such a wide array of people, young and old, with different budgets. I think it’s beautiful that we have the ability to allow people to come in on a small budget or a large budget or whether they have never recorded a song before or they’ve recorded 500. I love that – accessibility is a big thing for me.

I think everybody needs an opportunity to express themselves, especially creatively. When I was growing up, if I would’ve had access to a studio when I was writing all those songs in my bedroom as a teenager, I would’ve been a totally different person, in the best possible way. I see a bunch of kids coming in with that ability to do so at Timeless, and then you’ve got adults who are working on their career and they can do that there. Timeless has such a great team, I don’t know of any other studio in the city with such an eclectic and well-rounded team. I feel so blessed to be inspired every day. I feel like sometimes we take those moments for granted, but being inspired is so important.

PLAYING CINCY: Oski Isaiah Enlists the City’s Best to Deliver New LP

F*ck A Job / Company

Oski Isaiah finished out a busy July with the release of his highly-anticipated new album, Fuck A Job. The 10-track LP features assists from Aziza Love on “Anytime,” Monty C. Benjamin on “Over” and Jus Clay on “Business.” Fuck A Job follows up Oski’s 2018 album, Adventure 2, and a compilation music video released just two weeks ago. Filmed by Dre Shot This, the three-part visual bridges Adventure 2 cut, “Mob,” Fuck A Job highlight, “Apply,” and an unreleased track, “Mention Me,” that comes from a mysterious future project.

Fuck A Job is produced completely by Autumn Jivenchy, who provides hard-hitting beats that bring enough energy to match Oski’s lively tempo, yet remain stripped-down enough to let his vocals shine. Oski’s bars take the listener on a journey through hardship and success and shine a light on themes of support and believing in yourself.

“It was rough end of 2018. I feel like I lost everything. I nearly folded,” the Ohio rapper wrote on Instagram. “Having to be strong. Mentally and physically changing. I felt like a failure. It hurt to exist, I didn’t want to. In those moments, at my lowest, I remembered who I am. I started to understand my purpose. I’m here to promote loyalty, prosperity, love and mental health. I’ve done that with all my music.”

After thanking everyone who contributed to his album, he wrote, “I’ve been able to make Fuck A Job my best album yet.”

Listen to the full album below.

PLAYING CINCY: Cash Daniel Talks Touring, Latest LP & Next Project

Cash Daniel / Not Just Another Vacation Too

Cash Daniel has a lot to celebrate. AudioFemme caught up with the Ohio rapper at the listening party for his new project, Not Just Another Vacation Too, where he was celebrating his album, wedding anniversary, and birthday.

Not Just Another Vacation Too is the second of its series, following up the original, which Cash dropped back in 2016. A lot has changed for the rapper during the past three years, and the new banger-laden record proves it.

The album’s title comes from Cash’s touring experiences and a reminder of his hard work every time he leaves his home state. He’s about to finish up a tour that took him through Vegas, Phoenix, Miami, Toronto, the West Coast, Mississippi and more, which inspired him to put together this latest project in his Not Just Another Vacation series.

“I’ve been going places that look like vacations, but it’s also work,” Cash said to the crowd at his album release party. “When you’re going somewhere, you take advantage of it. Networking opportunities, opportunities to get outside of the area.”

Not Just Another Vacation Too boasts several noteworthy producers, like CashMoneyAp, and hits its highlights on “Way Up,” “Spinach” featuring Lil Mopp Topp, “Back to the Money,” “If I Ain’t the Best” and closing track, “Parachute.”

Here, Cash talks his new album, what traveling has taught him, and reveals some details about his next project.

AF: The idea behind the title of your album is that you’re not vacationing; you’re traveling and taking things in. So what are some things you’ve been learning from your tour stops and the people that you’ve met?

CD: Really it’s like people are people everywhere. They’re not too much different wherever you go. People are kind of stuck in their bubbles and at times afraid of what’s going to be outside of that bubble and who’s going to be outside of it. I come from a small town, I grew up with people whose parents have never left that town. They might drive an hour out of the way to a bigger city and feel like they’re going somewhere. So it’s just like there’s no reason to be afraid to travel. That’s the main thing. There’s no reason to be afraid to travel and get things from it. I aim to inspire people from my hometown, like, look, I’m doing these things, you can do these things too.

AF: What’s been your favorite part of touring?

CD: My favorite part is really just getting experience and new energy with all types of different people. Getting to see new people that have never heard the music, never experienced the music, people who are not familiar with me and become instant fans. It’s not necessarily a surprise because I’m confident in my music, but I would have never gotten to touch these people if I hadn’t decided to go out on a limb and do these things.

AF: “Way Up” is produced by CashMoneyAp. How did that collaboration come about?

CD: I met him and heard him speak and he was just cool and I had heard a lot about him, so I just reached out.

AF: Are you working on any visuals for this album?

CD: “Parachute” is probably the song we’ll do a visual for first and then we’ll kind of figure it out from there. Those are probably gonna be done by Dre Shot This.

Cash Daniel / Not Just Another Vacation Too
Courtesy of Cash Daniel.

AF: You mentioned you’ll be working with Cincinnati producer Evan on your next project. What will that look like?

CD: The next one will probably get into a more reflective, deeper space, and that’s kind of a space if you have to get yourself into. You can kind of make yourself sad doing records like that. When I’m working with Evan, that’ll probably be the vibe that we’re working with.

AF: Are you thinking a full album?

CD: I want to let this breathe. But I’m still thinking I’ll probably drop an EP in the fall. I’m planning on working with Cincinnati producers for the next project I do.

AF: Not Just Another Vacation Too is a fun album. Where were you at mentally when you created the lyrical concepts?

CD: I didn’t really go into it to create the album. All of my records before this have been kind of darker for a while, but then I started to make lighter records, funner records, and then I came across these songs [and they] sounded fun. I put them together to make Not Just Another Vacation Too. I had about 40 to 50 songs to select from and we wanted to get it together in the summer.

AF: Since this album is a sequel, have you seen your growth since your initial 2016 project?

CD: Definitely. I feel like I kind of cut corners making that record, and older ones, and now I can see some growth. Definitely have developed my craft.

Cash Daniel / Not Just Another Vacation Too
Courtesy of Cash Daniel.

PLAYING CINCY: Princess Tiana Keeps Moving After Release of “Going Places”

Cincinnati’s princess of pop, Princess Tiana, dropped off her Going Places LP, following up the project’s previously released singles “Fallback” and “Trip.” The sugary-sweet 7-track record plays up Tiana’s vocal range over danceable beats.

Going Places is Tiana’s debut album and follows up her 2017 Believe It EP and her remixed version of Ella Mai’s “Shot Clock,” released a few months ago.

“It feels great to finally accomplish my first project,” she tells AudioFemme. “It was a learning experience on what to do for the next project! Definitely motivated me to work harder. But overall, I’m happy and relaxed and very appreciative of everyone that supported me.”

Princess T gets the ball rolling from the first song of the LP, “Ewyw,” then carries her pop-laden energy throughout its entirety, with the help of futuristic beats and features from My Name Is Zi and 3LetterzNUK. The second track,”Creepin’,” stands out as Tiana changes things up, experimenting with some old-school Rihanna vibes. She gets into her sexy bag over the hard-hitting, yet sultry, Ncognito beat, singing, “I want you to meet me in the hotel lobby / Don’t tell nobody/ Tonight we’re getting sloppy/ I promise not to make a sound / The way you push up on me got me aroused /And I’m liking what you liking, watch me throw it around.” Around the 1:30 mark, rapper My Name Is Zi cuts in to lay down his bars. “You told me that you was a rider / Get in the back of the slider / The way that you hittin’ them notes / I thought that you was Mariah,” he spits.

“Night Time” returns to undeniable pop, with an assist from rapper 3LetterzNUK. The song flows for easy listening and summer-y vibes. Previously released “Fallback” and “Trip” remain album strong points due to their infectiously catchy hooks.

On “Good Times,” Tiana keeps things light and upbeat. The album closes on another highlight, “No Worries,” which boasts a strong hook and an electronic beat that compliments Princess T’s high-ranging vocals.

With the album and four accompanying visuals out, Tiana is already back at work recording her sophomore project.

“I actually went ahead and moved on to the next project that I’m working with Ncognito on, and just marketing Going Places while I work silently on what’s new,” she says.

Follow  Princess Tiana on Facebook and Instagram.

PLAYING CINCY: Ronin Halloway & SmokeFace Walk Us Through “Pressure”

Pressure
Pressure
Photo by Mandy Di Salvo

Cincinnati rapper Ronin Halloway and producer SmokeFace teamed up to release their collaborative album, Pressure. The six-track project has been four years in the making and with its release, the duo is able to reflect on how far they’ve come. Although they say the style of the record is vastly different to what they’re creating now, Pressure reveals a unique drama and depth, with Halloway spitting ferocious bars over SmokeFace’s meticulously crafted beats.

Here, AudioFemme catches up with the rapper-and-producer team as they tell us the story behind their one-of-a-kind project.

AF: How long in the making was Pressure?

SF: Four years exactly.

AF: Why did it take four years?

RH: So we started making it and it took us about—for the first version to be done—two years and we went through a long mixing process trying to get everything to sound right. This is when we were still dumb kids, and we didn’t have any proper representation or know how to properly promote it, so no one heard it, so we pulled it. We reworked it and trimmed the fat and made it a better album, and we’re going to finally let it out and give it its actual day in the sun.

AF: So it’s getting its second chance here and will get its justice this time.

SF: I definitely think so. It’s like half the length, which helps, and I already think that there’s more of a response to it than there was the first time. We did a video for the title track, which was good, and there’s a couple more visuals to follow. It’s exciting.

AF: Ronin, you’ve been putting out projects in the meantime, like your most recent EP, Icarus. How have those other projects influenced the direction of this album?

RH: I think it’s kind of cool because a lot of these songs were done and one of the main reasons we even went back to this was because we did this song called “Sirens.” We probably would’ve let [the album] just go away, but we loved that song a lot and really wanted to put it out with the project. I think it’s cool because the stuff that I’ve done recently is like way different. Him, too.

SF: Yeah, my stuff now doesn’t sound anything like this, but it’s still a great album.

AF: Does your new music sound different because your styles have evolved?

RH: Big time. Artistically, personally, I feel like I found my voice. Pressure is a lot of working out and finding out what that might be, experimenting with a lot more aggressive, industrial types of styles, which is not what I do. I think it was good though, but it’s not really my wheelhouse anymore.

AF: What were some big lyrical and compositional concepts that you were both inspired by?

RH: A lot of it is just really aggressive and crazy and some of it I didn’t even put the pen down, I just freestyled.

SF: At the time, I was really inspired and listening to a lot of El-P, specifically he has a song called “Up All Night.” I was listening to a lot of slow, dredge-y, synth-heavy, trap drums—big epic stuff. The song “Cartoons and Cereal” by Kendrick [Lamar] was probably one of my biggest influences. That song was always in the back of my mind when I was making this record. I’ve since fallen in love with sampling old records and really twisting sounds.

By Samuel Steezmore

AF: For somebody who’s about to listen to the album, what would you tell them so they can experience it in the way it’s intended?

RH: Buckle up! I think it does have a little bit of a story to it, a loose story. It starts off with this song called “Fading Blade,” which I recorded myself as a choir. It almost sounds like this Lion King-thing. And then “Pressure” sounds really, really dark, it does all the way through. I think it does end on an interesting note.

It definitely changes in the middle of the album, it goes into the “Be Okay” beat, [which is] up-tempo and manic. The track after that is probably the closest to a ’90s rap sound, and then the next track is completely left-field. And then we have “Sirens.” I would definitely categorize it as almost alternative hip-hop, like Danny Brown, JPEGMAFIA, Death Grips.

AF: What kind of story does it tell?

SF: One of my favorite things about the album is the backstory. You can kind of hear it in the album – it’s a coming-of-age story starting off as kind of young crazy boys. We’re kind of going through it and growing up and experiencing consequences for decisions and then, coming out on the other side, hopefully having learned something. Especially with the pair of songs “Be Okay” and “Hangover.”

AF: Are you working on any individual projects right now?

SF: I just put out a tape with some beats on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. I just want to keep doing that for a little bit, make something and put it out. I don’t want to sit around and wait around.

RH: I have a couple things I’m working on. The next project is going to be called Excalibur and I’m working with Devin Burgess on part of it. It’s going to be three parts and one of them is produced by XVII, so that’s almost done. I’ve been recording that at Timeless. So XVII and then Devin Burgess are working on a set of songs for it and then the last one will be with [SmokeFace]. It’s going to be like three EPs.

AF: But for now, just excited that Pressure is finally out?

RH: Yes!

SF: I’m so glad—it’s finally out of our hands!

PLAYING CINCY: Dayo Gold Realizes His Purpose With “E.P.S.M.”

Dayo Gold E.P.S.M.

“Not only is it giving you messages for your soul, but it just has an all-around good vibe to it that I think anybody would like, from the streets to the book-smarts.”

Cincinnati rapper Dayo Gold knew he was dropping something special when he first opened up about his album, E.P.S.M., to AudioFemme in April. The R&B-tinged 10-track LP hones in on two things: Gold’s undeniable bar-for-bar cadence and an upbeat soulfulness – prefaced in the extended name, Essential Positive Soul Music. He drops his melodic verses off with a carefree lightheartedness, yet his words are intentional.

The Trey produced-record opens up with classic R&B, “2:24 am,” featuring Cincy songstress Latrell. “Dance 2 This” stands out as the bop of the album, while slower jams “Blunts & Wine,” “Love & Pain” and “Late Night Interlude” unfold catchy bars over nostalgic beats.

The night E.P.S.M. dropped, Gold shared his project with a large gathering of supporters. At first, he deliberately stayed out of the limelight while the listening party received the record, but after seeing the crowd’s positive response he emerged to thank every person for attending.

“I was really nervous,” he admitted. “I was anxious, I was eager.”

E.P.S.M.
Dayo Gold signing “E.P.S.M.” tapes at album listening party. Photos by Victoria Moorwood.

As Gold mentioned in our previous interview, he’s studied the greats, like J. Cole, Joey Bada$$, JAY-Z and Nipsey Hussle. The latter inspires not only his style, but also his approach to the music industry.

To finish out the album, Dayo included a snippet of Nipsey Hussle speaking in the middle of the final track, “Gold.” Hussle talks about how he feels solidified in his role and how his reach and purpose extends beyond his music, but throughout his community.

“I made that project and I was already done with it, and Trey sat on it for a while, and we ended up figuring out that Nipsey has passed,” Dayo said. “In honor of that, I wanted to put a snippet of what he had to say. What he had to say just correlated exactly with what the tape was about. Just explaining that he feels like he knows his purpose now, he feels like he has a mission beyond what he used to be. It’s beyond the music.”

Hussle famously owned his own masters and set an example of business savvy within, and beyond, the music industry. Learning from his efforts, Dayo chose not to release E.P.S.M. on Spotify or Apple Music, but instead make the record available to download on his own website.

“We made our own shit,” he said. “Come to our shit. We’re gonna build it from the ground up.”

Gold poured his heart and soul into E.P.S.M., and it shows. Stream the new record above or listen on his website.

INTERVIEW: The Blue Stones Confirm An Album Is On The Way

The Blue Stones

Hailing from Windsor, Ontario, alt-rock duo The Blue Stones performed at Bunbury Music Festival earlier this month after wrapping up their headlining North American tour. This year, vocalist / guitarist Tarek Jafar and drummer Justin Tessier have followed up their 2018 debut album, Black Holes, with several live music releases, including a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and album hit “Black Holes (Solid Ground).”

The pair is currently gearing up to hit the studio in preparation for a new album, set to drop next year. While they’re still in the planning stages, the guys shared some new details about their “swagger-filled” album with Audiofemme to get us excited.

AF: You guys just finished up your Be My Fyre Tour. How was it?

Really, really great.

AF: And it was your first headlining coast to coast tour?

It wasn’t really coast to coast, but it was definitely our first tour through the majority of the North American places that we’ve wanted to play. We missed a lot of places—like Texas—we didn’t get a chance to go there. We want to. Next time we’ll do more of the South.

AF: That’s a big milestone!

It was great. It’s nice to have actually gone out and done it. You don’t really know what to expect. Like Seattle, I’ve never been there before, but there’s a bar full of people that know your music. So it’s really, really nice to have that and that was most of the stops, so we really appreciated that.

AF: You guys have released two bodies of live music this year, one through Audiotree Live and one through SiriusXM Studios. Are you currently recording any new music?

Yeah, we’re constantly developing new stuff. We have a pocket of songs right now that we are actually going to be taking to the studio.

AF: So a full project is in the works?

Yeah, I mean nowadays you record a batch of songs and then put it out and [you] keep doing that, but that’s going to be coming up in the early fall. We’ll be putting out new stuff and then next year the full album will be ready.

AF: You guys have such a special energy when you are performing live on stage – is that what made you want to release live tracks?

Partly, yeah. Other than that, we were just given really good opportunities to do that so we just took it. But yeah, we didn’t have any good quality live stuff from our recent set, so we wanted to make it.

AF: Anything else you can tell us about your upcoming album?

It’s been cooking for a long time, we can say that. I mean, the last time we were in the studio was 2014.

AF: So it’ll be songs from a few years ago and new music?

Yes, songs from years ago to two weeks ago.

AF: For fans that have been with you since the beginning, what will they notice on future releases?

It’s kind of hard to frame right now, but definitely an in-your-face, energetic, swagger-filled batch of songs.

AF: Should we be on the lookout for any visuals?

We’re starting to transition to the new stuff. Like, we’re going to the studio in the next couple months. We love doing cool videos, cool visuals, it’s important. It kind of ties the whole idea of an album together. We take care in making sure that works out.

The Blue Stones
The Blue Stones. Photo by Bill Meis.

INTERVIEW: Taylor Janzen Talks “Shouting Matches,” Dennis Quaid & Mental Health

Taylor Janzen

At just 19 years old, soft-spoken Canadian singer Taylor Janzen tackles big emotions in her songwriting, including navigating her own experiences with anxiety and depression. Through her lyrics, Janzen hopes listeners can see their own feelings reflected and reduce the stigma toward mental health.

She recently dropped her sophomore EP, Shouting Matches, which follows up her co-produced debut EP Interpersonal. When Audiofemme caught up with her after a passionate Bunbury Music Festival performance, the self-named “sad song enthusiast” opened up about using music to cope with mental health, her love for Dennis Quaid, and her latest project.

AF: Your sophomore EP Shouting Matches dropped last month, can you tell me a little bit about it?

TJ: Well, it’s my first release with a full band, which is huge for me because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I’ve never had the resources to do that. I feel like I’m so picky that if I wanted to do a full band thing, I’d have to do it right, and I got the opportunity to do that and it has been such a cool experience to have the band with me. I like the different textures of having the full band and the EP itself is very personal, lyrically and emotionally charged. I like having a band to support that.

AF: Can you tell me where your inspiration came for the project lyrically?

TJ: All of the songs at some point talk about conflict, whether it’s conflict with yourself or other people or just in general. That’s a huge part of the EP and lyrically I get ideas really randomly. So, for instance, “Dennis Quaid” is a song that I wrote right as I was about to graduate high school, so it was a while ago, and I was super anxious all the time. Like, all the time, and I was like, I just need to yell. So I took my acoustic guitar and went into my basement and just yelled over my guitar and the melody of the chorus just kind of came out my yelling. So that song was designed just for me to be able to yell in the middle of my anxiousness.

AF: Why is addressing mental health in your music important to you?

TJ: I think it’s important because one of the biggest things for me about depression is that I’m feeling things by myself, but when you hear someone else talking about it, it’s kind of like breaking through a wall in your brain, which is nice. It’s nice to feel things with other people. Personally, for me, I write the songs so that I can express myself and find words for things, so it’s kind of like a therapeutic thing for me. I write things to figure out how I feel about them. And then I put them out so that other people can kind of see themselves in it a bit. It’s less about people looking for me in songs and more about people looking for themselves.

Taylor Janzen
Taylor Janzen performing at Bunbury Music Festival on May 31. Photos by Victoria Moorwood.

AF: As a Canadian artist performing in the US, what are some differences you’ve noticed in the stigma and access to mental healthcare?

TJ: The Canadian mental health system is still pretty rough. Unfortunately, mental health is still a bit tricky to get into—long wait periods, sometimes can be a little bit expensive, [and] the free ones are not always great.

AF: What’s something you would like somebody who’s never heard your music to know about you?

TJ: Just like a disclaimer, I’m not sad [laughs]. Sometimes people will hear my music and think, “Oh no!” Like my mom listened and thought that and I was like, “I’m fine.” I think a lot of it speaks for itself, so anybody can head over to it without any context. Another thing, the song “Dennis Quaid” is not about Dennis Quaid. It’s about imposter syndrome anxiety, but I couldn’t figure out a name for it, so I just named it after him [laughing].

AF: But you love him right?

TJ: I do love him, a lot!

AF: Any shows or upcoming music we can look forward to?

TJ: I am playing at my hometown festival. I’m from Winnipeg, I’m playing Winnipeg Folk Fest and I’m very excited because I’ve wanted to since I started playing music. That’s been the goal and now I’m on the lineup, so that’s fun. I’m always recording. I’m always kind of thinking of the next thing, so I’m definitely working, but it’s not very far along yet.

AF: So not this year, but maybe next year?

TJ: Yeah. Stay tuned for a music video for the song “Shouting Matches!”

 

PLAYING CINCY: TRIIIBE Stays Busy With New Album, Solo Projects & Outreach Programs

TRIIIBE

With three very active members in Cincy’s hip-hop community, TRIIIBE always has a lot going on. Aziza Love recently dropped her solo effort Views From The Cut EP, Siri Imani is gearing up to release her debut solo project Therapy project next month, and as a trio they’ve not only been working on new music, but also developing community outreach projects, and credit Cincinnati for stepping up and following them on their musical and philanthropic journey.

After their Bunbury Music Festival set on June 2, members Siri Imani, PXVCE, and Aziza Love opened up about spreading positivity on stage, their individual and group growth, their next album arriving this fall, details on their youth and homeless outreach programs, and the important of investing in their community.

AF: Your set was awesome, really great energy. Siri, I know you have a solo project coming out soon, can you tell me a little bit about it?

Siri: Yeah, it’s called Therapy. It releases on July 19. It definitely just goes into a journey of my life, not only this year, but just everything I’ve been through.

AF: And since it’s your debut solo, how has that been different from your usual group recording?

Siri: It is different. Not too different, because PXVCE is producing pretty much every beat that’s on the project, so it still has the TRIIIBE feel. It has the same vibe and message, but it’s more personal and it’s more specific. Therapy goes into five points and it’s the five stages of healing from PTSD and it goes into different parts of my life that reflect those different stages, leading into the transition of a healthier life and healing.

AF: At your set today, you had everybody repeat: “I love me.” You said, “You are worthy.” You implement that positivity not only into your music, but also in your stage presence. Why are those messages important to you?

Aziza: I feel like healing is its own vibration. Music carries and supports that vibration when we all come together to speak our truths. I think that, in itself, creates the opportunity for community healing. So our music, not only when we perform live, but when we’re in the studio among ourselves performing, we open that space for clear communication and raw expression and that, in itself, can be a release, which supports a healthier state of mind, spirit, and being. So joining with people we’ve never met before in that same space, to invite them to do the same thing, I think is really powerful.

PXVCE: It’s a healing process. It’s a transfer of energy. We are able to get to know the audience [and] the audience is able to get to know us, in a very small amount of time, and it’s a lot of our first impressions for a lot of people, so in order for us to relay our message I think it’s powerful to have it received so easily. Words are very powerful; vibrations are very powerful. With us saying, ‘We love you, we love ourselves,’ I think it is very healing.

TRIIIBE
TRIIIBE performing at Bunbury on June 2, 2019. Photos by Victoria Moorwood.

AF: Siri, you’ve got a solo project coming out. Aziza, you just released your Views From The Cut EP. Is TRIIIBE recording anything together at the moment?

Siri: Oh yeah. Our last album came out on 10/10, our next album comes out 10/10.

PXVCE: We’re about to make it like a ceremonial thing.

AF: What stage is the project in?

Aziza: We’re in a transformative stage because it’s a mixture of writing, recording, reconnecting. We’re setting our focus to our philanthropic side and all that we do. Especially seeing all what’s been happening in Dayton right now, reconfiguring in general with one how we’re operating in Cincinnati and how we’re operating elsewhere and how we can help on a more grand scale. We’re in a transformative state in our music because it reflects our work in the community as well.

Siri: It reflects the project. III Am What III Am was last year. That was us literally showing who we were. III Am What III Wanna Be is showing what we want to be, that’s musically, physically, in reality and all. It’s all a process and we’re playing with different styles. We all bring different things to the table and us figuring out how to leverage that is the key toward III Am What III Wanna Be.

AF: What philanthropic projects are you currently working on?

Siri: Potluck For The People is for people experiencing displacement, homelessness, and that’s every final Sunday from 12 to 5 [p.m.] and Raising The Barz is every first and third Thursday at the public library. That is an Intro To Hip Hop class for the youth, we’ve got as young as 6-year-olds and as old as 30. We invite local artists and local students to help themselves get better with hip hop or any craft they want to work with.

AF: Most Cincinnati artists I’ve spoken with credit you to bringing togetherness and acceptance in the hip hop scene here.

Aziza: Really!?

Siri: Wow.

Aziza: That’s so beautiful.

AF: Do you guys feel a little bit of pressure with that recognition or has this just been your natural progression?

Siri: We curate spaces, but we can curate a space and nobody shows up. The people genuinely wanted to connect and taking the time to do it makes this work. Without anybody supporting, we’d just be three people trying to do something. This is something that the city wants and the city made it happen and it’s not just the credit to us, it’s never just the credit to us. That’s the whole point of TRIIIBE, it’s understanding that we are doing this. It’s one big machine and without any of us playing our part it wouldn’t work out.

PXVCE: When you look at Atlanta or Chicago, who have huge underground scenes, many people can become catalysts for some of those movements, but to take the credit completely, it just doesn’t make sense because if not everyone is participating then you can’t even say that.

AF: It’s a give and take.

Aziza: It’s a unified decision to make change.

Siri: I’m definitely proud to be one of the holders of the idea… but the city and the people are the catalysts of it.

Aziza: We’re not the first. And we’re not the last.

TRIIIBE
Find more of TRIIIBE on their website.

PLAYING CINCY: Cincinnati Throws Down At Bunbury Music Festival

bunbury

Last weekend, the city of Cincinnati gathered along the Ohio River for the 7th annual Bunbury Music Festival. The three-day fest featured headliners like The 1975, Greta Van Fleet and Fall Out Boy, along with impressive supporting acts such as Machine Gun Kelly, Girl Talk, Run The Jewels, and Sublime with Rome. Local talent, like TRIIIBE, was also represented.

Bunbury
Machine Gun Kelly performing at Bunbury Music Festival 2019. Photos by Victoria Moorwood.

Bunbury is a perfect example of why festival veterans prefer the smaller fest experience. With over 50,000 in attendance, compared to Coachella’s 250,000+, festival-goers had room to spread out amongst the vendors and multiple stages that stretched along the riverfront.

Miller Lite and local Braxton Brewing Co. provided the drinks with tents near every stage and a wide variety of over 20 local and delectable eateries–like INJOY, Mikey’s Late Night Slice, and Island Noodles–arrived in food truck fleets for attendees to enjoy.

The lineup hosted a complimentary mix of alternative, rock, hip hop, and nostalgia. Reignwolf stood out as a wildly talented rock trio, while MGK and Run The Jewels held down the fest’s hip hop and Fall Out Boy and Stone Temple Pilots reignited 2000’s favorites. Girl Talk had the entire crowd dancing with his signature mix of pop and EDM hits.

Local hip hop trio TRIIIBE kept the energy going all through Sunday with a set that vibrated positivity. “Say, ‘I love you!’ Now, ‘Say I love me!'” they prompted the crowd.

(Left) Pxvce, Aziza Love, and Siri Imani of TRIIIBE performing at Bunbury on Sunday, June 2.

“I feel like healing is its own vibration. Music carries and supports that vibration,” Aziza Love of TRIIIBE told AudioFemme. “Joining with people we’ve never met before in that same space, to invite them to do the same thing, I think is so powerful.”

Bunbury’s lineup maintained the audience’s energy throughout the three days, with fireworks ramping up the wow-factor on the very first night. The amount and variety of foods, spacious and spread out location and lineup marked Bunbury as a Cincinnati summer highlight.

Only 358 days ’til the next one!

bunbury
Canadian singer Taylor Janzen singing her Bunbury set.

PLAYING CINCY: TRIIIBE’s Siri Imani Talks Gentrification on “513” She-mix

Photo by Taylor Hughes.

TRIIIBE‘s Siri Imani called out Cincinnati gentrification in her new “513” she-mix of Drake and BlocBoy JB’s 2018 hit, “Look Alive.” The addictive beat of the track puts it on instant replay as Siri brings light to the inequality and displacement currently affecting those in Cincinnati’s downtown Over-The-Rhine area.

TRIIIBE is no stranger to spotlighting – and helping to fix – societal challenges in their city.

“I haven’t lived in OTR my whole life; however, I’ve always went to school there and have countless friends and family,” says Imani. “Gentrification has shaped a lot of the community that was once inhabited by generations of families that grew up there.”

In the past decade, herds of new businesses have moved into the downtown area, providing retail and local eateries, but skyrocketing rental prices and chipping away at long-grown culture. Imani and her two TRIIIBE counterparts often dedicate their art to opening an honest dialogue within their community, and Imani doesn’t plan to stop with “513.”

“Music is universal and to me. It’s a more efficient way of getting my messages out,” she says. “We listen to, and memorize, songs better than we do the words actually spoken to us. Music resonates and evokes feelings on a level that can be hard to match verbally.”

As for remixing such a repeatable hit, Imani did that deliberately, too.

“All of the she-mixes use well known, male-dominated songs,” she says. “‘Look Alive’ was big last year and I needed something people could easily compare lyrics to.”

The Cincinnati songstress is currently working on her debut solo EP, Therapy, set to drop July 19. She, along with TRIIIBE, will also be performing at Bunbury Music Festival on Sunday, June 2.

PLAYING CINCY: Leggy Talks New Album, Tour & Videos Coming Soon

Leggy

Initially coming together in high school and emerging as a dreamy punk-tinted band after college, the Northside-bred, female-fronted Leggy has grown into Cincinnati’s latest long-reaching musical output. They signed to independent UK record label Damnably (Wussy, Golden Gurls) in 2016, after label head George Gargan heard them perform a live set on the local radio station WAIF 88.3; soon after, they released a self-titled compilation of their first three EPs. But the release of their latest studio album, Let Me Know Your Moon, in late March, has brought the trio even greater recognition – and lots of critical acclaim.

The band – made up of Veronique Allaer, Kirsten Bladh, and Chris Campbell – just finished up a headlining tour, so now they’re diving head-first into upcoming summer shows. Here, Leggy lead singer and guitarist Veronique explains the origins of the 12-track LP, reflects on the trio’s beginnings and gives some deets on visuals in the works. Make sure to stream Let Me Know Your Moon and check out their upcoming shows below.

AF: How did you all come together?

VA: We started the band a year after college, when [I] moved back to Cincinnati from Washington DC. The three of us moved into a house in Northside together and talked about starting the band for a while before actually doing it. We named our first EP Cavity Castle after that place. I still walk past the place all the time and it makes me when I think about us all living there!

AF: Let’s talk your new album! The stories reflect the ups and downs of lust and heartbreak. Was it anything specific that inspired these concepts?

VA: Just relationships. All my lyrics are mostly inspired by real things. I think you can tell when it’s inauthentic and those songs don’t really appeal to me. But also, I don’t think each song needs to be about a specific one person or incident. I will mash up lyrics or ideas or something to make a better song. Some of the songs have been slowly evolving for years. For example, I wrote the chorus lyrics of “Eden” back in 2013, but the verses were written write like a week before we recorded the album.

AF: What’s each of your favorite song to perform off Let Me Know Your Moon?

VA: “Eden”
KB: “My Room”
CC: “Eden”

AF: Will you release any visuals for the album?

VA: Yes! We are cooking up music video ideas with Jo Shaffer, who co-directed all of The Ophelias‘ music videos. They have a really keen eye for simple and gorgeous aesthetics! We are super excited.

AF: You also just finished up your tour, how was it?

VA: We just got back from a three-week long headline tour, which we haven’t done in a while! It was really fun. It’s also really intense to be on a tour that is so long – essentially you’re spending every minute of every day 24/7 for three weeks straight with your bandmates. Even the nights we didn’t crash at someone’s house and splurged on a motel, we would have to take turns sitting in the van to call our [signficant other] just to have some privacy. It feels good to know that we are still able to tour and have a good time and respect each other’s boundaries and need for space [and] alone time. We’ve all known each other since we were 14, so sometimes it honestly feels like touring with siblings. We are about to go on a shorter tour with The Ophelias who are a super sick band also from Cincinnati. I’m very excited to spread the Cincy love.

AF: Are you planning on stopping in Cincy any time soon?

VA: We have a few local summer shows that we are really excited for.

AF: Anything else you’d like to add?

VA: Audiofemme is sick, thanks so much for having us. Cincinnati has a ton of really amazing bands right now – people should check out LUNG, The Ophelias, Strobobean, Electric Citizen, Soften, Triiibe, Fruit LoOops, Smut, Pout, Slow Glows and Lashes off the top of my head. Thanks for having us!

Leggy
Photo by Will Fenwick.

Upcoming Leggy Shows:

June 8 – Bay City, MI @ Riverscene Indie Fest
June 9 – Detroit, MI @ PJs Lager House (with The Ophelias)
June 10 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern (with The Ophelias)
June 11 – Rochester, NY @ Small World Books (with The Ophelias)
June 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville (with The Ophelias)
June 25 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups (with Potty Mouth & Colleen Green)
July 11 – Cincinnati, OH @ Urban Artifact (with And The Kids & Strobobean)

PLAYING CINCY: Music Resource Center Brings Teen Musicians Together

showcase

The Music Resource Center of Cincinnati is a stable home for low-cost musical equipment and artistic guidance for Cincinnati’s teens. Four times a year, the organization hosts a city-wide showcase where the public joins the Center as audience members and Cincinnati’s youth can put their talents on display.

“The showcases are a place for our students to perform the music they have been writing and recording in the studio,” said Wally Hart, the Rap Coach and Development Assistant at the Center. “They are open to the public. We invite friends, family, and people from the community to come and see what the students are doing and what MRC is all about.”

showcase
Chaya J. sings at Music Resource Center showcase. Photos by Wally Hart.

On Tuesday, May 7th, the MRC hosted another successful showcase with around 70 attendees in the audience. This year marks the org’s 10th year of showcases.

“I love observing the confidence that builds in the young artists with every performance. That confidence goes beyond just the performance,” said Wally. “They gain a greater sense of self-confidence in many areas of their lives.”

Spirit / showcase
Hip hop artist Spirit performing at the MRC showcase.

Soulful brothers Sean and Savion performed original songs, marking their second showcase and original music debut. Rapper Spirit unleashed some verses, following up his EP Now More Than Ever, released last year. Pop singer/songwriter Grac:E held down three original singles. Chaya J., a sophomore, sang three original songs. She recently dropped off her EP, History, It Never Changes, earlier this year.

Spirit closed out the performance with a speech, expressing his gratitude for the Center, as he’s a senior in high school and will soon age out of the program.

“I talked about why I did music, I talked about society’s current issues, moral decline in music… People were touched, and I felt good I let it out,” he said. “Think about it – millions of kids want to rap and make music, but how many get the luxury of recording on professional equipment for as little as 2$ a month… That’s why I am there every day as soon as they open and the moment they close!”

The next Music Resource Center showcase will be September 18. The organization and its staff continue to be a source of opportunity and encouragement in creating Cincinnati’s next wave of musical talent.

When asked why these showcases matter so much to the organization and to Cincinnati teens, Wally replied, “Parents, family, and friends of the students get a chance to watch their kids flourish. Friends and family of the staff get to see why we are so passionate about MRC. Donors get a chance to witness first hand the magic that their contributions assist. It truly is magical.”

PLAYING CINCY: Princess Tiana Remixes Ella Mai’s “Shot Clock” in New Video

Photo by Kayla Rogers

Princess Tiana solidified her place in Cincinnati’s music scene earlier this year with her single “Trip.” Since then, she’s been dropping videos to tease her next release, a full-length project titled Going Places. The seven-track album follows 2017 EP Believe It, and although it took her two years to prepare and it’s been a long road, she’s very excited to release it this spring.

“Every song is fun,” Cincy’s pop princess told Donuts n Akahol in a recent interview. “It’ll make you wanna roll the windows down [and] pop the top back!” Her latest offering is a sassy remix of Ella Mai’s addictive single, “Shot Clock,” which Mai released late last year.

Directed by Dre Shot This, Tiana maintains the basketball theme in her new music video for the single but puts her own spin on it, showing off impressive choreography and her signature vocal versatility.

Princess T wrote in an Instagram post that the remix is the perfect way “to welcome [Ella Mai],” who arrives in Cincinnati Wednesday (May 1) for her sold out show at Bogart’s.

The new CJ Knowles-produced beat breathes fresh life into the song and lets Tiana’s vocals shine. She keeps Mai’s attitude in her lyrics, but gives her man a little more time to meet her needs. Contrasting with Ella’s deep soulful tones, Princess Tiana plays up her high-pitched vocal range, complimenting the new beat. “You better rush, pick it on up, come and brighten my mood / Shot clock / Twenty-four seconds, maybe one minute ’till I change my mind,” she sings.

Make sure to keep an eye out for the soon-to-be-released Going Places, and until then, enjoy Tiana’s spiced up version of Ella Mai’s “Shot Clock.”

Princess Tiana Shot Clock
Princess Tiana / Photos by Kayla Rogers

PLAYING CINCY: Aziza Love Awakens Her Phoenix With “Views From The Cut”

Aziza Love, one-third of Cincinnati hip hop group TRIIIBE, released her debut solo project, Views From The Cut, earlier this month. Aziza gracefully balance rapping, singing, and spoken word – a style she’s honed in her previous work with the group. Although brief, the four-song EP powerfully reverberates self-worth and makes an impact as an artistic extension of the activist, singer, and TRIIIBE member herself.

“Phoenix Rising” launches the EP off to a bold start with Aziza manifesting her own self-worth and demanding that other women do the same. “You a bad bitch and you’re beautiful / You are much more than usual / Don’t you dare wait ’til your funeral / To give ’em all a reason to acknowedge / That your essence is a blessing / Girl, you better see it as a lesson,” she sings.

Chase Watkins’ production really gets going on the next song, “Spiritus Scronk,” featuring Josh Jessen, and Aziza plays with different vocal tones, pitches and singing styles. But her energy truly peaks in the Devin Burgess-mixed “Shemix” of Cardi B’s “Backing It Up.” Aziza raps non-stop and claims ownership of her sexuality and attitude in the new empowering remix of the already catchy single. She bounces effortlessly along the jingling beat with words of fully-realized confidence and self-worth.

The overall lyrical content of the project contains an important lesson. While TRIIIBE is known for their charitable actions and giving back to their community, Views From The Cut‘s themes of reflection and self-love show that to invest in each other we must also invest in ourselves. Outward love and compassion are themes TRIIIBE commonly portrays in their music, but with Aziza’s solo project, we see that glimpsing inward and owning one’s independent process and worth is equally important.

TRIIIBE will be performing at Bunbury next month and Aziza says visuals for Views From The Cut are coming soon.

PLAYING CINCY: Dayo Gold Talks New Album, Soul Music & Nipsey Hussle

Dayo Gold

Cincinnati hip hop artist Dayo Gold is gearing up to release his 10-track album, EPSM – Essential Postive Soul Music. The Lima, Ohio rapper first hit the Cincinnati music scene in 2016 and has spent the last two years perfecting his craft. Currently being mixed by Devin Burgess, EPSM will follow his 2018 project, The Love EP, as well as several singles he’s dropped this year. Coming sooner will be a single (and perhaps a visual) called “Ohio Livin.” The talented MC first caught Audiofemme’s attention when he performed at Urban Artifact, rapping to an enthusiastic crowd that screamed back his notorious catchphrase: “Ask Ya Dad!” Here, Dayo Gold lets us in on some R&B-inspired details on his upcoming album, discusses the effect of Nipsey Hussle’s recent and tragic passing and its connection to his forthcoming single “Ohio Livin,” and explains where his name and famed catchphrase originally comes from.

AF: What are you working on currently?

DG: I’m in the works of a project right now! It’s called EPSM – that stands for Essential Positive Soul Music. I ended up making seven tracks. I made them in probably about a week, honestly. We just let it sit for a little minute, for probably two months, trying to find somebody to mix it. It didn’t quite go as planned and from that I ended up making three more songs. So I ended up making it ten tracks.

AF: Do you have a release date set?

DG: This summer for sure.

AF: That title, EPSM, does it hint at any R&B or soul influences?

DG: It kind of hints at a couple of R&B things. I think the most it does is the samples. We’ve got a “Let It Burn” sample in there, and that’s from Usher, we’ve got a Beyoncé sample from “Me, Myself and I,” that’s in there. We’ve got a Keith Sweat sample in there. It’s just a lot of that soul essence. I think what really made it soulful was we got into that bag of songs that really brought it out, we kind of touched into that 2000s era of R&B.

Dayo Gold
Dayo Gold/ Photo by Ian Massie

AF: Anything coming out before the summer?

DG: I’m thinking of dropping a single within the next two weeks. It’s a song I’ve been performing, “Ohio Livin.” I just think, with this Nipsey thing transpired, this song puts me back to a place where I felt the same way. I had a relative, he was killed the same way as Nip. This whole Nipsey thing transpiring made me think back to that time and I made “Ohio Livin” around that time, so once I played it back it brought back all those emotions again. So I was like, you know what, I think this is something that the world needs to hear. I’m definitely looking forward to that release.

AF: What other artists influence your music?

DG: I’m influenced by a lot of artists. Of course Nip, J. Cole, Joey Bada$$, Jadakiss, JAY-Z, Rick Ross. I’m kind of all over the place—I love street music and I love stuff that actually talks to the soul. That’s what I think this whole EPSM encompasses, like not only is it giving you messages for your soul but it just has an all-around good vibe to it that I think anybody would like, from the streets to the book-smarts.

AF: Your name – Dayo Gold. How’d you come up with that? And what about the catchphrase, ‘Ask Ya Dad,’ that the audience yells back to you at shows?

DG: At first, it was Golden Child. When I came around to trying to copyright it I saw that a lot of people already had it covered. So I knew I had to get a little more creative. I was taking a lot of African Studies classes back then and I was looking up on this site different African names and their meanings and I came across “Dayo.” When I read the definition it said, “joy arrives.” That’s the exact feeling I have about music and the exact feeling I want to have about life in general. If I’m not in a joyous state, if I’m not around people who are making me happy or enjoying my company or I’m not enjoying theirs, then I don’t want to be around them. I just thought that was a good life lesson to learn from that word alone and I wanted to embody it. I still wanted to keep Gold in there somewhere, so I got Dayo Gold.

The ‘Ask Ya Dad,’ that came from—I’m from Lima, Ohio. That’s a very small city. Our dads really knew what was going on in the city. My dad owns a barbershop down there so it’s a lot of barbershop talk, ‘he say, she say’ type shit. So if you wanted to know what was going on, you had to ask your dad. So we ended up making that a confirmation, like if your dad knows it then everybody knows it. Not only did it get to that, I started using it myself because I want to teach people through my music as well. Not only do I want to entertain and have fun with it but I want people to learn something.

AF: What do you think of the Cincinnati music scene right now?

DG: I came as a college student around 2013. Probably around 2016 is when I saw the Cincinnati music scene. I’ve always been the type of person to talk to anybody so when I got to doing my shows and stuff I was feeling a lot of love. I think the city is vibing right now, it’s kind of breaking out as we speak. Right now I think Cincinnati is on its way up.

Dayo Gold
Dayo Gold/ Photo by Annie Noelker

PLAYING CINCY: Sarai The Artist Makes Impressive Debut With “No More Humble”

Sarai

Sarai The Artist didn’t come to play on her new album, No More Humble. Showcasing a diverse range from slowed-down vibey R&B-tinged singles to spitting ferociously at an intimidating energy and pace, Sarai debuts as a Cincinnati rapper with serious skills. She previously teased the album’s release with No More Humble singles, “Switch Up” and “Normally” in 2018. Now, with the entire project out, Sarai makes her full first impression.

Although a fierce introduction from a new artist demanding to be taken seriously, No More Humble was born of more somber inspirations.

“This album came from a place of darkness, growth, but also triumph,” says Sarai. “It’s my message to the world that I [am] no longer doubting myself or selling myself short. Everything I’ve gone through has made me into the artist I am today. I lost a relationship and had to bury five family members in 2017. I was lost, but music helped me find my way.”

No More Humble hardly sounds like a debut, with Sarai’s lyrical dexterity and the project’s overall fluidity. The album starts strong with “Snapped,” a fast-paced intro where she can flex her rapid verbal flow and give listeners a reason to understand the LP’s title. Sarai transitions to “Amen,” a standout track, where she makes a flute-driven beat sound hard.

She gets more in her feelings later on in the 8-track album, exploring relationships in “2 Ways” and “To Be Loved” and reverberating struggle in the Great Wu-assisted “Normally” and “Neva Lost.”

Sarai
Sarai The Artist / Photo by Andre Whaley

Besides making an impressive introduction into the Cincinnati hip hop scene, Sarai uses No More Humble to make a point about grief and hardship. She’s only been making music for about a year, but found solace in hard times through her creation and hopes her album will help others in similar situations see the same light.

“My goal is to encourage others that it’s very possible to turn something dark into a beautiful situation. Stay the course and the work will pay off.”

Check out Sarai The Artist’s debut album No More Humble above and catch her performing for Industry Night at PRVLGD Nightclub April 12.

PLAYING CINCY: Joness Releases Intoxicating New EP Sheep

Joness / Sheep

Cincinnati-based artist Joness flexes her ability to jump back and forth from bouncy bars to hard-hitting vocal ranges as she intertwines classic hip hop sound with an R&B style on her new EP, Sheep.

Joness first hit the scene with her debut EP, Rule Number 9, following it up last week with Sheep: An Extended Play. The EP carries the listener through the internal stages of drinking – the shedding of inhibitions, the slurred words, the inner ‘wolf’ that comes out to play and ultimately making peace with the sometimes regrettable hazy memories. It’s as much a drinker’s inner monologue as it is a public display of Joness’ sonic maturation. While relatively new to Cincinnati, she was heard on several albums last year and this EP marks her coming into her own and finding the balance between her own artistic sheep and wolf.

Joness was recently a guest on the Future Moguls podcast where she explained that the EP’s title is a symbolic play on the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing.’

“Our sheep is that persona that we want people to think of us as, but we all have a wolf within us that we fight so hard to not let other people see that part of us,” she said. “Either because we haven’t come to terms with that darkness, or we’re not okay with how it makes us feel.”

Joness / Sheep
Joness / Photo by Kodak K.

The first track, “Waldo,” starts the party off. Joness raps over a fizzy beat with an energy that mimics the initial buzz. “Waldo” fades into “Composition 4,” which is where Joness gets to put her vocals on display. The boppy hip hop vibe from earlier drowns under an oncoming wave of R&B, from where Joness really thrives. Her inner drunk monologue is still having a good time, but “Composition 4” gets a little more introspectively dark.

“That’s kind of the context behind the EP,” Joness said on Future Moguls. “We all have an inner good or inner bad.”

The EP’s drama peaks at “Enterlube,” with dramatic bass-heavy production and Joness singing and rapping softy, almost eerily, over an ominous beat. Her speech becomes mumbled and her lyrics get distracted – also marking the peak of intoxication.

Sheep ends on a positive note with “Sweat,” featuring Cincy artist Muwosi. Joness again flexes her rhythmic flow and raps rays of sunshine, signifying the storm from the middle of the EP has passed.

As an artist who’s currently central to the Cincinnati scene, Joness’ long-awaited EP does not disappoint. She recently performed Sheep alongside an all-female set list at the No Cool Kids Allowed ‘Queens’ show. Vibe out to her latest offering and don’t be afraid to find your own inner wolf and sheep.