SXSW 2015 Saturday Hip-Hop and R&B Highlights: Young Thug, Travis Scott, John Legend, YG and More
Young Thug (photo: Y Photographers)
We have survived the five days of the Music portion of SXSW, and it is accurate to say it wrapped with a bang. See our recaps of Travis Scott and Young Thug’s co-headlining set at the Yahoo space, John Legend and his five mentees, plus YG, and Zoë Kravitz’s band Lolawolf.
Travis Scott and Young Thug Co-Headline Final Night
Explosive is the best word to describe Travis Scott and Young Thug’s co-headlining set the final night of Yahoo Music’s SXSW takeover of Austin’s Brazos Hall. Like Jay-Z and Kanye’s Watch the Throne tour, Scott and Young Thug played one long show. They alternated performing solo hits and did some tracks together.
Travis Scott (photo: Y Photographers)
Scott, the more fiery of the two, was filled with angst, addressing the crowd like a dictator, leading them through chants that bashed the security for disrupting a mosh pit, the audio team for technical difficulties, and even Yahoo for adhering to fire marshal capacity restrictions. The audience followed his lead. When he wasn’t ranting, he was rocking the house with his songs “Quintana,” “Don’t Play,” and “Upper Echelon.”
Young Thug, however, was more easygoing, and fixated on paying homage to Gucci Mane. During each of his segments, he asked concertgoers to chant three times, “Free Guap.” His melodic, singsong tracks are a good balance to Scott’s more aggressive style. But of course they also shined together, a highlight when they sang their collab “Skyfall.”
John Legend Gives Five ‘Ordinary People’ Their Big Break
There’s no question that John Legend is one of the best contemporary soul pop singers, but is he also good at guiding and directing the sound of up and comers? The “All of Me” singer had an opportunity to utilize his mentoring skills for AXE’s White Label Collective program that paired him with upcoming artists who made their debut Saturday at a SXSW showcase. AXE received 900 submissions from aspiring acts and Legend selected his top five.
There is a distinction between the performers featured in the White Label Collective and the talent competing on televised singing shows Legend told Yahoo Music during an exclusive interview before the showcase. “I love that we’re mentoring artists because a lot of those television shows are mentoring singers which is a difference,” he said. “All these young people wrote their own songs. They’re all really helping to define themselves as artists because they are also creative people and songwriters.”
As part of the mentoring process, Legend spoke to each of the contestants via Skype for 45 minutes in which he offered suggestions on how to improve their songs. “I gave songwriting advice like, ‘Maybe you should change this chord. Maybe you should go into a new section right here,’” he explained. “So I gave that kind of advice and they received it well.”
The five artists – John Russell, Allison Mula, John Rankin, Jelana Jeffries, and Alejandro Palma – did well on Saturday and received positive applause from the audience. After, Legend sat down at a piano on stage and sang a few songs from his catalog. He said he could relate to his mentees making their big debut. He compared the showcase to the first time he performed his introductory single, “Used to Love U,” on a major stage. “It was with Kanye and we were opening for Usher,” Legend said.
Who Do You Love? YG Brings ‘Bompton’ to SXSW
When YG played Def Jam’s 30th Anniversary event at SXSW last year, his energy was completely different than what he gave his fans at the Axe and Spin event Saturday. In 2014, he appeared to have a chip on his shoulder. He mean mugged the crowd as he paced the stage with his entourage in tow. This time, it was nothing but a gangsta party. He was shown love from the moment his name was announced and he made his introduction, rapping, “I’m from BPT,” his gangsta code for Compton. In between songs he flirted with the ladies, complimenting them on their lipstick, trying to entice them to flash the crowd, and even bringing one woman on stage to show off the dance she was doing in the front row. He also talked to his male fans and did his signature gangsta dance when the DJ spun Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode.” He literally didn’t want to leave.
It’s Time for Lolawolf to Blow Up
I’m surprised Lolawolf isn’t bigger. The indie rock band fronted by Zoë Kravitz has such a pleasant melding of genres and Kravitz has mastered the stage persona of a sweet, down-to-earth girl next door with the right dose of badass. Hear Lolawolf’s “Bitch,” for example, where Kravitz sings, “Who’s a bad ass bitch that nobody’s heard that everybody’s heard of,” a nod to being the child of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. Looking like a skater girl with long braids and a beanie, the singer-actress, who sometimes bangs a drum with just one stick, couldn’t be cooler. After her set, she hung out on the side of the stage to enjoy YG. I am a fan.
