EMERGENCE

Photo of Invincible @ SXSW by Magee McIlvaine. Invincible brings us this report-back:

The road to South by Southwest jumped off with a warm welcome in Houston. Hadeel and the rest of the homies held KC and i down- i swear they took us to every quality eatery in H-town (Texas serves some gourmet treats forreal!). I rocked a benefit for the Houston Palestine Film Festival, (I'll be back for that fest when they screen "People Not Places" April 24th!) and got to connect with some of the city's finest artists and activists including the infamous H.I.S.D. The following day I stopped by Project Row Houses to meet up with my boy T. who is originally from Detroit but is now an artist in residence and youth educator with Project Row. Soon as we walked up, we ran into the organization's founder, Rick Lowe, who spontaneously invited me to screen "Locusts" at their community space that second, followed by an amazing dialog about the similarities and differences of our cities.

In Austin we met up with the rest of the EMERGENCE crew–Wes, Mike, Jenny Lee (repping the Allied Media Conference), and Iqaa (director of "Locusts" and "People Not Places")! We also linked up with the homie Belief who mixed the ShapeShifters LP and produced "Ransom Notes" :) This was my first time at SXSW- and I have to say I've never been around that many dope artists at one time in my life. The music festival alone has over 1,800 "bands" performing over 5 days, and that's not including the extra tents. Check out their site for the full schedule but some of my favs were Blu and Exile, Res, Kweli, Janelle Monae, Big Boi, Bun B, Dead Prez, PJ Harvey, Erykah Badu, DEVO, Freeway, Mayer Hawthorne, and a keynote by the one and only Quincy Jones! That's not even mentioning the film fest, panels, and tech conference. Many thanks to Matt Sonzala and the whole SXSW staff for setting everything up without losing their minds!

The first Locusts/Favela On Blast screening was Saturday before we got into Austin–and i heard it was packed, with lines snaking around the corner before the doors even opened. The screening Thursday was still full but not as hectic, though i have to say it was way more special considering Diplo, his Favela on Blast co-director Leandro (from Brazil), myself, and Iqaa the Olivetone (director of Locusts) were all present. We had a chance to introduce the films followed by an interesting Q&A, connecting the movements of Detroit Hip-Hop to the Favela Funk of Brazil. (pics of screening here) Speaking of the film fest, we also got to attend the premiere of Say My Name, an amazing documentary about women in Hip-Hop, which features footage of me (from five years ago looking like a baby), as well as dozens of other immensely talented and insightful female artists making their mark on this culture.

Friday was the panel with Davey D (one of the greatest Hip Hop journalists on the planet), featuring Truth Universal, Toki Wright, Kidz in the Hall, and yours truly. Here's a quick clip in response to the question, "How do we make music with a message that still has a strong appeal to it?"

Later that night i hit up San Antonio and did a Locusts screening and performance in the backyard of the Southwestern Worker's Union community center. Organizers from New Jersey, Atlanta, Chicago, and various parts of Texas were there for the Border Organizers Gathering, where they were exchanging strategies for resisting border violence and criminalization of our communities, as well as brainstorming community-led solutions.

Saturday there were a million and one daytime showcases- including the okayplayer one where i ran into the Homeboy Sandman out of NYC. Here's a freestyle Davey D also caught with us and Texas-based producer King Ashoka- who just happened to be parked out front with some dope beats blasting. (Many thanks to Davey D for being such an on point documentarian!)

Last but not least Saturday night was my big showcase at Back Alley Social featuring Poetic Pilgrimage from London, Blacklisted Individuals, the homie Truth Universal out of New Orleans, Bomani Armah & Project Mayhem (aka "read a book read a book read a mofuckin book!"), Dead Prez affiliates- A-Alikes, Now On, Buff 1 (along with Rhettmatic premiered their Crown Royale project), Pigeon John, and Mr. Lif (along with the homie DJ Statik!!!). Big shouts to everyone who performed (and killlled it!), as well as Lo Lo and the rest of the behind the scenes crew.

My set started out with some tech difficulties since the house deejays forgot to bring one of the key pieces of my tech rider- so while 14KT and DJ Rhettmatic were holding me down on the decks and workinonit, i spit some mean acapellas to commemorate the 6th year anniversary of the war in iraq, as well as dedicating the show to my fam Weusi Olusola who recently passed way too young. The crowd was packed and supported us while we worked out the tech issues until the show officially blasted off. Iqaa's projections were blazing in the background- especially by the time i brought Finale up to do "Recognize", "Jungle Music", "Locusts", and last but not least a SXSW-tailored version of Keep Goin. "Looongawaited" Live!:

Finale MURDERED Jungle Music (look out for his debut album dropping this week!!!):

Thanks again to everyone who came out when you coulda been watching Kanye or Bun B and Dead Prez or 50 other acts that were on that same night. Much Respect to the whole EMERGENCE crew for pounding the pavement with me. And last but not least- thanks to Local 782 in San Antonio, my old and new NOLA fam, Muhlenberg Hip Hop club, Ursula Rucker, AfroDJiak, and my crew the ANOMOLIES for holding me down the week after and helping me recover from all the SXSW ridiculousness.

signing off- i