SXSW is a music festival held annually in the performance mecca of Austin, Texas. With nearly 300 live venues, pubs, andhalls lined up and around 6th St., musicians and filmmakers descend in vast numbers to promote and network. The range of styles is tremendous, though leaning heavily on the indie rock side.

Every year the hype seems to change up a bit, as the groups with albums coming out,or a new record deal tend to have fans packed in to see them. It’s always a trip to walk 6th St. as its teeming with groupies, rockers, rappers, and fans. The street is blocked off, and the cacophony of sound issuing out into the atmosphere is ill. Everywhere we turned, music assaulted our senses. Loud boisterous rocktunes ripped out of nearly every speaker. Country, emo, punk, and pop rock all blended into a smoothie of electric sludge. Once in awhile, a club beat would jump out of the chaos, naturally pulling my ears to the 808’s.

Don’t get me wrong though, hip hop was definitely in the house. The standouts were the StonesThrow/Duck Down showcase, the Def Jux party, and the Kork showcase (where we rocked). At the Stones Throw joint, Sean Price (of Helter Skelter fame) grimaced on dirty hooks, and stuttering beats. Guilty Simpson also came thru repping Detroit to the fullest. With a vocal tone reminiscent of the late great J Dilla, his gun talk and rugged posture left the crowd thirsty for more. Dope. I also got to check Dizzy Rascal at the Def Jux jump off. The UK mc came off with raucous production, and his signature squawk.

We rocked with the Living Legends, and C Rayz Walz. As we walked up to the venue, a long line cut into the street. Ironically, it was the same club that we performed at last year with UGK. Rest in Peace Pimp C. We were lucky enough to be able to perform with a real live legend before he left the Earth. Besides that, the only difference is that this time the crowd was totally with us,bouncing to every beat, all smiles and cheer. We ran thru our set with a quickness, touching songs from albums to mixtapes alike. Afterwards, we slid into the warm Austin night, to peep whatever was left of the festivities.

Shoutout to Carlito for lacing the crew with fly denim at the Fader party. Big up all the homeys from across the globe that came down to hustle and spread the word about their grind. With the industry changing so quickly, SXSW is one of the few places where different genres can mix and match, as we collectively seek the prosperity of yesteryear. Stay hustling…Big up!!