Author: Nick Hayes

Aspiring.

Pharrell To Produce A Musical Inspired By His Life

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Pharrell Williams plans to team with Fox Studios for an upcoming musical film based off his childhood in Virginia Beach.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, William’s film “Atlantis” is stated to be produced through the company of Williams and Miami Valdes, “I Am Other”; and directed by Broadway veteran, Michael Mayer.

Atlantis is apparently described as a love story that’s inspired by his childhood in Virginia Beach. This won’t be Pharrell’s first time working with Fox either. He was also a producer and co-composer the film “Hidden Figures”, which was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Artists Unite and Concur at SXSW

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During the course of this past week, Austin, Texas hosted yet another blow-out experience of the annual SXSW.

South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomerate of music, film, and interactive media conferences and festivals usually taking place during the middle of March on Spring Break. It is a chance to come out and see your favorite artists perform and even get the chance to take a pic with them on the streets of Austin, but for those looking to network in the industry, SXSW would be right up your alley.

SXSW may be able to attract many heads with its headline artists, but the best thing about the festival in my experience is the opportunities it gives up-and-coming artists to perform, connect, or even sign to a label if the time is right (Palm Beach rapper Wifisfuneral signed to Interscope/Alamo Records at SXSW)!

Throughout the week you can see different artists from every genre coming out to the city using the excitement to promote their art, networking with others doing the same. Countless billboards and posters are placed all over the city, live performances on the street can be heard just walking by, promotional gifts handed out for completing social following tasks, interviews are held from bloggers and freelance writers; the whole thing makes you wonder why you’ve never attended sooner.

So if your an industry cat, or an artist looking for a chance at that next step in your career, I’d recommend to make sure your present for the festival next year. You can find the link to the SXSW website along with their complete Music Bloggers Guide below.

Official SXSW Website.

Music Bloggers guide here.

Girl Ultra and Jesse Baez are Mexico’s New R&B Reawakening

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Guatemalan artist Jesse Baez and Mexican artist Nan de Miguel (Girl Ultra) are two new R&B singers signed to Finesse Record coming out of Monterrey, Mexico; a new addition to their other genres including electronica and trap mixes.

The romantic groove their music carries holds dense beats and Latin rhythms, giving the impression of a long time collaboration between the two, but they’ve only been working together for about a year. Baez states in an interview conducted with FADER, “With the first song we collaborated on, we took so long that at one point I thought it wasn’t going to happen.”

Influenced from multiple artists like Mariah Carey, Juan Luis Guerra, and OV7, Baez and Ultra explain more in the interview how the connection through the label and their friendship helped them discover their sound.

The duo are expected to perform at the NRMAL food, arts, and community festival going on this weekend in Mexico City. You can get tickets here.

In the meantime, you can check out their music through the Finesse Records SoundCloud below.

 

EMP Drops Video for “Pink Nights”

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Toronto trio EMP got their latest single “Pink Nights” featured on Noisey’s Beats 1 radio show, and now the video’s been released for public.

Consisting of Eestbound as the producer, Milly Manson as the rapper, and Pree as the vocalist, EMP is on their way to becoming a well recognized name in the underground scene of Toronto. According to Highsnobiety , work that’s already gained attention from Eestbound is his production of Young Thug’s “Freaky” and Travis Scott’s “Antidote“.

EMP’s currently prepping for their debut EP which is set to release in late 2017. You can visit their website to check out more of their work, along with the video posted above.

Harriet Brown Announces Debut LP With New Single “Obsession”

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California-based funk man Harriet Brown has released a new track off his upcoming LP “Contact”.

According to EARMILK, since after 2015 Brown has been hosting his own show on LA’s NTS Radio platform where he’s been preparing his debut project along with mastering his live show presence. The single, Obsession, opens up with string harmonies, synth melodies, and drum hits coming out of the 80s. When Brown’s vocals hit, the track resonates a tribute to the late Prince.

“Contact” is said to release April 21st via Innovative Leisure, Make sure to cop! Follow Harriet Brown on: Twitter / Facebook / SoundCloud.

You can listen to the single below.

 

Terror J gathers Father and Lil’ B for new remix of “Come First”

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California Rapper Lil’ B, also known as The Based God, has joined forces with up-and-coming Atlanta native Father on a new remix already recognized as a “Based Mix”.

It was none other than the pop trio Terror J that came up with idea for this collaboration on “Come First”. The song is said to be a rework from fellow band member, Felix Snow. Terror J is a top-charting group best known for their Kylie Jenner cosigned hit single “3 Strikes”.

You can check out the song here below.

 

The Projections Are Looking Good for J. Cole’s “4 Your Eyez Only” First Week Sales

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According to projections from Billboard, 4 Your Eyez Only is expected to move around 550,000 units within its first week sales.

Traditional sales will be around 360,000 to 380,000; only two other albums had higher numbers than that this year: Drake’s Views (1.04 million) and Beyonce’s Lemonade (653,000). This project will easily top Cole’s last album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which had around 371,000 within its first week about two years ago.

4 Your Eyez Only is also Cole’s fourth consecutive album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. You can read more on Complex here.

Listen to the album on Spotify here!

 

YG Announces New Mixtape Release

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Only a few weeks after his last mixtape Red Friday hit the streets, YG puts on with a new project, Just Re’d Up 3, to be released sometime in 2017.

DJ Mustard is expected to be executive producer for the tape, according to YG’s tweet shown above. This will be the next addition to the Just Re’d Up series, beginning in 2011, in a little over three years following up the sequel back in 2013 which was also hosted by Mustard.

Whether the artwork provided above will be the tape cover is unknown.

J. Cole Releases New 40-Minute Documentary

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The 31-year-old rapper J. Cole just a few days ago released a new documentary called “Eyez”.

The 40 minute documentary gives a view of Cole’s life after the release of his latest album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The doc released with a surprise announcement of Cole’s newest album on the way “4 Your Eyez Only” which is said to release December 9th.

The course of the film is presented without narration to give the audience a sense of actually being there during the process of Cole’s craft. With tracking of multiple instruments like violins, trumpets, and bass, you can see Cole in direction of the musicians. The idea is supposed to give viewers a peak at what all has to be put in to create a studio album.

This is not all that’s presentable with the documentary. Parts include Cole warming up to play basketball, snippets of new music never heard before, and an ending of Cole riding off into the New York City evening on his bike.

You can watch the documentary here.

 

 

 

Artists Up Next: Kevin Abstract Gets First Published Piece In Magazine

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Ian Simpson, known by his stage name “Kevin Abstract”, is an artist that should get used to media outlets wanting to promote his name.

Abstract tweeted earlier today expressing his excitement for getting his first bio article published in a professional print magazine. With his second album American Boyfriend releasing on iTunes November 18th, Abstract continues to show his growth so far since his debut album MTV1987 released back in 2015. From working and performing with bigger names, packing and selling out venues, getting his Twitter account verified, and appearing on multiple radio interviews, Abstract already has enough to show for himself; and now this.

Information about Abstract’s upbringing, influences in the art, and his attachment to high school are but a few examples of what to expect in the article. The piece will be published in the next edition of FADER Magazine, and is already up for early viewing on their online website.

You can read the full story here.