Empire Way Vol. 1 Update
GT and I managed to get an almost-finished draft of the 8-songs that will comprise our forthcoming collaborative album, Empire Way Vol. 1, which I soft-announced earlier this month with a preview of a new track, “IRL,” which is currently behind the paywall in the previous post. We had a mixing session on the day D’Angelo passed, and ended up making a whole new song that day called “FST.” Performed both in their final form for the first time at the Abyssinian Creole Sexy Beast 20-Year Anniversary show last Friday (pictured above), and it felt right.
The finishing touches are now being made and the release plan is being mapped out. As mentioned earlier, the album roll-out will bypass the big streaming-platform & social media blast model. If any of y’all want to be the first to hear it, get familiar with the [untitled] app and stay tuned.
I’m now four weeks into my run as the new weekly host of the KEXP Late Thursday/Early Friday 1-5am time slot, and also still popping up as a fill-in DJ all over the schedule. Catch me filling in on Street Sounds tonight at 10pm playing three hours of spooky rap. Yes, there will be plenty 90s “horrorcore” in the mix.
Outkast’s fourth album, Stankonia, dropped on this day 25 years ago, and I just recently unearthed some photos of the day they came to the University of Washington campus to promote it. They didn’t do a show because it was the year 2000 and Seattle’s concert venue situation, with the Teen Dance Ordinance still law, was absolute shit. Especially for rap.
That’s me on the right. Also, fun fact: Andre 3000’s bar on “Humble Mumble” where he says “…blue collar scholar, who take your dollar…” is the line that inspired the name of the rap group I would form a year later with the guy standing on the far left.
New(er) Shit In Rotation
At the request of the budding teenaged music nerd in the house who just recently experienced a growth spurt surpassing me in height, I’m reviving my lapsed Friday tradition of sharing What I Listened To Last Week. Plenty quality cuts dropped this season so far. Here’s a few that have garnered repeat spins:
I hope you’re playing nightmare on my street!