Where The Music Keeps Mattering
Sorry for the radio silence, I've been on the radio
Hi, fam. You good? Last time I checked in, I was about to embark on a new journey as a fill-in DJ at KEXP.org. It’s been a fulfilling ride so far. Still getting my feet wet, popping up in different time slots and show formats, and loving it. On the other hand, my rap and writing projects have been put on pause during this transition, which is happening in parallel to seasonal and personal shifts, which is happening in parallel to a world always seemingly on the brink of collapse, at least on the internet.
So I went AFK yet again, losing track of time as I do, taking long walks, listening to Andre 3000’s flute album, pondering a fruitful 2024 and planning the next phase of this newsletter. What this means for BROWNOUTS is that I’ll be expanding beyond writing about my own music and book project to include my DJ work and other random thoughts, aiming to post on a weekly basis.
Starting today, I’ll be posting archived on-air sets I’ve done, which I’ve made available to stream for free on Audius. Here are two of my favorite sets over the last month-ish:
This set in October was my first time filling in for Street Sounds. In tribute to DJ Nasty Nes, who started the weekly hip-hop radio show (as Rap Attack in 1988), and in celebration of Filipino American History Month, I curated an all-Fil-Am diaspora playlist with DJ Daps1.
Last Friday, my third time filling in for Street Sounds, I ambitiously attempted to play one song from each year from 1980 (my birth year) to the present, in sequential order of year. I think I missed 2017, though.
Hit up KEXP.org right now through December 8 to cast your votes for your favorite albums of 2023. All votes will count toward KEXP’s annual Best 90.3 albums of the year list, which will be unveiled on-air on Friday, December 15.