Jack Anderson

Is Rap the Most Dangerous Profession?

Aside from folks like firefighters, etc., is being a rapper one of the most disproportionately dangerous lines of work? Confucius & Fresh compare the plights of Waka Flocka Flame and Nipsey Hussle to illustrate how the perils of disrespect.

The fellas respond to a Rolling Stone article on the rise of emo rap as the “fastest growing sub-genre” by discussing relatability, youth demographics, and long-term sustainability.

On Hip Hop Facts Fresh details how Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash ended up in Blondie’s “Rapture”, how LL Cool J not-so-sneakily got FUBU into a Gap ad, and when Full Force wrote for the Backstreet Boys. Confucius walks us through the passing of “Uncle Bob” (who saved Lil Wayne’s adolescent life after a suicide attempt), the simultaneous 1999 release of Destiny’s Child’s Writing on the Wall and Hot Boys’ Guerilla Warfare, and Jay Electronica’s production of Nas’ “Queens Get The Money”.

Fresh’s Unpopular Opinion riffs on Charleston White and how disrespect has become the “new normal” in hip-hop.

Confucius Reads the News sheds insight on JetBlue’s merger with Spirit Airlines, President Biden’s COVID-19 test results, the declaration of Monkey Pox as a public health emergency, the volley of projectiles hurled at Kid Cudi’s Rolling Loud Festival performance after replacing Kanye West, and Chris Rock’s insistence that he “shook off” the Will Smith Oscars slap.

Otis Wilkins: “Eat Yer Phone”

We here at KUTX aren’t shy about our adoration for Austin songwriter Taylor Wilkins. And why would we be? Between his two semi-eponymous projects – the hard rockin’ Otis the Destroyer and the soft poppin’ Otis Wilkins, Taylor doesn’t really miss. We’re still patiently holding out for a full record from the latter, but Wilkins’ “quality over quantity approach” has us pretty sated for the time being.

That said, you can expect a new slew of singles from Otis Wilkins in the near future. Each one features our fearless Destroyer’s falsetto vocals, carefully-chosen key chords, and crafty guitar work. The latest track, “Eat Yer Phone” came out at the top of July, but its body-positive pop is best enjoyed in a cameo-covered video that just dropped today. So instead of doom scrolling or fueling epidermal insecurities, see if you can count how many local musicians you recognize in the visual feast that is “Eat Yer Phone“.

Bruce Smith: “Campbellton”

Without too much hard data to support this claim, songwriters who’ve divided their time between several metropolises and musical hubs tend to have some of the most fascinating insights. Just look at Bruce Smith, who was reared near Detroit and based in Atlanta during his late teens and early twenties. The early portion of Smith’s post-college career was spent in D.C.’s vast political sector but it wasn’t until Bruce settled down here in Austin that his musical momentum began to pick up. The first iteration of the Bruce Smith Band was recruited at an open-mic all the way back in 2004, and after a decade and a half of gigging, their roots-y chemistry couldn’t be stronger. In that time Bruce Smith’s become a heavy hitter in the Live Music Capital of the World, and with the widespread acclaim of 2018’s ‘Til the Wheels Fall Off, the band’s profile is now at an all-time high.

That theme of getting the most out of every journey, of turning the “gas tank in bone dry”, is core to his latest LP, 1000 Horses, which dropped this morning. Co-produced with his Grammy-winning keyboardist Randy Caballero, 1000 Horses cross-breeds Smith’s diverse herd of influences into a coherent ten-track class of Americana colts. The record release show is 6pm tomorrow night at Saxon Pub and you can grab 1000 Horses by the mane with one of the album’s most rambunctious country gallops, “Campbellton”!

Shimmer Island: “Starkville (When You Breathe)”

Long time locals are likely already familiar with the Austin Music Video Festival but what you might not know is that festival co-founder Jeremy David Roye also has his own solo musical project entitled Shimmer Island. When AMVF got postponed due to the pandemic, Roye sent his eight-year-old daughter back to her mother in France, and unsurprisingly he was left in distress with little but his own creativity for comfort. Fortunately Roye got some much-needed relief when he joined forces with arranger Nathaniel Earl and instrumentalist Shane Wood and began crafting Shimmer Island’s sophomore album.

Where Shimmer Island’s 2021 debut Violet Waves developed a diverse set of styles, No Man Is An Island commits itself to themes of emotional restoration, love, and connection across a handful of intimate indie-folk originals, like a lovechild of Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso. No Man Is An Island drops tomorrow and Shimmer Island celebrates with an EP release show that same evening at Far Out Lounge along with Chucky BLK and our July 2021 Artist of the Month Daniel Fears. As you could’ve guessed from a music video afficionado, Shimmer Island also has a real knack for tantalizing visual counterparts, so if Far Out’s not in the cards this weekend, you can tap into nature without suffering through triple digits by visiting the McKinney Falls scenery of “Starkville (When You Breathe)”.

Fertility House: “Paca Palace”

Everyone wants to believe that their amorous entanglements are unique, one-of-a-kind connections. And without saying they’re not, the vast majority of relationships do tend to follow similar formulas. In the eyes of Austin indie four-piece Fertility House, those formulas always end up in dissolution; the fairy-tale bond unravels and we’re put in a poignant position, but ultimately, “we all turn to dust”. As a matter of fact, Fertility House’s sophomore album, Dust, dedicates itself to the nosedives of romance across three acts: early infatuation, the turmoil of a breakup, and post-separation stoicism.

Dust settled last Tuesday, introducing us to ten fleshed-out romantic reflections and three half-minute particles that serve as instrumental act breaks. The last installment of Dust‘s second act (the garage-popper “Paca Palace”) keeps things as light as possible with a procession of trumpet chords, gang vocals and xylophones that’ll make you feel like royalty.

Urban Heat: “Trust”

For the past four weeks you’ve heard plenty about our July 2022 Artist of the Month, Urban Heat. But in case these record-breaking temperatures are melting your memory, we’ll give you a quick recap. Analog sound designer/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jonathan Horstmann founded the three-piece back in 2019 under the name Urban Heat Island Effect. It only took a few mangled marquees for the fellas to drop that second half in favor of the more ambiguous, abbreviated handle we’ve come to love. Yet the Austin trio continues to inspire their initial namesake thanks to high-octane shows with dense crowds. Up until now, Urban Heat’s only had seven singles out (and each one of ’em swelters with mirthless, mechanical, ’80s-meets-modern goth-post-punk) but this weekend they counter our state’s triple digits with their debut six-song EP, Wellness. In the live realm, Urban Heat plays Sunday Weekend 2 at Austin City Limits Music Festival in October and KUTX presents the Wellness EP release show this Saturday at Hotel Vegas with openers Lovelorn and Holy Wire. Going back to these incendiary inner-city temps, it may be best to defy ERCOT and just let Urban Heat pulsate the sun’s rays back into orbit with the album opener off of Wellness. Because between a throbbing bass groove, Horstmann’s husky, vocoder-inclusive vocals, classic MIDI percussion, and an accompanying music video, “Trust” will leave you dripping sweat in the best way possible.

Psycho & Plastic: “Back & Forth”

True to its name, ambient music seems best suited only to certain environments. I mean, we typically associate those sounds with New Age yoga and meditation studios; you’re not in your car cranking those healing frequencies up to 11. But that’s kind of weird, right? That we’ve collectively decided percussion and lyrics are must-haves in mainstream music? Enter Psycho & Plastic, an ambient project masterminded by South German composer-producers Alexandre Decoupigny and Thomas Tichai over the past decade. Since meeting in Liverpool and relocating to their current home base in Berlin, Psycho & Plastic have engineered electronic brilliance that gives even Brian Eno a run for his money. And with over four million streams under the belt, the pair have proven that ambient music ain’t just for asanas. At the start of July, Psycho & Plastic released Phantom Bliss, a lyric-less sonic safe space for you to be alone with your thoughts. The aural apparitions on Phantom Bliss are among Psycho & Plastic’s greatest to date, and will have you pressing ‘repeat’ with enduring earworms like “Back and Forth“.

Psycho & Plastic: “Back and Forth”

David Beck: “Miner’s Song”

Renowned Austin country outfit Sons of Fathers split up almost a full decade back, but since then singer-guitarist David Beck‘s carved out a Tex-Mex niche for himself with David Beck’s Tejano Weekend in tandem with a promising eponymous solo career.

Today the San Marcos-raised songwriter announced his next album, Bloom & Fade. Bloom & Fade falters away from the lo-fi temperament of Good Nature and Tascam, Vol. 1 & 2, and instead embraces a “what if” creative technique that pairs seemingly-incongruent songwriters and soundscapes, like if Robert Earl Keen wrote lyrics over Coldplay’s sonics. Bloom & Fade drops September 30th, and if you’re in need of weekend plans, David Beck cranks decibels 8PM this Saturday alongside Ryan Quiet (and a DJ set from our May 2020 Artist of the Month Jonathan Terrell) at Devil’s Backbone Tavern in Fischer, TX about an hour’s drive from Austin down in Comal County. And if you’re feeling the weight of burdens coming out of the workweek, let Bloom & Fade‘s perseverant lead single “Miner’s Song” be your indie-Americana headlamp into the weekend.

Mobley: “stay volk”

We’ll be honest…we may have jumped the gun by a bit when we first declared Mobley as our April 2018 Artist of the Month. We only say that because over the past four years Mobley‘s artistry has matured tenfold and it seems like he’s only now hitting his stride, thriving in his prime. Last February Mobley shared Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme, which reinforced his cutting-edge brand of synth-heavy, effects-drenched, psych-cinematic art rock. Since then the multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer has stepped further into the world of filmmaking and directing, which in turn has him investing in the power of narrative and character arcs more than ever before.

With that in mind, today Mobley announces his next record – the seven-song concept album Cry Havoc!. Cry Havoc! follows the exploits of the fictional Jacob Creedmoor as he rises up to challenge society’s oppressors. But despite dystopian themes, these songs are upbeat earworms that’ll keep you company even in your darkest moments. Cry Havoc! comes out this Fall and Mobley embarks on a a multi-month national tour in mid-September, which includes a gig November 5th at 3Ten ACL Live – his first Austin headliner since the beginning of COVID. The EP announcement coincided with the release of Cry Havoc!‘s strutting lead single and music video, and although we know that’s Mobley’s always been about movement, the visuals on “stay volk” take it to the next level; it’s like a love child between Daft Punk’s Electroma and David Cronenberg’s Videodrome that ditches the body horror in favor of light feet and technological fluidity.

Ram Vela & The Easy Targets: “Worcester”

Pop-punk. Alt-rock. Whichever genre classifiers you choose, it’s ultimately rowdyism and virility that defines Ram Vela & The Easy Targets. Ram Vela & The Easy Targets got started in 2018 and quickly established a brand of melodic punk rock and athletic, adrenaline-drenched live shows. Translating the Austin four piece’s fierce power into the studio without sacrificing the charm of onstage chaos seems Herculean, but Ram Vela & The Easy Targets have pulled it off with impressive accuracy and precision.

Late last week the quartet shared their debut album, Stuck on Yesterday, and we’re positive Ram Vela & The Easy Targets won’t miss the mark when they perform Saturday, August 6th at The Ballroom. So get revved up with Ram Vela & The Easy Targets and share their love of living in our Lone Star location with one of the more energetic and explicit offerings off Stuck on Yesterday (apologies in advance to all the Bay Staters out there) – “Worcester”.

Nick Pagliari: “Flame”

When it comes to performing for pay, there are typically just two types of players; those who merely moonlight with their music and those who quit their day job long ago. But there are also those who’ve done both. People like Nick Pagliari, who spent more than a decade as a full-time musician in Nashville before moving to Austin to become a nurse-anesthetist. The good news? When Pagliari’s not treating patients, he somehow finds time to treat listeners to great tunes.

He’s been playing solo 8PM every Wednesday at Geraldine’s as part of a July residency, which includes a full band performance tomorrow and a wrap-up alongside Brian Patterson next week. The occasion? Pagliari’s fourth EP, Hard Lessons, which drops on Friday. Its title refers to everything Pagliari’s learned since 2020’s Midway, mainly stemming from his first-hand overtime experience that unfolded in hospitals over the course of the pandemic. Themes aside, Hard Lessons also packs the warm folksy vocals, classical-adjacent arrangements, and genre-inclusive Americana that we’ve come to love from Pagliari. Lyrically, the discourse on Hard Lessons lands with impressive exigence, especially when you pair Pagliari’s cautionary tale “Flame” with the ongoing January 6th hearings.

Sunny Sweeney: “Easy as Hello”

Even during these dog days of summer, singer-guitarist Sunny Sweeney‘s preferred A/C is Americana/Country. Sweeney first crept up over the honky-tonk horizon in 2006 with Heartbreakers Hall of Fame and earned her first three Top 40 Country singles on 2011’s Concrete, cementing herself as a must-hear for millions of new fans. Following a “Top Female Artist” nomination at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards, Sunny went on scorch and glow on 2014’s Provoked and 2017’s Trophy, but in the five years since then, she’s been suspiciously absent…up until now.

The Nashvillian recently returned to her Texas stomping grounds to record her upcoming fifth full-length, Married Alone. That Lone Star synergy really started flowing once Sweeney recruited KUTX favorite Paul Cauthen and Texas Gentleman frontman Beau Bedford, but it was the addition of Dallas’ Jeff Saenz that tied the knot for Married Alone‘s dream production team. However, as mentioned in a previous Song of the Day, the process came to a sudden halt when Saenz tragically lost both of his arms. Nevertheless, eight months later, Saenz was back in the studio and Married Alone wrapped up its final rehearsal dinner. So with that, consider this your cordial invitation to join Sunny Sweeney, et. al in celebrating the release of Married Alone on September 23rd. And don’t fret; you have plenty of time to mingle and jingle spurs with some of the record’s lead singles (like the retro-’70s Cauthen co-concoction “Easy as Hello”) before you two-step down that aural aisle later this fall.

Guma: “Driving the Highways of Texas”

At KUTX, we know we’re far from the only radio station in town. And if you’ve done your fair share of channel surfing, you might’ve come across another fine listener-supported frequency, KOOP 91.7FM. For the past half decade KOOP’s been home to Small Cool World, a 90-minute weekly freeform show hosted by T.J. Masters. But like me, T.J.’s not just a DJ; he’s a musician first and foremost. As such, that ongoing stint at KOOP has overlapped with Masters’ moonlighting – a genre-divergent project called Guma. Guma evokes the same daring variety that makes Small Cool World a great listen, as already heard on two eponymous offerings (from 2016 and 2019, respectively) and A List of Sightings, which just came out this February. But apparently one record’s just not enough for T.J. in 2022, who today announced his fourth full-length, Workingman’s Guma. Even though we’ve already come to expect a Weird Al-level set of skills from Masters in terms of genre-specific recreation, WG‘s lead single definitely shifts those talents up a gear. You’ll be able to catch some of the new stuff from Guma along with Dan & Christy Foster and Sarah Barlow on Wednesday, July 27th at Sahara Lounge for Lonesome Nights – presented by KOOP and Thundercloud Subs. By that time you’ll already have a bold country addition to your commuting playlist; while the late Molly Ivins once said, “the key to happiness in Austin is to never, ever drive on I-35″, Guma opts instead to open up the throttle and roar past traffic hazards like if Roy Orbison was a modern-day tailgater on “Driving the Highways of Texas”.

The Western Express: “Honky Tonk Saints”

When you think of Texas music, you think of Willie, you think country. But despite being the one-time home of Armadillo World Headquarters and current harbor to dance halls like Broken Spoke, White Horse, and Little Longhorn Saloon, there’s just not a ton of straight-up country coming out of Austin nowadays. As a matter of fact, the two core players behind today’s feature originally came from Houston. Multi-instrumentalist Phillip Brush and singer-guitarist Stephen Castillo first met through Craigslist in 2018 and quickly hit it off over a mutual love of ’80s/’90s country radio. After cutting their teeth with a few other musicians, Castillo and Brush cut back and capitalized on their interpersonal chemistry by forming The Western Express the following June.

Despite practically zero connections in Austin, The Western Express chugged along with up to twenty gigs a month. Ultimately the duo caught the attention of producer-engineer JT Holt, songwriter David Ramirez, and eventually rockabilly legend John Evans. Recently Evans linked up with The Western Express to produce their debut album Lunatics, Lovers & Poets, a non-stop nine-song direct route to authentic cross-country twang. Its title derives from Willie Nelson’s mid-century radio program, and although the songs were penned solely by Castillo during a 2018 solo trip, the strands to Evans, Brush, and the backing band make for a rounded out group experience. Lunatics, Lovers & Poets drops August 5th, with the lead single’s music video already on the tracks and steadily rolling out. Today we got the first half of that special delivery from The Western Express – the album opener off LL&P that tips its hat to the pioneers of southern style, “Honky Tonk Saints”!

Kyote Radio: “The Crown” (feat. Kyle Shutt)

This may be a no-brainer, but here at KUTX, we’ve always got radio on our mind. And we know we’re far from the only Texans where that’s the case. Take for example singer-guitarist Micah Paredes, who moved from Terlingua down here to Austin in 2007. After about a decade of finding his footing and exhausting the creative juices of a half-formed project, Paredes founded a three-piece in 2020 that takes its name from a long-gone pirate station back in Terlingua – Kyote Radio. Kyote Radio got together with Chris “Frenchie” Smith at The Bubble for their first LP, Real Crime, which dropped last August. And although their discography’s limited as of now, these fellas have already proven that they’ve got what it takes (and the abundance of effects pedals) to match frequencies with rock legends like Modest Mouse and Black Sabbath.

Today Kyote Radio dropped their heaviest single to date, thanks in no small part to The Sword lead guitarist Kyle Shutt. The solos are impeccable, the runtime doesn’t drag at all, and it gives us a glimpse at what life’ll be like once Kyote Radio reach the sandy, scorpion-riddled throne of hard rock royalty. So plug in, turn it up to 11, and windmill your way past Hump Day with “The Crown”!

Tribe Mafia: “We Matter”

With only one month of reflection and healing between the racially-targeted attack in Buffalo and the second official observance of June 19th as a Federal Holiday, Juneteenth came amidst an especially complicated sociopolitical context in 2022. On a day meant to celebrate the power and resilience of Black Americans, the troubling juxtaposition forced us to once again reexamine the seemingly-institutionalized norm of anti-Black violence in our country. That scrutiny also gave Black Texans (the same demographic who first commemorated Juneteenth) a national spotlight to chime in from our deeply divided state, our microcosm of the nation.

Among those who contributed to the discourse? Austin duo Tribe Mafia. Chinasa Broxton and Carlos Moore formed Tribe Mafia as high school friends back in 2010 and they’ve built up a chiefdom of acclaim and support over the dozen years since. Tribe Mafia refined their subdued R&B/Latin-trap formulas on the 2017 EP For You before going even harder for 2018’s The Come Up. And although TM went straight up southern trap on their 2020 eight-track Tee Pee Gang, since opening for Akon to a São Paõlo crowd of 60,000 the previous year, they’ve also incorporated dancehall elements so well that the Island Boys sound like kindergarten castaways in comparison. But going back to Juneteenth…Tribe Mafia seized the moment of Kairos masterfully and left little room for misinterpretation in the process. With a haunting refrain that repeats the bare bones title, crushing Caribbean riddims, and completely candid lyrics, “We Matter” is Tribe Mafia’s boldest statement to date. If you’ve got the stomach for it, we cautiously recommend checking out the corresponding music video. “We Matter” weaves archival footage of unrest with poignant visual recreations for a chilling document that’s less a piece of commentary and more of a tortured last ditch cry for compassion.

Elizabeth King: “I Need The Lord”

Back in February, we celebrated Black History Month with Sacred Soul: The D-Vine Spirituals Record Story Volume One & Two, a gospel compilation that introduced once-rare 45s to digital platforms. D-Vine Spirituals was founded by record producer Juan D. Shipp and studio engineer Clyde Leoppard, with Elizabeth King & The Gospel Souls as the label’s flagship artist. King and D-Vine started off the ’70s strong with an impassioned string of “sacred soul” singles, but by the mid-’80s, Shipp called it quits and King’s aspirations for a debut LP were left behind…until 2021. Despite all that passage of time, Shipp (in his early eighties) and King (in her late seventies) rekindled their six-decade-relationship and brought the heat on last year’s Living In The Last Days. And while others may have hung up their crown after that impressive accomplishment, you don’t just become the “Queen of Sacred Soul” without a regal sense of drive. To that point, King just released her sophomore full-length I Got A Love on June 24th. King’s rejuvenated powerhouse performance on I Got A Love makes Living In The Last Days sound like a first-round audition tape in comparison. And although the set list stems from the classic D-Vine collection, I Got A Love‘s modern style of production gives those timeless tracks a bold new set of legs. We’re a little late for Sunday mass, but this ten-track collection definitely deserves another pass around the congregation, especially with sacred soul stunners like “I Need The Lord”.

Jac With No K: “Morocco”

It’s always satisfying to hear artists incorporate local flavors once they relocate to a new musical hub. For Pittsburgh-born, Philly-braised songwriter Jac Carson, a move to Austin meant patting down his cut of blues-alt-rock with spices of cosmic country and neo-soul into a style he’s dubbed “New Texas Groove”. Even in light of the setbacks that came with COVID, Carson and his backing band Jac With No K have enjoyed a bevy of shows in the Live Music Capital since they arrived in 2020, not to mention plenty of national performances on the road. Speaking of which, right now Jac With No K is on a Northwest/Eastern-Midwest tour in promotion of their 5th EP (and first written in Texas), Imaginary Lovers. Far from a mere figment, these four tracks pack a wallop compared to what you’d expect from a handful of “love songs”. Imaginary Lovers dropped last Friday and Jac With No K returns in a couple weeks with several free live shows. Thursday, July 21st at El Mercado South, Saturday, July 23rd at The Lucky Duck, Saturday, July 30th at The Drafting Room, and noon to 2pm every Monday and Thursday at Friends Bar. So celebrate the band’s latest set of travels in person or with a one-way ticket to the Mediterranean courtesy of Imaginary Lovers‘ penultimate crowd-pleaser, “Morocco”.

The Criticals: “Absinthe”

If you didn’t get a chance to get out and have some fun this Fourth of July weekend, you’re probably pretty bummed. So if you want to get ahead of the FOMO and make your own plans for the next few days, we highly recommend checking out The Criticals. The core songwriting duo behind this Nashville quintet is guitarist Cole Shugart and vocalist Parker Forbes, who released The Criticals’ debut EP Mimosa Hygiene in late 2019. They bested the early hurdles of COVID by keeping their internal energy up and doubling down on writing, recording, and releasing songs and music videos. And by the time the band released their 2020 sophomore EP Sour Grapes, they’d just about reached critical mass.

Once social distancing mandates have became more lax, The Criticals truly began to thrive. Their formal live debut was last June in Nashville, where they sold out a 600-person venue, thanks in no small part to Forbes’ Jagger-esque antics and Shugart’s prolific picking. The Criticals have carried that “sold out headlining shows” momentum ever since, and yet still somehow had the time to track their third EP, United States of Chemicals, which dropped at the end of March. Their next tour spot in support of United States of Chemicals is 7PM tomorrow night at Empire Control Room along with CHLSY and Austin’s Strange Cadets. If you want to sweat and rock out, this is the show for you. If not, take a swig with The Criticals, who haven’t shied away from their creative relationship with booze, of “Absinthe”.