Swordplay, Astronautalis travel the distance to rock out Wednesday night
Posted on October 15, 2007
Why should students check out the second WXJM show of the year?
“Because the first 500 people at my show will be given a brand new jet ski, and the next 500 will be given a regrettable tattoo,” said rap artist Astronautalis.
Though jet skis and tattoos will not be part of the free hip-hop show at TDU on Wed. the Richmond group Swordplay, Florida-based Astronautalis and the JMU groups MC PresTo and Blatant Vibe will be there.
JMU’s student radio station, WXJM, chose the hip-hop theme in an effort to keep shows diverse. The station features loud rock, jazz, Americana, progressive rock, RPM, urban, free form, world and talk shows and makes a conscious effort to reach each of those audiences through its live shows.
Programming director, Sarah Delia emphasizes the goal of the station is to expose students to all kinds of music throughout the year and appeal to all audiences.
“I’m really excited we have a hip-hop show coming to JMU,” Delia said. “They’re all extremely popular here and I feel there is a strong hip-hop scene that most students don’t know about.”
However, Wednesday night’s hip-hop show will appeal to more than just hip-hop fans. The members of Blatant Vibe, seniors Aaron Walker, Julian Astri, Dan Attaway, Kasey Flanagan and sophomore Kunal Jhanjee, a.k.a. MC PresTo, call their music “bluesy, funkadelic, soul hip-hop” and find they are most often compared to groups like The Roots. Because of the band’s varied musical background, tastes and styles, their influences range from Atmosphere, Wu-Tang, and Blackalicious to Pink Floyd and Miles Davis.
Though Blatant Vibe has only been together for about a semester, several of the members worked together in previous bands and Flanagan has been active musically since he was 14 with various solo recordings. Other members are active in other ensembles including marching, jazz and blues groups.
Swordplay hails from Richmond and the name is actually a code name for band member Isaac Ramsey. Beginning in July 2004 as a three-person group, Swordplay disappeared around the Bush re-election period so he could write music reflecting the current state of the nation and emerged as a one-man show with the August 2005 release of the “Tilt” EP. Since then Swordplay produced the full-length album Cellars and Attics in 2007 with Concise Records and plans on releasing more records, doing more tours and not stopping until Richmond finds its place on the map as “a place where quality rap music comes from,” Ramsey said.
But Richmond isn’t the only place quality rap is coming from. Astronautalis is making the trip from Florida to JMU once again to add to his list of nearly 200 shows a year, though he would prefer to break 300.
“I love the road,” he said. “I live on the road. I have the best job in the world.”
Astronautalis is currently working on five different albums. One of the five includes a solo record produced by John Congleton, also known for working with Explosions in the Sky, The Paperchase and The Polyphonic Spree.
When asked why students and members of the community should attend the show, each group had a unique answer.
Swordplay is currently traveling with “the grandfather of RVA hip-hop music,” Swerve 36 who is also releasing an album with Concise Records within the month called Thanks but No Thanks.
“I’m excited about performing with him and Astronautalis, another sick, original, creative-minded rapper who has been doing his thing and working hard,” Ramsey said.
MC PresTo said the show would be entertaining for other reasons.
“Our drummer doesn’t wear a shirt when he plays,” Presto said.
And Astronautalis is still convinced jet skis and tattoos will draw a crowd.
The show is free and starts at 7 p.m. in TDU.
About Us | Supplements | Advertising | Contact Us
Website design by Erik Pitzer ('07)
