“Give Us More Power”, or GUMP for short, give a middle-finger salute to traditional genre boundaries by mixing rock, post-rock, jazz and rap. Their self-released debut EP Sleven was praised by Afropunk and dubbed onto cassette by DC’s Babe City Records. Now the quartet of guitarist/keyboardist Ali Badalov, drummer Zeeshan Shad bassist Joey Pappas and rapper Uno Hype star in their first music video for the new single “Flight Song”, directed by Arshum Rouhanian. All we can say is, these guys clearly have a lot of fun being in a rap-rock band called GUMP.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Presenting Run Come See @ Millennium Stage
DC’s original source for homegrown music Hometown Sounds is really excited to present Run Come See for our December #DCmusic showcase at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage.
Run Come See is a project of Washington, DC musicians Lauren Calve (slide guitar/vocals), John Figura (guitar/vocals), and Tom Liddle (upright bass/vocals). Each bringing their own sensibilities of songwriting to the band, Run Come See is a distillation of soulful blues, rock, and country. As a trio, Run Come See creates a deceptively full sound weaving together powerful lead vocals, intricate harmonies, and arrangements that highlight the beauty, power, and range of each instrument. Sharing songwriting, taking turns singing lead, and featuring each instrument, the band is a balanced collaboration between seasoned musicians who respect each other’s skill and musical voice while pushing each other in new directions. After the release of their recent debut album, the trio has been exploring new territory with Fred James on drums and DC jazz legend Thad Wilson (trumpet) leading a dynamic horn section.
RSVP here and come to the free performance at 6 PM on Wednesday December 27th!
The CrossRhodes – America
Producer and rapper Wes Felton and three time Grammy nominated crooner Raheem Devaughn have prolific careers on their own, but their collaboration as The CrossRhodes stands out to fans of DC hip-hop from the golden era of the mid-aughts. The duo has reunited with the mission to use their conscious messages and prodigious talent to further the fraught conversation about race in America. Footprints On The Moon is their first album in many years, and its 2016 single “America”, released right before the election, recently got this powerful music video directed by Chris Scholar featuring poet Raquel Ra Brown. 2017 feels like many steps backward for communities of color in America, but songs like these give us hope for long overdue progress. Make some room in your busy December calendar for The 4th Annual Raheem DeVaughn & Friends Holiday Charity Concert at the Howard Theatre on Thursday December 21st.
GoldLink feat. Jazmine Sullivan – Meditation
Huge congrats to DC rapper GoldLink on his Grammy nomination in the “Best Rap/Sung Performance” category for his hit single “Crew” featuring Baltimore’s Brent Faiyaz and our own Shy Glizzy, which recently achieved Platinum status. GoldLink’s first proper studio album At What Cost is one of DC’s best exports of the year, and its newest single Meditation is a slick merger of his staccato raps with singer Jazmine Sullivan’s smooth crooning, over percussive club production from KAYTRANADA. This slick music video’s storyline of Link’s problematic nightclub romancing is gloriously upstaged by Sullivan and her crew delivering the song’s hook with primo style.
Podcast for November 29th, 2017
Tony’s got “tourist” maracas, while Paul replaces his coffee maker.
Tracklisting:
The CooLots – Y Don’t U [Rebirth]
Elena y Los Fulanos – Morir Ballando [Volcán]
Husbands – Lost Jam [single]
Smart Went Crazy – A Good Day [Con Art 20th Anniversary Reissue]
Stronger Sex – Hassle [There Is No Stronger Sex]
Flash Frequency – It’s Sad to Know I’m Not Done [Cascade Dreams II]
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, TuneIn or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Loi Loi – Trying To Remember
Did you miss Loi Loi‘s new music video premiere over the Thanksgiving weekend? For shame. Kristie and her sibling Johnny Fantastic put out an excellent 5 song EP called Viva La Vulva on Blight Records, and just finished a whirlwind US tour to promote it. The new music video for “Trying To Remember”, directed by Blight’s chief visual artist Jen Meller, puts the focus on Kristie’s striking face as a horror-flick worthy synth riff propels her on foot through the woods by day and the city by night. Loi Loi plays twice this weekend, first Friday night at Slash Run with The Artist Formally Known As Vince Band and Haarpo, and kicking off a night of DC music at house venue The Castle on Saturday night with Sheila, Laurel Rose and Ezra Mae and the Gypsy Moon, so pick your poison now.
Be Steadwell – Do Re Mi / New Rules
Be Steadwell just can’t stop singing breakup songs. Sporting an eye-catching moustache from her Halloween costume as Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element, her latest YouTube video is a solo mashup cover of two summer jams, “Do Re Mi” by blackbear and “New Rules” by Dua Lipa.
Lightshow – Shoot for the Stars
Homegrown rapper Lightshow shows the dark side of freelance driving in his new music video “Shoot for the Stars”. Like an Uber driver for criminals, Lightshow provides getaway services for heists and scams, all while singing hooks out the sunroof. The footage of Chinatown in this video is especially gorgeous. Grab Lightshow’s newest album Kalorama Heights, named after the posh neighborhood now hosting the post-presidential Obama.
Backbeat Underground feat. Aaron Abernathy – She Don’t Love Me (Like I Do)
There’s something special about music videos filmed during the song’s recording, a crackle that’s visible in the collaboration between musicians as they focus not on pleasing the crowd but in perfecting the sound for the studio engineer. Instrumental soul ensemble Backbeat Underground brought in the heavyweights for their new single “She Don’t Love Me (Like I Do)”, with a brass section including DC jazz greats Joe Herrera, Matt Rippetoe, Kirsten Warfield and Daniel Wallace, and vocals from Aaron Abernathy, whose 2017 album Dialogue is one of the highlights of the year. Now signed to the venerable DC electronic funk label Fort Knox Recordings, Backbeat Underground continues the legacy of brass-led jazz and funk that’s crucial to DC music’s identity.
The Galaxy Electric – Tomorrow Was Better Yesterday
The Galaxy Electric channel nostalgia for 60s mod style with the title track to their new EP Tomorrow Was Better Yesterday. Blight Records’ Jen Meller directs the duo of Jacqueline Caruso and Augustus Green in their new music video for the single. The commitment to authenticity is impressive, from the costumes to the Super 8 color film format to the setting, the site of the 1964 New York World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. Let these two hip weirdos take you on an analog-synthesized journey through time and space.
Hometown Sounds 