Wiley from Atlanta, SZA hates you, and Kanye & Drake's benefit concert
This week the boys discuss Wiley from Atlanta, the Kanye/Drake concert, and SZA's new song, 'I Hate U.'
Welcome back,
This past week we were able to interview Wiley from Atlanta! We had a really insightful conversation about his creative process, sound, and road ahead.
Check it out below!
A quick pod note: This week were kicking off our “Year-end” series. The next few episodes will be focused on looking back at the headlines, artists, and albums, that stood out this year.
This week on the newsletter:
Noah turns our interview wit Wiley from Atlanta into a wonderful profile.
Nnamdi writes about Kanye and Drake’s “benefit” concert for Larry Hoover.
Avery highlights how SZA’s recent release is proof that Tik Tok is still as influential as ever.
Interview with Wiley from Atlanta:
Wiley From Atlanta cares about the details
Noah, @noahamcgee
When you listen to Wiley From Atlanta’s music, it sounds like he put a lot into the themes, lyrics and concepts that come across in his projects. When you hear the way Wiley talks about his music, you understand why.
Wiley, who has been writing music since he was 13, has built his foundation on being as authentic as he could be. And that plan has worked in his favor, even though the musician has only been making music seriously for the past six years.
“I wanted to be a rapper… all of my influences and inspirations were rappers” Wiley admits. “I love rapping, I love writing this type of music, but is it my voice?”
If you listen to Wiley’s music now, it is pretty clear that he has found his voice. It’s a gruff and raspy voice that is not the most refined, or beautiful. But, it is authentic and when paired with his impressive singing and songwriting ability, it can deliver quite the range of emotions.
“I didn’t want to be a singer, it just sort of happened,” says Wiley. “I write most of my songs like they’re rap songs, I just sing them. It’s about authenticity, I was never going to be an artist that makes trap, cause that’s not my life and I’m also not gonna be an artist that’s going to make a bunch of super high-energy ‘Fuck em up!’ rap music just because it’s not my energy as a person.”
Which is what comes across in his music.
In November, Wiley released his second project, Kingfisher, a focused eight-track 22-minute project that was inspired by his vision of the fictional motel called “Kingfisher.”
Wiley writes on his website, “‘KINGFISHER’ is an album about love and heartbreak, finding peace where it feels impossible, and confronting the last years of youth. Set in the mysterious hallways of the fictional Kingfisher Motel, Wiley croons and soulfully raps his way through a fast-paced, ever-changing landscape of guitar-driven, smoke-filled pop and alternative r&b. With a pen beyond his years and a voice trapped in time, the self-proclaimed king of the South is here to stay.”
Wiley went over every detail to make sure of every aspect of this project gave off the vibe of a fictional vintage hotel that is crummy but also magical.
“I kind of got this idea to write an album set in a place in my mind and it has characters and it has a plot,” Wiley says. “The whole concept was just this seedy but also beautiful in a way that only a vintage motel could be where one hand you don’t want to stay there because it’s kinda shitty but it still has this magic about.”
Wiley admits that for the album cover “all the jewelry was fake, the suit was like $15-20 suit from Amazon,” all so he could make sure he could fit the theme of a seedy, rundown, shitty motel — that’s dedication and detail.
It comes across in his music as well, on the opening track of Kingfisher, “NO VACANCIES” Wiley says “baby we can treat the backseat like a penthouse.” Now that’s some seedy shit, but it works and his gruff and raspy voice makes it believable and his lyrics visualize this motel he’s staying at.
That trend continues on “ALIEN GIRL” where Wiley is so vivid and illustrative with his lyrics and helps the listener visualize what he is saying.
“Alien girl, you a long way from home. Know you ain't used to heartbreak. I should leave you alone. Alien girl, taking pictures on my phone. Know you ain't used to bein' loved. But I don't want to be alone.”
Now if that doesn’t teleport you to a place where a girl has just come of nowhere and just snatched your heart, I don’t know what will and that’s just the hook.
Wiley also has a 2019 project, Blue Don’t Make Me Cry, featuring fellow Atlanta artist Kenny Mason and plans on going on tour with rapper Grip in 2022.
If you want to hear more about Wiley and his story listen to our interview with him on episode 71 of the 97 Demo Podcast!
Y’all hear about this?
Kanye West, Drake, Tyler, the Creator, and More Attend Virgil Abloh’s Funeral in Chicago
Drake Has Withdrawn His Grammy Nominations for 2022 Awards Ceremony
Taylor Swift removed as Grammy nominee for Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour'
Did the ‘Larry Hoover Benefit Concert’ Benefit Larry Hoover?
Nnamdi, @NnamEgwuon
The man formerly known as Kanye West delivered a spectacle of a performance Thursday night, entertaining fans with a passion not seen since his off-putting 2016 Saint Pablo tour. While Ye’s antics and political ambitions have turned off hordes of fans, the rapper’s roughly two-hour-long run through of his ample hits, many classics in their own right, quickly had fans in awe. There’s just nothing like reciting the words to “Jesus Walks,” “All Falls Down,” and “Gold Digger,” more than a decade after their release, and letting the nostalgia run wild.
Drake’s performance didn’t exactly match the high bar set by Kanye, but he at least was able to maintain the energy of the crowd with a set that included much of his latest effort Certified Lover Boy.
If the goal of the concert was to show the world that rap’s two biggest stars had mended fences, it succeeded. If the goal was to end the ‘who would win a Verzuz Drake or Kanye’ debate, that was also accomplished.
But, I fear the concert may have failed in its stated goal: raising awareness to the plight of Larry Hoover and the broader issue of sentencing reform.
Hoover was the leader and co-founder of the Chicago Gangster Disciples street gang. In 1973, he was convicted for the murder of a 19-year-old drug dealer and sentenced to at least 150 years in prison. In 1997, he was convicted in federal court after a 17-year investigation found he was continuing to run his criminal enterprise behind bars. He was sentenced to six additional life sentences.
Neither Kanye West or Drake, nor J. Prince – the long-time music veteran who brokered the peace deal between the two – argue that Hoover is innocent. There’s not much debating that. They are, however, protesting the conditions of his imprisonment.
Hoover, at the time of his first conviction, was a 23-year-old gang leader. At the time of his federal conviction, he was a 47-year-old criminal conspirator. Today, he’s a 71-year-old who spends most of his time in solitary confinement at the Colorado federal supermax prison he’s held in.
Given his age, Hoover’s family and advocates say the current punishment is too harsh for crimes committed decades ago.
Prince told the LA Times “I don’t know if you can imagine being alone in a 6-by-6 foot cell with a concrete bed for 23 hours a day. It’s inhumane.”
A federal judge denied Hoover's request to be resentenced under the First Step Act, a Trump-era policy that restructured sentencing guidelines for certain drug convictions. With the denial, Hoover’s road to freedom became severely limited.
Kanye West previously pushed Donald Trump to pardon Hoover back in 2018. That request was declined. It’s even more unlikely that Joe Biden would consider a move as controversial. And even if that happened – Hoover would still be stuck with the life sentence of his state conviction.
This brings me back to the benefit show hosted in Hoover’s name. How exactly did this benefit Larry Hoover?
The show could have put organizations advocating for sentencing reform on a pedestal. It could have opened with a speech from Larry Hoover, Jr., who’s staunchly for years pushed for his father’s release.
Both Drake and Kanye could have just taken a moment to humanize Hoover – transform him from the mafioso figure that’s made him a quotable rap figure into a father, grandfather, friend, and elder.
The only time the issue of Larry Hoover or sentencing reform made the “Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert” was before either star touched the stage – when a recorded voice laid out sparse details of Hoover’s plight. It was easy to miss, especially if watching from home.
This was framed as a show with a purpose – but it didn’t feel like one. It felt like a half-time show on steroids. Which as a fan of both artists, I’m fine with. But as someone stoutly aware of the laden injustices of our criminal justice system, I would have liked to see rap’s biggest stars use the time to make a statement.
Now on the 97 Demo Mix:
Songs from: Wiley from Atlanta, Brent Faiyaz, Hippo Campus
SZA’s ‘I Hate U’ is proof the Tik Tok effect is still as powerful as ever
Avery, @AveryDalal
Last week, SZA put ‘I Hate U’ on all streaming platforms. This came as a surprise to fans, as most were expecting another song.
The reason she put it out on streaming was because of its popularity on Tik Tok, as it had become a part of a trend, as seen here, here and here.
Three months ago, SZA put out the song on Soundcloud as a collection of loosies that she didn’t think much of. These were never songs that were going to be on her albums or even official releases by her.
It did not take long for this song to really resonate with fans, as it shot to the top of Apple Music and Spotify’s streamings charts within days.
What has been happening after is a collaborative effort between SZA and her fans on how the song should proceed. She’s asked for ideas for videos for the song and has also made a promise to listen to her fans in the future.
There have been good examples of artists finding success on Tik Tok this year, and really good ones like PinkPantheress whose whole career so far could be attributed to how digestible the songs are on Tik Tok.
I think there’s something very prominent about the fact that one of the most popular artists in the world was influenced by the popularity of a song on Tik Tok that she didn’t think much about.
Tik Tok gained popularity in 2019 but really took off in 2020 with the pandemic leaving people with lots of time on their hands. It didn’t take long for the app to become a big vehicle for music to gain popularity, as it is the point of the app to overlay music with video.
The biggest success probably came with Lil Nas X and his song ‘Old Town Road’ being big on the app, obviously launching him to where he is now as a huge pop star.
Many, including me, wondered if Tik Tok’s influence would be able to sustain itself in a world where people are getting to go out more again.
What it’s starting to feel like — especially with this recent SZA song — is that Tik Tok is becoming part of our music promotion infrastructure. What you can’t do is try and force it like Drake, for example, with ‘Toosie Slide.’
It’s exciting to see this sort of promotion work with an artist as big as SZA. While it is very cool to see newer artists get platformed by a Tik Tok trend, what we’ve seen are lots of one-hit wonders. There is nothing wrong with that by the way.
This SZA situation feels like a barrier for artists and fans has been lowered, where it’s a fun way for fans to really express to an artist when their music is resonating with them.
I’m really excited to see if more songs become popular in this fashion and if it leads to artists taking action to make them more widely available.
Go stream “I Hate U”! It’s a great song.
Edited by Hope Davis :)
Ep. 71: Interview with Wiley from Atlanta
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