Cam Meekins Brings His “Lamp City” Family to Williamsburg

                                                                                                                                                  By Ryley Pogensky

With a new album dropping in a matter of days; the 21st to be exact, young rap phenom  Cam Meekins is taking our stage this Thursday. A young rapper hailing from Cambridge, Massachusetts Cam started showing his passion and love for music at a young age. By the tender age of 10 he had taught himself how to play the piano, drums and guitar. This passion has clearly paid off, as he was awarded Best New Artist last year at the Boston Music Awards.

Cam’s songs invite you into the artists mind, his raps flow out like stories telling tales of relationships, missed connections on the T, and the inner workings of his mind. He lays it all out in front of you giving you more than just a window, but instead a true blueprint of his thoughts. When Meekins first broke out, comparisons were made left and right to the other young white artists that were breaking into the rap game. From Asher Roth to Mac Miller, Cam strode to stick out from the “frat rap” scene. He did so gracefully, putting more into his songs lyrically than just the art of partying. Since when do rappers quotes Robert Frost?

His video for his hit single Rain opens with Green Day’s Burnout, a seemingly unexpected move for a rapper, but not for Cam who often embraces other music styles. Demonstrated again on his track Cut Me Off where he samples Gyote’s Somebody That I Used to Know. Rap has always been a place for samples from the past, and can subsequently feel played out or come off as overdone but somehow Meekins maintains a freshness. His stage presence certainly helps; there seems to be no room for breathing, or rather no need to as he spits over beats that make it seem like he may actually prefer rapping over speaking. Which if true, would be just fine with his fans.

Cam Meekins will be at Knitting Factory Thursday May 16th at 8:00PM with: OG Swaggerdick, Michael Christmas, and Cerebal Vortex.

Tickets: http://tktwb.tw/16gBf8d

Beat Ambassadors: Gold Panda & Voices of Black

 By Ryley Pogensky

Dance parties are the best kind of parties, and when you have Voices of Black and Gold Panda on the same bill your night is certain to be  that of the dancing kind. It was clear that everyone  in the building had come for a party, for a night of familiar beats, and for new sounds. Those who couldn’t snag tickets posted up at the front bar, making the entire building one roaring dance spectacle.

Voices of Black is fronted by Jules Born and Baba Ali, two 23 year olds with incomparable beat making skills and gorgeous vocal harmonies. They have put together a group that beautifully builds sound by mixing both electronics, vocals, and percussion instruments. They let their songs develop and stretch out giving you a chance to connect with each individual piece. Their sound lies somewhere in between hip hop and electro with a hint of afro and a little funk. Their style kept the crowd on their toes and proved to be the perfect act to open for Gold Panda.

For someone whose debut album dropped only 3 years ago Gold Panda comes off as a veteran. Owning the stage and controlling the audience with his ingenious sound, the crowd went wild for each sound bite, for every beat change, every switch up and sample. Playing to a sold out house, Gold Panda fans came hungry; waiting to hear both favorites and tracks from his new CD Half of Where You Live due out on June 10th. They got both, and their enthusiasm didn’t quit as Gold Panda played into the morning. 

Voices of Black: https://soundcloud.com/voicesofblack

Gold Panda: http://www.iamgoldpanda.com/

The Cliks & Krissy Krissy

By Ryley Pogensky Sometimes all you need to erase a bad day is a good night. Sometimes all you need is music  playing like your own personal customized soundtrack. Last week, those two things happened  for me together, or in this case the latter caused the former. After Krissy Krissy, and The Cliks took the [...]

Moon Hooch and Midnight Booze

By Ryley Pogensky Late night on the 14th street L platform one can often hear the wails of two saxophones and the ravenous beating of drums. Rarely does your commute feel like a party; Moon Hooch aims to change that. Playing their 10th sold out show at Knitting Factory last Friday, Moon Hooch came up [...]

Ash at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory 11/16/2012

By Enrique Grijalva Ash’s sound waves flowed out of the speakers, flooding the Knitting Factory with recklessly blaring guitar riffs, the stomping of rhythmic drums and the sound of lead singer Tim Wheeler’s voice. It was a packed Friday night at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory. Drinks were flowing and people’s movements became one with the music [...]

Ryan Cabrera and more at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory 10/27/2012

By Enrique Grijalva On Saturday, October 27th, most people were prematurely celebrating Halloween by dressing up and attending various Halloween parties around New York. However, Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory was hosting a show featuring Ryan Cabrera and many others. The man who was once known for his hit single, “On the Way Down,” casually strolled into [...]

Flowerbooking CMJ Showcase featuring Unicorn Kid, Ki: Theory, Devin and more at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory 10/19/2012

by Enrique Grijalva It was that time of year again. No, not Halloween. It was the time of year that CMJ takes over New York City with a plethora shows across the five boroughs. The weeklong festival may have invaded many venues, but I can bet that not many shows have left a trail of [...]

The Be Good Tanyas and Dan Bern at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory 10/14/2012

by Enrique Grijalva The Be Good Tanyas The Be Good Tanyas are a Vancouver-based trio, but due to an unfortunate car accident over Labor Day weekend, Sam Parton was unable to join her band mates on tour. Therefore, only two-thirds of The Be Good Tanyas made it out to Brooklyn on Sunday night. It was [...]

The Ataris, Red City Radio, NGHBRS and Aspiga at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory 10/6/2012

By Enrique Grijalva The Ataris The Ataris came down to Brooklyn and packed the Knitting Factory full of fans—I’m not exaggerating. It was difficult to even walk into the room, that’s how many people came out on Saturday night. The veteran group took to the stage under Brooklyn Knitting Factory’s nostalgic red lights and plucked [...]