2nd Stop: Connecticut, July 22, 2018

Artist: Shiwan

DAY 2: After going back and forth for a few years on Facebook, as the case with several of the artists we will be meeting with on this project, we finally met up with the up-and-coming Hip Hop artist Shiwan.  Sporting his signature look, low-brimmed cap as seen in his videos,  it was good to finally kick it.  The conversation immediately became productive, which is always good, so once the interview was done it was good to relax a bit and play a few rounds of pool. 

Towne Billiards in Hamden, Connecticut is a dope, large spot with 18 tables, darts and a bar serving drinks and food, so it was surprising to see that we were one of the few people in there, then again it was Sunday night and the area outside was a bit empty and industrial - good for photoshoots though!  Nonetheless, after we left we continued the conversation and I got a deeper glimse into his future plans and goals, and we aligned our creative visions even more.  The man's got several projects coming up, so stay tuned.   

Stayed at an Airbnb in New Haven, 30 minutes south of the capital.  The area was quiet, historic, green and hilly, with pockets of run down and old parts of neighborhoods.  However you take one turn to the left or right, and you'd find yourself in a more upscale area camoflaughed with vintage styled buildings, and Tesla's zipping by you.  Between backing up and charging equipment there isn't much time to sight see, however there was the opportunity to take a quick snap infront of the place which is known for inventing the first hamburger in America, 'Louis Lunch'.  

 

Inventors of The Hamburger - #LouisLunch

A post shared by Alex Jackson (@alexjsmind) on Jul 24, 2018 at 4:16pm PDT

Day 3 - Connecticut Part 2

 Coast2Coast Live - Artist Showcase

The next day the largest artist showcase in the world according to Coast2Coast LIVE was having it's pop-up Artist Showcase, an event they host in cities throughout the country.  While the music is usually Hip Hop, and sometimes blended in with other genres, these events are great opportunities for any aspiring musician to attend not only to network with other aspiring talent, but to also use its stage as practice for performing and comfortabillty in front of an audience, or even to test out an audience with new music, etc. 

The way the showcase works: There's a host and DJ who sets/controls the vibe, about a dozen contestants perform on stage back-to-back, and then 2-3 celebrity judges agree on the winner and runner-ups.  The host then awards what the prizes will be.  

At this event in Connecticut, 1st place winner would advance to a second round where they would then compete for $50,000 in Atlanta.  See pics below.  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Showcase Winner

First State: New York - July 21, 2018

Artist: Latasha, Hip Hop

DAY 1: A week after she electrified energy at Brooklyn 2018 Hip Hop Fest, we met up with the Flatbush-native and Hip Hop's Class of 18', Latasha, and her extremely creative and multi-talented photographer, filmmaker, designer and collaborator boyfriend, Jah, she took us to one of her favorite places in Prospect Park, where she likes to get some creative inspiration someties.

As we passed through dozens of people setting up in prep for Brooklyn’s 2018 Curl Fest later that night, among regular small talk, growth and evolving as an artist was a theme of conversation. Not sure if it was her show coming up that night, the high from her performance a week prior, her album set to drop end of 2018, other big upcoming projects she's got coming up end of summer of 2018, her recent moments with Lil'Kim she included in her recent docufilm project 'Missy Elliot', but nonetheless, there was this strong, natural feel of emergence, creativity and positive energy around her, and her powerful, high-energetic performance later that night at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, would prove this. See clips and pics from the show below. #VibrasNYC

Beginning in New York with hip-hop artist based out of Brooklyn, Latasha, we’ll be traveling to the remaining 47 states not including Hawaii and Alaska. We’ll be interviewing an Independent artist per state, catching a performance and/or music sessions and more, which we'll put together at the end of the tour to make a larger visual experience intended to not only showcase and highlight the independent talent we link up with, but to also embrace creative diversity within America.

Social and Sponsors

You’ll be able to stay updated through our social; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube. After the first couple of weeks, thanks to our prize sponsors—Image-Line, makers of music software FL Studio, and Bandzoogle, a company that’s helps musicians better their online portfolios—we’ll be running some contests and other campaigns where artists we’ll be able to win prizes.

Types of Artists

We’ve got the majority of states booked already with talent and currently filling in the remaining. The first few stops will kick us off on a hiphop start, however we will be meeting with artists from a wide range of genres; alternative rock, pop, acoustic, electronic and more. Some are just starting out, and others like Hannah Mrozak from Wisconsin, who has advanced on both The Voice and American Idol have a great amount of experience and just need to get heard by the right ears to help them get where they want to be.  As we meet with artists, in addition to updating snippets on our social, you’ll be able to see pics and clips on the blog.