KAHLON 11 w/ Rahel, 3lON, Abdu Ali, Mighty Mark + More
in Events
kahlon
Photos: KAHLON
Diamond Dixon snapped some amazing photos from the last installment of KAHLON which went down on January 31st at The Crown in Baltimore. Below are shots of Chae Buttah, DonChristian, Abdu Ali, Isabejja, Rip Knoxxx, OCDJ, Mental Jewelry and more!
The next KAHLON is back at The Crown on March 7th with live sets by Juliana Huxtable, Al Rogers, Qiana Kitt, Sunatirene, Abdu Ali + DJ Haram & Precolumbian.
KAHLON Collage
In celebration of KAHLON--a party that I curate along with Abdu Ali--nearing its 1-year anniversary, here's a video that takes footage from each show, presenting a visual reference of what KAHLON is really about. All the sick video footage is courtesy of Keem Griffey and the video was edited by Brian Agamie. The performers captured are Abdu Ali, Butch Dawson, Dan Deacon, Buffa7o, Weekends, B L A C K I E, Jungle Pussy and Matic808. Get into it and be on the lookout for November's KAHLON lineup being announced soon! A special thanks goes out to anyone and everyone who's made KAHLON special!
Diary: Schwarz
Baltimore-based producer and DJ, Schwarz will be spinning at this month's KAHLON and just had his new video and song, "Open Up Yr Mind" premiere over at Noisey. Check out his diary entry from True Laurels Volume 3 below and be sure to follow him on Soundcloud!
February 26, 2014
Even though the music i make and public image I keep up is overwhelmingly positive, I know for sure one thing: life is really hard. Everyone has their own individual struggles. I know I struggle a lot. Money is a constant worry for me and I'm always questioning my "lifestyle" of being a weird artist and not "growing up" and getting a "real job" or whatever. This is all on top of miscellaneous kind of struggles we all face with our work and our families and loved ones.
Music has always been the thing I've turned to as an artist and a fan to make sense of this world, feel good and learn to relax about whatever problems I have. This is a pretty universal thing. I think for most people, one of the primary functions of music is more or less an escape and a release.
This is partly why I connect so much with the music of Lil B and his #Based ideology. Sometimes a positive or important message is right at the forefront of his tracks. Other times, often like in his more silly like "bad" songs, the message is more to forget about the pain in the world momentarily and feel good about yourself. You know, "swag" "woop" etc.., sometimes it feels good to goof off and just feel confident.
I want to make music where people have a similar feeling I have with Basedgod's music. Where people really connect, and they can come away with a positive experience. Having emotion in your music and connecting to people and making them "feel some kind of way" is what I think is most important. Hopefully my music can be a therapy session of sorts for me and for my listeners.
A lot of the people who are critical of my music think that I am being insincere or ironic somehow because of how I come across. Feeling good to me is really serious and it's not a joke. There is no irony or joke or even "winking" in the art that I do. I really truly believe all people are beautiful and should believe in themselves, and even through rough patches when you are feeling down, it is important to remember life is beautiful and things always get better.
So I may question myself all the time "Why am I doing this?" "What is wrong with me?" etc etc. But I know really that what I am doing is important and I can feel good about it, even though I am a weirdo and I might come off as corny or crazy or "ironic" or whatever else people want to think. Sometimes it is really important just to do you. Lets live life. Let's Love.
MUCH LOVE ALWAYZ
by Theresa Chromati
KAHLON w/ B L A C K I E
I'm happy to announce the next installment of KAHLON which goes down Thursday, April 24th at The Crown in Baltimore! Houston's B L A C K I E will be coming up and headlining (his set will be nuts), Abdu Ali will be rocking as usual with his frequent producer, Schwarz, providing sounds. There will also be sets by NYC-based singer Richard Kennedy and Baltimore punk band Sex Gender. Doors open at 8:30 p.m and there will be issues of True Laurels, too! Do not miss this shit.
RSVP here.
True Laurels Volume 2 Cover + Details
I'm proud to announce the details of True Laurels Volume 2! Copies will be sold at KAHLON this Saturday at The Crown (1910 N. Charles St.) and there will be live sets by Abdu Ali, Butch Dawson, Neuport and Natural Velvet. Big S/O to Kristin Tata for illustrating the feature artist, Philly rapper Asaad. Others featured in the issue are B L A C K I E, Butch Dawson, Go Ddm, Rusty Burke, Kenny Evans and Al Rogers. Contributors for the issue are Brandon Soderberg, Kristin Tata, Olivia Obineme, Keem Griffey and FAM. If you can't grab a copy Saturday, no worries, it will be for sale in the site's shop Monday!
True Laurels Zine Release/ KAHLON Photos
If you were at The Crown in Baltimore this past Saturday to celebrate the birth of KAHLON/True Laurels zine launch, THANK YOU. We packed it out and danced all night. Shoutout to everyone that came to the table to buy a zine and chat it up with me. Big ups to Al Rogers, Abdu Ali, TT The Artist, David Revlon, Gurl Crush and Ponyo for giving a crazy show. If you didn't catch me at The Crown, the zine will be available to purchase online very soon and keep checking the site to see online features of those highlighted in the issue. Thanks to Jonathan Hanson and Abdu for the photos. Also peep the cover and Table of Contents for the zine!
KAHLON: All Night Rager + True Laurels Zine Release Party
If you're in Baltimore next Saturday (November 9th) you should definitely come be a part of KAHLON—an all night dance party and rager with live sets by my friends Abdu Ali, TT The Artist, Ponyo, Gurl Crush and David Revlon. But best of all, KAHLON will also be the release party for the first issue of True Laurels' zine! I've been working on this for a while and I'm excited to finally share a physical component of the blog with people who've been reading from the start and anyone who happens to stumble by. Overall, it's a collection of conversations and insight with people that inspire me a great deal. Catch Cities Aviv, Abdu Ali, DUOX, Modi (DCtoBC/Trillectro), Neil Martinez-Belkin, TT The Artist and 83 Cutlass in the first issue, along with contributions from some talented friends! I've been fiending for a more personal connection with artists that are featured through interviews, profiles or docs in various pubs, so that was the aim for the zine—intimate moments with those who push the culture forward. Without mouthing my way to completely defeating the purpose of an invite for its release, come by The Crown (1910 N. Charles St., 2nd Fl) next Saturday. For those not in Baltimore, some online components of the zine will be posted soon after the release.
RSVP to KAHLON here!