On May 18, rappers A$AP Ferg and Tory Lanez brought their “Level Up Tour” to the Fillmore. With opener Madeintyo, this was the very first stop on the tour. Despite this being the first stop and the two rappers having worked together only once before, the show was fantastic.

Madeintyo, an up-and-coming Atlanta rapper, started the show. He went through a number of tracks, all of which sounded exactly the same. Bouncing across the stage, Madeintyo told the crowd to get more excited, but his lackluster rhymes could only get the front row moving. Things livened up with his hit single “Uber Everywhere,” but that peak in energy didn’t last long. When he finally hopped off stage, we (myself and the Triangle’s Billy “The Writer” Bauer) were ready for some real entertainment.

Luckily, this came pretty soon afterwards. Two DJs set up on opposite sides of the stage, and Tory Lanez hopped on stage to perform a couple of songs off of his newest mixtape “The New Toronto.” Yet he walked off stage as quickly as he entered, and A$AP Ferg replaced him, decked out in an all white adidas jumpsuit to perform two songs off of his debut album “Trap Lord.” This was an interesting method of performing. Lanez and Ferg would each perform a couple tracks before tag-teaming the other to come on stage. This way neither artist really lost that much energy and had their time to shine equally.

Lanez came back on afterwards and played a couple covers of ’80s and ’90s R&B classics, such as Ginuwine’s “Pony.” He then played his own “soon-to-be classic,” his most popular single “Say It.” This was a bold move, as most artists save their big hits till the end of their set, rather than the middle. But Lanez’s vocals were astonishing, and he was able to easily switch from rapping to smooth crooning. Then Ferg came out again, running through a few more “Trap Lord” tracks such as “Murda Something” before transitioning to newer music off of his second album “Always Strive and Prosper.” He brought out fellow rapper Marty Baller, who acted as much as a hypeman for Ferg as he did a stand-alone artist.

Tory Lanez has yet to release a proper for-sale album, but has gained a following by releasing a variety of mixtapes over the last five years. Ferg, on the other hand, has two albums under his belt and is a member of A$AP Mob, a hip-hop collective spearheaded by A$AP Rocky.

Ferg was a great performer, but he paled in comparison to Lanez. The unpredictable Lanez had so many songs to play off of his many mixtapes and features that he would switch tracks midway through to start a completely new song. Where Ferg excelled in getting the crowd pumped up with his well-known songs such as “Work” and “New Level,” Lanez gushed with explosive energy. He would crowd-walk, his own signature version of crowd-surfing where the audience held up his legs so that Lanez literally towered above the audience. In fact, Lanez probably spent about as much time in the crowd as he did on stage.

Their collab “Line Up The Flex,” was the first time both artists shared the stage for a full song. Lanez then let off one of his newest songs “Real Addresses” as Ferg hyped up the stage. This climaxed the show, and once Lanez crowd-surfed back to the stage, the two fledging rap stars said goodbye to the crowd for the last time.

The post Tory Lanez and A$AP Ferg take Philly to a ‘New Level’ appeared first on The Triangle.

On April 4, I had the privilege of conducting a phone interview with Zak Appleby, the bassist of Houndmouth. Based out of New Albany, Indiana, Houndmouth is a folk Americana band. They are about to embark on a nationwide tour supporting their second studio album “Little Neon Limelight.”

Houndmouth is comprised of Appleby, Matt Myers and Shane Cody, all natives of the New Albany and Louisville areas. Appleby and Matt met because they were in the same high school and cover band. Until very recently, Katie Toupin was also part of the band, but according to their website, on April 8 Houndmouth announced that she had left.

Houndmouth has been touring extensively for the last year, at concerts and larger festivals such as Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. Appleby said that the events had their pros and cons.

“Intimate shows are my favorite,” said Appleby. But at festivals he “gets to see a lot of people [and] meet cool bands” such as Grace Potter, who Appleby met and would love to work with in the future. Newport Folk Festival is one of Appleby’s favorite festivals, although the hometown Forecastle Festival holds a special place in his heart. It is “a bit stressful” Appleby admitted.

This constant touring has brought Houndmouth to a lot of cool places. When I called Appleby, he was relaxing poolside for a week-long break in Hawaii after a stint of shows in Australia and New Zealand.

Houndmouth’s most popular song at the moment is “Sedona,” an ode to the Arizona City. Appleby said he was surprised and super excited by its success. He loved recording it but is surprised that he’d be playing it so much. His favourite song that Houndmouth has recorded is an early song of theirs titled “Town Myer.” Beyond indie-folk records, Appleby has also been “experimenting” with new music and has really been into the new Kendrick Lamar record.

Beyond embarking on their tour, Houndmouth say that they will hopefully start recording a new album in the late summer or early fall. The tour will stop here in Philadelphia Friday, April 22 at Union Transfer. Tickets are available at both Union Transfer and Houndmouth’s websites.

The post Houndmouth talks new album, tour, future plans appeared first on The Triangle.

Photo courtesy Justin Hogan

It’s hard to put a label on Raury’s music. The 19-year-old musician rose to prominence last year with his mixtape “Indigo Child.” Providing a mix of hip-hop, rock and folk music, Raury immediately stands out against his peers from Atlanta, an area known for its trap music. Andre 3000 is about the closest comparison one can make, though even that is a stretch. Earlier this month, Raury released his debut album “All We Need” through Columbia Records. It’s a departure from the more boisterous sound of last project to a much more subdued one. Raury began his Crystal Express tour at the Foundry, Philadelphia Oct. 29.

This was the first time I had been to the Foundry, and I was surprised by how small it was. It was less of a true concert venue and more of a lounge and bar, with a tiny stage only about 40 feet away. I arrived at 8 p.m., right when Raury was supposed to come on. Despite my seemingly late arrival time, there were only about 20 people there and no opener was scheduled. I waited for about an hour before Raury came out. While waiting, a woman came up to me and handed me a free CD of “All We Need” and took a picture with me and the CD. I didn’t exactly know why, but it was a nice plus.

The lights dimmed, and a slow guitar riff began to play. Raury jumped up on the stage, rocking a beanie and flannel shirt and started singing “Revolution,” the second track of his new album. Raury has a very soft voice, which was sometimes drowned out by his back-up band. He had a very interesting stage presence: passionate and energetic, he would jump around the small stage and flail his arms wildly. At times it seemed a bit corny and overdone, but overall it was enjoyable to watch someone so engrossed in their performance.

The middle of his set was my favorite. He let off a string of hits, such as the popular single “Devil’s Whisper,” the softer track “Cigarette Song” and the banging “Trap Tears.” He took a minute after to thank his fans and speak about his journey as a musician. “When I was coming up, all people wanted me to make was trap music,” Raury said, “They just wanted music that was entertaining, but music is so much more than that”. Drunk people throughout the audience responded by cheering words of encouragement, while a few others shouted for him to go back to playing music.

The most poignant moment of the performance was during the song “Peace Prevail.” It’s a fairly calm song, but Raury said that he dedicated the second half to a friend of his who died back home in Atlanta. When reached the second half, he burst out crying and paused to sob into his elbow. The audience was stunned at first, but then began to cheer him on, and he finished the song before bounding off stage. He came back soon after wearing his signature straw hat. He played three more songs, including his breakout song “God’s Whisper.” He thanked the crowd for being the first stop of his tour, and walked off the stage, ending an intimate evening with the Atlanta native.

The post Raury Brings the Crystal Express to the Foundry appeared first on The Triangle.

The divide between hip-hop and rhythm and blues is getting smaller and smaller. More rappers are trying their hand at using different melodies, and many R&B singers are quickening their flows. Sub-genres like cloud-rap, contemporary R&B and neo soul are bridging the gap between the two once very different genres.

This movement is led by artists like The Weeknd, Fetty Wap and Drake, but sees many more artists coming forward with their own unique twists on the style. One such artist is Bryson Tiller, who pioneers an entirely new genre with his debut album “Trapsoul,” stylized as “T R A P S O U L”.

Tiller takes the smooth, airy synths of R&B and mixes them with hard-hitting bass and kick drums to produce a sound similar to PartyNextDoor and Jeremih, though distinguished by clearer vocals and heavier rap influences. The Louisville, Kentucky native broke onto the scene with his single “Don’t,” which currently has 26 million plays on SoundCloud.

The vibrant, moody single sets the tone for “Trapsoul,” an album filled with atmospheric and sultry cuts from a newcomer who has already almost perfected the rapping/singing combo.

“Trapsoul” has 14 tracks long with no features. The album opens with the slow burning intro “Difference” before seamlessly going into “Let ‘Em Know,” an upbeat song warning competition to stay away from his lady. The middle of the album is filled with swoon-worthy songs like “Exchange” and “The Sequence.” Tiller addresses his flaws and speaks to women on these tracks about how he’s bettering himself to become better than other guys. But with songs like “Rambo” and “502 Come Up,” Tiller brings out the trap in “Trapsoul.” Brazen beats and braggadocio lines fill up these songs as he describes his grind and journey from working at Papa John’s to getting shout outs from Drake and Timbaland.

The album winds down with more traditional R&B tracks like “Been That Way” and “Overtime.”. The closing track “Right My Wrongs” is the most somber, with lines like “Feels like you don’t got me so you feel like you’ve been by yourself, I’ve been feeling kinda down myself.” The introspective track concludes a terrific ride through Tiller’s love, struggle and pain, and serves as a perfect outro.

What really makes “Trapsoul” special is the lyricism. Throughout the entirety of the album, Tiller stays humble. He doesn’t croon about having sex with a boat-load of women all the time, he sings about treating his one girl right. When he does brag in his raps, he brags about his own personal accomplishments, not being greater than everyone else. Tiller airs out his insecurities on this album, a rarity for a hip-hop or R&B debut album. He straddles the line between sounding depressing and sounding like a show-off, crafting one of the most relatable albums in a long time.

The only issue I have with the album is a few songs sound a bit redundant and similar. The middle portion of the album, while filled with fantastic songs like “Don’t” and “Exchange,” is a bit of a lull. Nevertheless, “Trapsoul” is a gorgeous album, and I highly recommend it to everyone. Bryson Tiller really is “the hottest thing out of Louisville since Muhammad Ali.”

The post Bryson Tiller bridges gap between hip hop, R&B with new album appeared first on The Triangle.