In the early days of the pandemic -- a period of desperate social media scrolling for any good news, any new content -- we discovered the music video for a song called “The Price Is Right.” As it turned out, it was the perfect introduction to North Philly rapper-actor-comedian Nazeer Art’aud. The video opens on an empty stage with curtains closed before an emcee introduces “‘The Price Is Right’, a one-man show by and featuring Nazeer Art’aud.” The star emerges from backstage with a boombox and a 40 in a brown bag. He places his boombox on the ground, gives it a light kick and a soulful beat ge ..read more

Mitamu is the brainchild of Philly native Tammy Huynh, a self-described vocalist, composer, and, most importantly, storyteller. Along with a talented group of jazz players behind her, Tammy was the well-deserved winner of this year’s Beta Hi-Fi emerging artists festival at World Cafe Live, where we were lucky enough to meet her. As the winning act, Mitamu also earned a slot on the bill at our next Philly Showcase on 10/22, where she plans to reveal some new tunes! If there’s been one common thread in Tammy’s musical journey, it’s jazz music. This past May, she finished grad school for jazz voi ..read more

Finding your identity as an artist can be a complicated thing. So many musicians are involved in multiple projects—especially in the Philly scene—and no one likes to feel boxed in. Sam Bekt is a walking embodiment of the balance: a multi-talented musical chameleon with a keen idea of his own aesthetic sensibility. A drummer by trade, he plays in Remo Drive and Oolong on top of his solo work. The next step in his career is a move out to LA some time in the fall. We were lucky enough to catch him in Philly for an exclusive interview, where we touched on his background, his advice for musical cre ..read more

The Palace is one of the most unique and improbable developments the Philly music scene has seen to date. Since 2020, house resident, designer, DJ and music lover Daniel Giangrandi has worked with a rotating team of photographers, videographers, audio workers, and other volunteers to host some of the city’s most dynamic and well-attended house shows in recent memory. How did he get there? Photo by @film_fairy_ New Beginnings When Daniel graduated from graphic design school in 2019, “the only thing I wanted was to try and do something music-related. Leaving art school, it felt like there was a ..read more

Our second Philly showcase is a long time coming. Since we started spotlighting local artists in early 2020, we’ve met more talented, creative people than we could count — musicians, videographers, engineers, beatmakers, booking agents — the list goes on. Now, two years later, we’re bringing together old friends and new for a stacked Philly hip-hop bill. All four of these artists bring different sounds and rich personal perspectives to the table. One thing they all share: a commitment to never holding back. Magnetic The Shaman threads dense, wide-ranging references into personal meditations on ..read more

Angelo Outlaw is hitting the refresh button. For the past five years, the Philly experimental electronic artist has been crafting instrumental compositions under the name Jello Vibes. This year, he’s making the switch to releasing music under his real name. But this is only the beginning of his artistic evolution… Creating Jello Vibes Angelo describes the Jello Vibes sound as “glitchy, experimental ambient downtempo,” with the key innovation of using the vibraphone as the lead melodic instrument. The vibraphone sound is a continuation of Angelo’s earliest days as a musician, when he started ..read more

If you’ve been paying attention to the DIY music scene in Philly, you’ve probably heard these four digits mentioned. In its short time in the city, 4333 Collective has already hosted some of the most electric, diverse and well-attended events in the music scene, with no plans to slow down any time soon. Jayce Williams, the man behind 4333, formed the collective several years back while studying music and business at Rowan University. It started as a passion project: “When I started doing it, I wanted to have a space…without having to go to the largest Live Nation venue and feel like I’m one p ..read more

Justin Nazario and Jay Breslin started Sound Splitter Studio with DIY artists in mind. They offer highly affordable rates for recording, mixing and mastering in their home studio, located in Justin’s house just outside Philly. Justin works on the technical side, while Jay specializes in finding clients through social media and other channels, as well as promoting artists they work with. One important question animated their decision to found the studio: why do so many great musicians never get their work out into the world? In Justin’s experience, there are more ways to create professional-qu ..read more

Before we met him, Godfieri was a total enigma. On social media, the Bucks County beatmaker, guitarist and bassist (real name Chris Ellis) prefers to let his art do the talking. Almost all of his few Instagram posts showcase his music, and not much else. The beats are lush, trippy, deeply textured – they sound like the work of an introvert perpetually parked in front of a DAW screen, absorbed in his craft.  But from the moment our conversation began, the man behind the beats instantly defied that stereotype. Chris Ellis is friendly, gregarious, and all about community. He’s also self-effa ..read more

A DIY music scene is like a seeded garden. Even if talented bands and artists work around the clock to perfect their art and land gigs, how many will blossom into flowers? And how many will stay in the soil, without an audience to hear what they have to offer? For Philly entrepreneur Candice Johnson, the answer is far too many. This is why she founded the Wallflower Observer, a talent coordination and event curation company with an important mission: to create as much opportunity for creatives as possible. “My goal is to highlight the wallflowers of the world, I see you and I believe you shoul ..read more