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Music
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[MUSIC]
Home for the Holidaze
World-renowned rapper Smino misses St. Louis, so he’s coming back for Kribmas
Written by BENJAMIN SIMON
Before Smino got a tooth pulled last week, his mom called him.
“Who’s going to pick you up from the dentist?” she asked.
Smino doesn’t even live in his hometown of St. Louis anymore. He lives in Los Angeles, far from his family. He’s a world-renowned rapper with half a billion streams, a record deal with Motown and three studio albums.
“Nobody’s picking me up,” he told his mom.
But her words got him thinking.
“I just thought about it like that — like, damn,” he says. “It be moments like that, that make you think like, ‘Damn, if I was at home, my mama would be picking me up.’”
Smino, 31, isn’t going to lie: He misses St. Louis. That’s why he will return home on Sunday, Dece er for fif ann a holiday concert, Kribmas, at Stifel Theatre. He will spend a few days in the city before beginning rehearsals for his upcoming worldwide tour, Luv Is 4Ever, with Atlanta rapper JID, which will start in January.
St. Louis, he says, is still “very prominent in me.” It’s where Smino learned how to play music in church, where he was voted “best rapper” at Hazelwood Central High School. It’s where his family still lives — his mom, his nephews, his best friends. Over the years, he has moved away, living in Chicago and Los Angeles, pursuing a career in music.
His 2017 album blkswn was lauded as one of the “40 Best Rap Albums of the Year” by Rolling Stone. He recently released the single “90 Proof” with J Cole, which has received over 1 million views on YouTube. The other day, he was recognized by a fan in a hotel, as Smino merely waited for food. “Literally, seeing you today made the whole shit better,” the person said.
It’s safe to say that Smino has become one of St. Louis’ most famous musicians. And even as he does blow up, he continues to represent his hometown, insisting people call him a St. Louis artist — even when he lived elsewhere.
“Everywhere else got someone,” he says. “I mean I’m from St. Louis, shit. I feel like when I say I am from St. Louis, the way that I handle my shit and the way that I am, is self-explanatory. I don’t got to say no more. It’s like — I’m from the Lou. You know how we move. You know how the attitude is. You know how the energy is.”
His most recent album, October’s Luv 4 Rent, has St. Louis written all over it. He even named songs after his grandparents. He says the album was conceived from being away, thinking about his home.
“I miss my family,” he says. “It had a lot to do with just missing everybody, missing St. Louis and missing my family.”
Smino can talk all he wants about his love for St. Louis, but he knows that it’s different to be there on stage, performing in front of his mom, his family and thousands of other people from his hometown. He “slips in and out” of St. Louis, he says, spending time with his loved ones. But he makes his public return for r a an ore ec fically, Kribmas.
“I want to inspire them motherfuckers in person,” he says. no fir ce e ra e r mas in 2016 when he was still an up-and-coming rapper out of St. Louis. He hadn’t even released his fir o a e . n r a fir ear e re e er e o between 350 and 400 tickets.
Now the show is partnered with Spotify, and Smino expects nearly 4,000 people to sell out Stifel. The yearly event has expanded to a full-scale, multi-day celebration. In the days leading up to the show, he will host a sneaker art workshop for kids. The proceeds from the concert will support Almost o e a non rofi e n o eless women and their children, and provide new coats to Annie Malone Children & Family Services. Ticket sales will also go toward building Smino’s forthcoming St. Louis art school, the Kribmas School of Arts.
Smino wants the night to be made for St. Louis. In 2019, his last local performance before the pandemic, he rocked a Cardinals varsity jacket and Air Force 1’s painted by St. Louis artist Brock Seals — and brought out Nelly. This year, he promises, “I’m bringing out someone crazy.”
“I make Kribmas like extra super-duper special,” he says. “I always try to go the extra mile for Kribmas.”
For Smino, Kribmas is for the people at “the Crib,” the people of St. Louis, letting them know he’s still here — he’s from the Lou, he’s proud, and you should be, too.
“It’s important just to inspire,” he says. “You just never know, bro. The smallest little bit of spark might fuck around and send someone on the right track.” n
Smino is holding his fi h annual charity holiday concert, Kribmas, on December 18. | DENITA TURNER
Oi to the World
Bastard Squad to host an eclectic evening of local music for annual Holiday Bizarre showcase
Written by DAVID VAN NORDHEIM
Holiday Bizarre w/ Bastard Squad, Jay Coast, NITE FRVR, Chainsaw Boyz
8 p.m. Saturday, December 17. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $15 to $20. 314-498-6989.
On Saturday, December 17, St. Louis hardcore punk act Bastard Squad will host the Holiday Bizarre, a festive showcase of local artists and vendors. This is the third time the band has helmed the annual ce e ra on an e fir e being held at Off Broadway.
“We like to put together holiday events, with Halloween being the most important one, but we also know people need something fun to do to unwind around [Christmas],” says Don Brazel, a.k.a. Don Bastard, lead vocalist for Bastard Squad and owner of south county music store the Record Space. “We try to provide a fun night to escape all the stress.”
In addition to Bastard Squad, this year’s lineup will include eclectic hip-hop artist Jay Coast, dance-punks NITE FRVR and indie/punk rock band Chainsaw Boyz. Brazel and the other members of Bastard Squad selected the supporting artists with the intention of providing a mixture of musical genres and experiences for the audience. The event is co-sponsored by Brazel’s record label, aptly named the Record Label, as well as St. Louis’ own 4 Hands Brewing Co.
Bastard Squad has existed in multiple iterations since its founding in 1997, with St. Louis native Don Brazel being the sole original member. In addition to Brazel, the band’s current lineup consists of bassist Joe Manwarren, guitarists Kevin Tomorrow and Josh Edwards, and drummer Adam Gardner, the band’s latest addition and a veteran of California’s Bay Area hardcore punk scene. Earlier this year, the group released a new EP, Hideaway, and its members are currently writing material for a second full-length album. a e af er e fic ona o within-a-show from British sitcom The Young Ones, the band’s sound harkens back to the golden age of hardcore punk when bands such as the Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains and Black Flag reigned supreme. The band has played the local circuit for years and has opened for internationally famous punk acts such as the Adicts, Bad Brains vocalist H.R., and Fear.
Indie rapper Jay Coast is a close friend of Brazel’s and has become a staple of Bastard Squad’s local showcases. He is the son of DJ Ranx, a member of the St. Louis reggae group Dubtronix and host of the KHDX show Dub Mixture. Jay credits his father as both an inspiration to his music and a role model for his career as an aspiring professional musician. He describes his own music as “funky, soulful and pure vibes,” citing n ence a er e a r nce Tyler the Creator and Thelonious Monk. a oa a een ro fic nce his 2019 debut, with multiple albums released annually, most recently 2022’s SVRFVCE LVL Pt. 1. He has performed at a variety of St. Louis venues, with the Sinkhole being a personal favorite, an c rren oo n fir performances outside of the city.
Electropop revival act NITE FRVR was formed in 2020 by Jared Pitonak and Patrick Kablamo, who later recruited Jed Buechele and Andy Garces from other local bands. The group’s music combines electronic synth and drum tracks with live instruments and vocals, creating a sound its members describe as a combination of New Wave and video game music. Bands like the Bravery, the Rapture and the Killers, who similarly combine elements of dance music and rock, are among NITE FRVR’s r ar n ence .
The band has performed at a variety of locations, including the Heavy Anchor, the Sinkhole and even comics and games store Apotheosis Comics. It was among the acts featured at this year’s Tower Grove Pride fest and Porchfest, an annual event in which local musicians perform on the front porches of residences in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood. NITE FRVR released its second EP All the Boys earlier this year, and its members are working on their fir f en a . a n a o a fi e ece punk band featuring vocalist Maddie Garland, guitarists Chloe Halls and Julia Maret, bassist Dru Thornhill and drummer Gabe Lancia. The band’s members draw n fican n ra on fro e Riot Grrrl subculture, which famously combined feminism, punk rock and politics, and spawned celebrated groups like SleaterKinney and Bikini Kill. They also take cues from female-led hard rock bands such as Veruca Salt and the Runaways.
Chainsaw Boyz recently re ea e fir Kill List, which combines tight punk instrumentals with social critiques of toxic masculinity and the blandness of suburbia (sample lyric: “Someday an e confi ence of an a erage white man/Someday I want e confi ence of a occer o in a mini-van”). The band competed in this year’s Bitter Jester Music Festival, an annual charitable event in which local artists through the Midwest contend for various prizes, including a gig at Chicago’s Navy Pier. Chainsaw Boyz has played at many venues throughout St. Louis, including Blueberry Hill, Red Flag and Off Broadway.
In addition to the upcoming Holiday Bizarre, Brazel will be hosting another showcase of local talent at the Record Shop on Thursday, December 15, to celebrate the fourth anniversary of his store’s opening. Like the upcoming holiday show at Off Broadway, the evening will feature local performers from a variety of genres, including hard rock (Sisser, the Jag-Wires), electropop (Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship), metal (the Cult Sounds, Trashgoat) and indie rock (Blush). The event will also have free food and drinks courtesy of 4 Hands, Liquid Death and vegan Tex-Mex restaurant Terror Taco.
Brazel has been a consistent supporter of local musicians, using his store, label and his role in Bastard Squad to host and promote events throughout the city. His label’s current lineup includes pop-punk band Horror Section and experimental metal group the Lion’s Daughter.
“My role in the local music scene has just been to express myself, put on events and provide a safe space for everyone interested in the kinds of stuff I’m interested in,” said Brazel. “It’s really that simple. Like Lincoln said in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, ‘Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!’” n
