26
CULTURE
[MUSICAL THERAPY]
The Quarantunes Here are some local artists whose songs, videos and records are helping us get by Written by
YMANI WINCE
W
hat are you most looking forward to doing after this is all over? It’s a loaded question. Many of us are struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as well as coming to terms with the very real fact that a new normal is upon us. I think about going to my favorite bars and clubs. I want to have small plates and tacos with my friends. I wanna walk with my grandparents through their backyard garden. I’d love to give my parents a hug. My wants and feelings are small in comparison to the sacrifices essential wor ers are making every day. And for that, I am beyond grateful. I remember being a super angsty teen. I’m talking completely losing my shit listening to Coldplay songs, and “identifying heavy” with Deathcab For Cutie. Sometimes I look back on my teen years with disbelief of how weird I was. And yet, I remember exactly where I was in my life when those older songs play in bars, the mall and on random shu e on my phone. Over the past seven or so weeks, I’ve relied heavily on music to get me through. Since last November, I’ve been writing about local music. It’s an opportunity that’s given me the freedom to write about artists St. Louis might have otherwise never known about. The local hip hop and indie music scene has tremendous talent. It’s been a privilege to witness what feels like a sort of renaissance of art happening over the last several years. St. Louis creatives have been living in a bubbling cauldron that is ready to boil over.
26
RIVERFRONT TIMES
The Show Me Cypher recording a track during simpler times. | CURRY STREET STUDIOS Then COVID-19 came. When bars and music venues were forced to close their doors, the upcoming local concerts went with them. For so many up and coming artists in this city, the opportunity to perform at many of these venues were guaranteed ways to get audiences interested in their music. When that opportunity was taken away, St. Louis artists continued to rise to the challenge. And so I continue to be inspired by the sounds coming out of these neighborhoods. Musicians are hosting live streams on social media, they’re still putting out the projects they’ve spent months working on, they’re premiering music videos. They are even performing on rooftops for their neighbors. Through it all, my own quarantine playlist has been a lineup of local artists; some I’ve written about, some I haven’t. From the perspective of a local music writer, here’s what’s on my quarantine playlist.
TRACKS Pinkcaravan! — “Hot Sauce” Ever so creative with her wordplay, “Hot Sauce” is the latest single from rapper pinkcaravan!. It’s a catchy and bouncy song that raves about, you guessed it, hot sauce. The rapper has a history of uniquely describing food in her music, laid on top of tick-tocky Candy Land-esque beats that can
MAY 6-12, 2020
riverfronttimes.com
NandoSTL. | RABSOPETTY only be described as quintessentially Namesake, pinkcaravan!’s longtime producer. FAVORITE LINE: “Lunchables / Lunchables / I only got time to stack cheese / And if you talking to me crazy / you ain’t talking to me” MBZ Live: “Stop Talkin’ to Me” (featuring J’Demul and EJ Carter) Good hook writing is really hard to come by with local rap artists. ftentimes, artists find themselves just spitting over a beat
with really heavy lyrics and no memorable hook. Truly not the case here. MBZ Live on the hook and the first verse is e citing. is cadence and voice control are unique, and “Stop Talkin’ to Me” is the type of song one would expect to hear in heavy rotation on the radio. Coupled with J’Demul on the second verse and EJ Carter to round out the song, it’s a track everyone should hear. FAVORITE LINE: “Pockets ain’t fat ‘cuz I got it on a credit card / And it swipe real well”
