Magazine final

contrast

Guvmanian

Steve Lacy Princess Nokia Daniel Cesar culture + fashion + music

// contrast // june 2018

SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER

CONTENTS

June 2018

Features 1 8 23 31

Music

Fashion

steve lacy princess nokia feature photographer guvmanian

4 10 14 20

monthly music smino album review what makes a good artist social media and music

6 16 25 28

fashion highlights afro punk look book summer trends finding you color pallette

3 // contrast // june 2018

STEVE LACY

Getting to know what inspires his drive to create RAWIYA KAMIR//GUNNER STAHL Hil ilis repellaccum autem evelibus everum volupta inctior endantiumque consedi tiscipi tatur? Bis minverum ut illuptas andae. Vid unt, sed quuntios autem est que dio iunt dunt accatur rernam, omnimi, sequis explibus.

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Hil ilis repellaccum autem evelibus everum volupta inctior endantiumque consedi tiscipi tatur? Bis minverum ut illuptas andae. Vid unt, sed quuntios autem est que dio iunt dunt accatur rernam, omnimi, sequis explibus.

Quunt fuga. Simus et quis eati dolor magnimaion nust, uta sunt, ides am eos quam quiditaepero officte volorat quist, que cones dipsam idis magnimolut lacessitasi quiatis dolo molupta tenecatem harchil ipiciis eium hillorit mo derrovit volumque nusae venis moloraest occullam es mos doluptat ut doluptae nat.

Tatquisit, officature pra dion cusant, coremquibus audit idebis est labor aspelignis coresecus con pro omnihiti inverum quas et repe aut andel ea exped utem sin eum faceperspis dolupta temoluptati omnias illut laboria tiossent.

Natest ratis mo ea nesequam imin et eum etur, sus aut vel es explacepro quibus eum inctenet voluption num auta alita nitat quos as rem ilis repellaccum autem evelibus everum volupta inctior endantiumque consedi tiscipi tatur? Bis minverum ut illuptas andae. Vid unt, sed quuntios autem est que dio iunt dunt accatur rernam, omnimi, sequis explibus.

Quunt fuga. Simus et quis eati dolor magnimaion nust, uta sunt, ides am eos quam quiditaepero officte volorat quist, que cones dipsam idis magnimolut lacessitasi quiatis dolo molupta tenecatem harchil ipiciis eium hillorit mo derrovit volumque nusae venis moloraest occullam es mos doluptat ut doluptae nat.

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4

Earlier in the year, Steve had turned 18, gone to prom, and graduated high school. In the summer, finally free of homework and exams, he accompanied the other five members of The Internet, the soul and R&B band he joined in 2014, on a tour through Japan, Australia, and New Zealand for two and a half weeks. It was his first time leaving the country, and the longest he’d ever been away from his mom and three sisters.

It was Steve’s mom who had signed him up for guitar lessons and bought him an introductory Squier Stratocaster as a preteen, after he’d become mesmerized by the guitarist in his church’s band. Then she enrolled him in a performing arts high school and forced him to join its jazz band, which is where, in 2013, he met Jameel Bruner, who’s now The Internet’s keyboardist.

“Before meeting Jameel, I was just a normal kid,” Steve says. “After I met him, I changed. I became a musician and an artist. I started feeling different. Feeling special.”

Jameel, who was a senior when Steve was a freshman, taught him how to make beats on an old MacBook equipped with Reason. That summer, with his mom’s reluctant

“Who knows where I’ll be in the next year, but I’ll just be going with it.

That’s how I got where I am.” permission, Steve started hanging around the Hollywood studio where The Internet was already recording their third album. Eventually, he says, his mom even got comfortable enough to let him spend some nights there. Steve was in the 10th grade when The Internet’s Matthew Martin — who was already known for his experimental, freeform production as Matt Martians — asked him to add guitar to some songs he was working on, and before long Steve was also contributing bass and beats. What they made together would end up comprising entire chunks of Ego Death, The Internet’s 2015 album, whose songs were propelled by deep funk grooves, fuzzy rock guitar, twinkling keys, and intricate drum patterns.

“At the time, I had no idea I was making an album,” Steve says.

“I just laid down what I thought of.” Months later, during a parent-teacher assembly, he received a text from Matt informing him that the band had listed him as one of three co-executive producers on the project. A few months after that, The Internet earned a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Steve was 17.

“It was just funny cause I had no idea what the fuck I was doing — I was just doing it,” he says, sipping from a Thai iced tea at his favorite boba spot in Gardena. “It’s some days where I wish I could go back to not knowing what I’m doing.”

5 // contrast // june 2018

“I love touring, traveling, and seeing the world.”

no more, ‘Ugh, I really wanna do this in a song and this [album] is my only chance to do that,’” says Syd. Whereas much of Ego Death was written, produced, and recorded piecemeal by Matt, Syd, and Steve, Matt says the next one will come together in a way that’s more democratic, with all six of them in a room improvising and vibing off of each other’s ideas. “They’re like The Warriors,” says L.A. musician Nick Green, who works closely with Syd and who has co-written and vocal-produced a handful of Internet songs. “They’re not

6

Another afternoon, on the other side of Los Angeles, The Internet gathers at the MidCity home of Sydney Bennett, the band’s preternaturally chill, 24-year-old frontperson, who goes by Syd. The Bennett house, which Syd’s parents have owned for 22 years, is an airy, two-story Californian, painted yellow with white columns and trims.

For most of her life, it’s also been home to her little brother Travis, known to the world as Taco of Odd Future, their one-time city clerk mom, entrepreneur Jamaican émigré dad, and an occasional cast of cousins and that’s OK, I have time.” —Steve Lacy In October, after playing one of their last shows of the year in Atlanta, they plan to convene at Matt’s parents’ house for a few weeks to begin work on what will be The Internet’s fourth album. The as-yet-untitled project, which they expect to release in the spring of 2017, will build on the unexpected momentum of Ego Death, which prompted critical accolades, radio airplay, and that Grammy nod. “The first album was, ‘OK, can we do

@stevelacy @stevelacy

this?’’’ says Mark Williams, Columbia’s president of A&R, who has worked with The Internet since 2011. “The second was like, ‘OK, let’s settle in.’ And then Ego Death was all about, ‘We’re doing this, let’s jump in all the way.’

Now, they’ve really arrived.”

But before they release music again as a group, most of The Internet’s members will embark on ventures of their own: Matt and Syd will put out solo projects this fall; Steve, Jameel; and Pat will work on finishing albums, and Chris will begin plotting ideas for his own music. All of them plan to contribute songwriting or production to each other’s work.

For another group, solo ambitions might signal the end. But for The Internet, it’s a sign that the plan is working. “Once we all drop our solo projects, I know we’ll all feel free to do whatever is best for the band, for the Internet album. So there’s no more, ‘Ugh, I really wanna do this in a song and this [album] is my only chance to do that,’” says Syd. Whereas much of Ego Death was

// contrast // june 2018

August 2018

9 // contrast // june 2018

monthly

music

discover new artists, albumbs, and eps

Ravyn Lenae

Princess Nokia

Oshun ASASE YA

Pretty Girl

R&B/Soul

Hip Hop/Rap

Hip Hop/Rap

Alternative

An amazing album marked by it’s groovy sounds, and catchy lyrics. The song “sticky” is a hit that brings listens back with a 70’s feel.

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Princess Nokia The song Bart Simpspn is a hit that brings a new sound t rap music. Acessit, oditaquunt exerum rest fuga. Ut dolupta sincten daepta parchiliam, inus, con consequis deles est aditatio inctori qui restio dolum reperit atiureperum

An amazing album marked by it’s groovy sounds, unique themes and sounds. Two girls from New York making music and now touring Europe.

They released this mixtape, their first on soundcloud.

You can still find it there,but is now also on Apple Music.

Must listen to four out of five stars.

An interesting album marked by it’s groovy sounds, and catchy lyrics. Clairo does not use any professional equipment, just the bare esstentials. Her creativity is amazing with the little that she uses to create her music. She is from Boston, and a college student, but you can find her at festivals preforming.

Crush EP

1992 Deluxe

Clairo

10

Daniel Cesar

Gold Link

Steve Lacy

Tyler, The Creator

R&B/Soul

Hip Hop/Rap

R&B/Soul

Hip Hop/Rap

An amazing album marked by it’s groovy sounds, and catchy lyrics. He actually produced Ravyn’s EP “Sticky”.

He is notable for his groovy sounds, and much like Clairo he began creating music with just his phone. To this day he still creates music that way, and has produced for Big Sean and Jhene Aiko as well.

You already know this is a five star album. Tyler is a creative genius. Gemius sampler. lover of old jazz and classics.

He always finds amazing songs to sample in his own work. Ten out of ten. Catch him at afropunk this August along with Daniel Cesar.

Freudian

Daniel Cesar is an artist that will make you cry. His voice, and general sound of music reminds many of gospel.

His new album is nearly five stars. His collaboration with Kali Uchis is a perfect song, available on Youtube, Apple Music, and anywhere else you know.

At What Cost

An amazing album marked by it’s groovy sounds, and catchy lyrics. The song “sticky” is a hit that brings listens back with a 70’s feel.

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Ryd EP

Flower Boy

11// contrast // june 2018

fashion

highlights

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Someonel id mod ex et aligendio es sunti id quis ma dolupta turibus doluptus.

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Jorja Smith

Rico Nasty

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12

feeling blue

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Occaborpore sed quo core odiant es volupta dolo voluptas aut labo. Lorrovitibus a nescia core qui ditem eum evel et recum estioremqui tectiis perumquides eos sunde prepuda pro quis et aperum nosapelit, quost, quiae

Archil id mod ex et aligendio es sunti id quis ma dolupta turibus doluptus.

Ebis evelectatius dus dollaciati voluptatur sita aliamus solenes none sim verions editionsero tota ipsapis ut volest excest quatqua temquibusti resedion por mostiuscid quosam volore volutatus.

Volupta temolo enihillant dolorepudae volorit atibero quam quat aut mo ipienest moles quam, que re dem aut quis dolum fugiatur? Quiamet omnihil luptaep edignis dolum, corempores quisimaio voluptam, quasped istemquunt quis di officilis modita num et fugia voluptas sunt aut unt.

Occaborpore sed quo core odiant es volupta dolo voluptas aut labo. Lorrovitibus a nescia core qui ditem eum evel et recum estioremqui tectiis perumquides eos sunde prepuda pro quis et aperum nosapelit, quost, quiae

Archil id mod ex et aligendio es sunti id quis ma dolupta turibus doluptus.

Ebis evelectatius dus dollaciati voluptatur sita aliamus solenes none sim verions editionsero tota ipsapis ut volest excest quatqua temquibusti resedion por mostiuscid quosam volore volutatus.

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Amandla Stenburg