The Presence of Poetry in Hip Hop: Introverted, Personal Lyricism ties Wasteland Hop to Sage Francis
May 15, 2015. “The more I learned about Sage Francis and his particular path to becoming one of the most well-respected hip hop artists, the more I became confident in my own unique route into music: one that brought me from competing in Seattle as a SLAM poet, all the way to becoming a grad student for an MFA in poetry here in Colorado. Sage paved a strange path into his success as an emcee and record label owner, and it’s a path that many young writers and emcees are constantly benefiting from, myself included.”
~Mickey Kenny, MC for Wasteland Hop
When Wasteland Hop’s MC Mickey Kenny noticed Sage Francis added Fort Collins to the 2015 Going Through Hell leg of his Copper Gone tour, Kenny quickly reached out to the iconic spoken-word-poet/rapper to get on the bill. Sage Francis is heavily influential on Kenny’s own journey: Wasteland Hop’s very existence in many ways being due to Sage Francis’s impact. As a struggling high-school student in Anchorage, Alaska, Personal Journalist (Sage Francis’s first album) inspired Kenny to find a focus through his own voice in poetry. Kenny started large collaborative projects with many members who were poets and/or musicians, and participated in spoken word poetry slams and competitions as a college student in the Pacific Northwest. This path eventually settled him in Fort Collins to complete his MFA in Poetry at CSU, where he started Wasteland Hop. Now Wasteland Hop will be sharing a stage with Sage Francis on June 18th at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins.
Wasteland Hop has been busy filming a new 360° music video (slated to be released in September) for the single Only Us off of their recent 2015 EP release Symbiotic Clock and will be recording in June. Their upcoming show with Sage Francis, coupled with the Lyons Film Festival in Lyons, CO, Shredded Beats Street Festival in Denver and the Colorado Brewer’s Festival in Fort Collins will be the last chances to see the band perform before they take a two month hiatus.
When Wasteland Hop reunites in September they will be poised to tackle the next steps, which include returning to Alaska for their 7th time, recording a new EP and plans for an off-continent/South American tour.
June 18th at Aggie Theater in Fort Collins. $17 pre-sale tickets, $20 day of, 16+, music starts at 8pm.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Wasteland Hop carves a unique space into your imagination, a space where one feels the soulful pourings of Janis Joplin interlaced with the cerebral speech of Aesop Rock. This live 6 piece band designs a new, original sound via violin, guitars, drum and bass plus the potent back and forth energy between leading vocalist Steph Jay and MC Mickey Kenny. Wasteland Hop has played with Flobots, Air Dubai, Zion I, Talib Kweli and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Wasteland Hop played SXSW 2014 & 2015 as part of the Colorado Music Party. Scene Magazine ran a cover story in January 2014 calling Wasteland Hop the “leading talent in The Fort.”
Sage Francis is widely considered one of our generation’s greatest lyricists. Dubbed as the “forefather of indie-hop,” Francis originally earned acclaim in the early 2000’s by winning the most highly coveted titles of the emcee battle circuit. “COPPER GONE”, Francis’ 6th studio album, dropped on June 3rd, 2014 via Strange Famous Records. This indie release managed to break Billboard’s Top 200 as well as iTunes top 5 for hip-hop in the US as well as in the UK. Upon the release of Copper Gone, Sage Francis has toured the world and he continues to tour extensively well into 2015.
Proximity-Denver, Colorado based collaborative movement consists of two innovative MC’s and a classic hip-hop DJ. Provoke and Grafik craft positive yet conscious lyrics that everyone can relate with while J Steele applies the backbone to their live performance implemented with classic vinyl samples, and the cuts with hand speed that wink to the old school era.
PREFERRED LINKS
Watch “Motion Rollin’” – http://youtu.be/x4XXfu3QJMY
Website – wastelandhop.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/wastelandhop
Other Acts:
Sage Francis https://www.facebook.com/
Proximity https://www.facebook.com/
SHOW DETAILS
Date: Thursday June 18, 2015
Location: Aggie Theatre – 204 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO
Music: Sage Francis, Wasteland Hop, Proximity
Doors: 7pm
Show: 8pm-1am
Ages: 16+
Tickets: $17 advance |$20 DOS
Link: https://www.ticketfly.com/
FESTIVALS
Lyons Film Festival – June 5th & 6th
http://www.lyonsfilmfestival.
Saturday June 6th, Outdoor Stage, 5:40-7:10pm
Shredded Beats Street Festival – June 26th & 27th
http://www.bluebirdtheater.
Friday June 26th, Parkhouse, Time TBD
Colorado Brewers’ Festival – June 27th & 28th
http://downtownfortcollins.
Sunday June 28th, Washington Park Stage, 2:45-3:40pm
Category: Local News
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