Last month, I got a chance to check out Sunshine Anderson at a random show she was doing here in the Bay Area. I was really excited since I am a fan and all, and plus NO ONE has heard from her lately! She’s been MIA for 3 years now, so I just knew I HAD to try to get an interview in. Contacting her or whoever handles her public relations seemed impossible, so I figured maybe I could catch her at the concert. As soon as we got to the concert, around 10.. (doors opened at 9)… hardly ANYONE was there. We were like hmmm okay… sat down.. had a drink. 11PM hit… no sign of Ms Anderson. 11:30PM hit…. okay… where she at? 12AM hit.. WTF? Is she even gonna come?! We saw the people who worked at the venue looking very worried at this point. I guess they didn’t know where she was at either… 12:45AM hit.. this is crazy. WE. ARE. LEAVING. Went outside.. talked to some women standing outside, then saw Sunshine walking towards the door. Oh. There she is. So we went back inside to catch a few minutes of the show. We were literally fed up, I mean come on, it’s 1AM now. The show started at freakin’ 9PM and you’re JUST NOW showing up? Who does that? Anyways, we walked back down the stairs and there she was about to perform “Wear The Crown”… I took some pictures, and basically we were ready to go. I met a woman named Charlotte who happened to book her, she said I could *try* to interview her after the show but she had no guarantee, which was definitely not working. I think I was already annoyed with her being 3 hours late, I was in the -FORGET IT- type mood, plus my friend had work at 6AM that morning anyways. Someone who stayed for the whole show, told my sis in law that she only performed for 20 minutes. #fail.  OVERALL- Her performance was okay. Her vocals were okay. But showing up late for your OWN show, is really not cool. Especially since you aren’t even THAT famous, and no one has heard from you in how long? Yeah, okay. From what I know and heard, she opened up a hair salon in ATL.. and that’s all she’s doing right now.

Anywho, here are some pictures I took though:

And THAT’S IT. I mean, it’s unfortunate I didn’t have anything great to say about her concert, but that’s what happens when it’s your job to be on schedule. Oh well.

SO, on wednesday, March 31st, me and my friends Erin over @rawemag.com and Nina hit up the Crowd Control Tour event @ The Independent in San Francisco. The tour headlined hip hop artists Kidz In The Hall and 88-Keys, and other artists performing were Donnis and Izza Kizza. Donnis couldn’t make it because I know he had a show going on in New York for XXL. Now I have been a fan of 88-Keys ever since I heard his song with J*DaVeY “Dirty Peaches” (we all know that I’m a J*DaVeY stan!) He’s really cool, and I love his music! I had heard of Kidz In The Hall, but never actually really heard their music. After this concert, I am now a fan! They are amazing live, and I had so much fun watching them. All of the acts had so much energy, and they aren’t a bore to watch on stage. A lot of hip hop artists seem to pace back and forth while performing, but these cats were dancing, connecting with their audience, and putting on a live show. I thought it was really cool how Double-0 was also DJing and playing an instrument on stage with Naledge from Kidz in The Hall. Izza Kizza performed, never heard of them but they were pretty live. They really entertained me with all the dancing they were doing, too funny! And also a couple of artists from bay area’s Honor Roll also performed. They were cool! I always see Honor Roll wherever I go it seems like. Nice to see artists in the Bay Area getting out there! 88-Keys performed songs from The Death of Adam, as well as some new ones that he will be releasing. His set was really good, even though he embarrassed me and my friends! He was basically telling the “beautiful women” to make some noise, and we just smiled, and he came up to us with the mic and said he didn’t hear us, and we just laughed, then he said we got some people with self-esteem issues in the audience! So everyone started to boo, then he told them to tell us that we were beautiful, and everyone cheered and heard some girl behind us say that we were sexy LOL! & he pointed to each one of us and told us that he thinks we are beautiful. It was too funny, and definitely made my night! Here are some pics from the show:

Izza Kizza

88-Keys

Fist Pumps! Lol 88-Keys

88-Keys

Kidz In The Hall

Double-0 & Naledge!

Anywho! A really dope concert! Check them out if they happen to be in your area! SUPPORT GOOD MUSIC!

Kidz In The Hall Official Website // 88-Keys Official Website // Izza Kizza Official Website

AYO is a German born artist, the offspring of a Nigerian father who had come to Germany to study in the 1970s, and sometimes worked as a DJ, and a mother who is a gypsy. AYOs rather unusual name means joy in Yoruba. Her rich cultural background is also reflected in her musical influences. She grew up amidst Pink Floyd and Fela Kuti, the Soul Children and Bob Marley, and many others. Ayo’s music is very very mellow. It’s really different in some aspects. I found her while browsing myspace one day. Her video is what really caught my attention. Now I’m a fan! She reminds me of a European India.Arie. Check out her music video “Lonely” off of her latest album Gravity At Last on youtube. I would post the video but Universal Music disabled the embed feature… dumb, right?! I also put a couple songs below. Enjoy !

Ayo – Lonely

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Ayo – Love and Hate

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Ayo’s Official website: www.ayomusic.com & Myspace: www.myspace.com/ayo

One of our favorite [YT] singers AlcoholHarmony was kind enough to answer a few questions with us…Check it out

Q. When did you realized the gift that you’ve been granted?
A. I was humming in my mother’s womb. I didn’t start taking it seriously until my teenage years.

Q. Who are your top 5 biggest musical influences?
A. Erykah Badu, Tonex, Maxwell, Brandy & Phyllis Hyman

Q. What are a few of your favorite songs?
A. “Get Together” by J*DaVeY. “Blue’s For Blue” by Brittany Bosco and “Kiss Me On My Neck” by Erykah Badu.

Q. Who do you think the best singer is, both alive & dead?
A. BEST? Hmm… that’s kind of a matter of opinion. Maybe I’ll go with MY preferred favorites.

Deceased – Male: Donny Hathaway. Female: Phyllis Hyman
Q. Do you have a favorite Youtube singer?

A. George Lovett <<< Click for link to George Lovett’s page.

Q. Your latest project “8ight: The Stepson of Erykah Badu” is tight! What were your intentions for this project?
A. I actually didn’t plan on making a project per say. It just kind of happened and I picked some favorite songs of mine from Erykah’s and other underground artists and made a little melting pot of music.
I put it together in a month and some change on my macbook in GarageBand.

Q. Do you handle all of the creative processes? Writing, arranging,
producing etc?
A. I’ve written over 500 songs since I started writing when I was 9yrs old. I like to be in charge of writing. I don’t mind assistance with arranging and producing.

Q. How do you respond no negativity?
A. I turn it into comedy.

Q. Do you have any projects in the works?
A. I just finished one album (Not “8ight”) and I’m working on three more (Two albums and a mixtape). Hopefully to have them done no later than fall.

Q. Do you have any advice for aspiring singers?
A. Do what YOU do best. Know your place, stay in your lane and Have security about what God gave you.

Are you as anxious for Durand’s next project as we are? Check him out on twitter & Youtube until then/

Love this girl! She’s a great singer and musician. I found her while randomly browsing Band Camp! Check out her youtube video! If you’re into the indie folk pop type music, you’ll like it! For more music, here’s Sophie’s BandCamp !