On October 27th ILLSOCIETY Magazine and Project Live launch their new bi-weekly event, ‘SOUND STAGE’ at the Zanzibar in the beautiful city of Santa Monica. As soon as you stepped into the Zanzibar the ambiance definitely set the tone. The dim lights and intimate decor added to the experience of a ill night of networking and live music. You automatically found yourself vibing to a dope selection of music provided by Dj Spill and Mantron. They played everything from Future bass, Neo-Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop, to Trap.
The Zanzibar was filling up quickly and the first installment of featured artists started with Boston native, Niquethree opening up with a dope set, then Lost Dialect, a hip-hop group that consist of 3 emcees straight out of Inglewood, CA. Their stage presence was on point and had the crowd going wild. They reminded me of the North Carolina hip-hop group, Little Brother. The sound was a mix of soulful and boom bap. Overall they definitely put on a great performance! Next up, was music production duo, The Formula. They played/dj an eclectic beat set for the crowd and had the ladies dancing. After The Formula finished their set, rap duo Jeanleon was ready to turn up. Jeanleon jump on stage suited and booted like some true entertainers and started their set with trippy fashion raps! Once their set was over they handed out a copy of their latest project. These guys sure know what their doing! They know its a perfect place to distribute their music and get it out.
Lovely songstress, Niejah Lanea serenaded the crowd with her amazing voice. She finished her set with one of the guys from The Formula playing an acoustic guitar while she sang acapella. It was most definitely impressive. DJ Spill threw on a few songs while a violinist and cellist (ch-ell-ist) was getting set up. Everyone was confused yet excited and eager to see what Rome Castille had in store. He walked up from the side of the stage looking like he came straight from the Grammys. That boy’s fit was fly! He proceeded to introduce himself and gave a little speech on how he doesn’t usually do show’s in October due to the fact his mother passed away in that very month. Then he went on with his performance. At that point he had everyone’s attention, the crowd was impressed by the live instrumentation he incorporated to his set. How common is it to see a hip-hop artist incorporate a violinists and cello? He definitely put on a great show. The only thing about his performance that I over heard people saying it reminded them of a young Kanye West. And, if you ask me, that’s a huge compliment.
The Hi-Grade goddess Mickey Taylor was next in line to showcase her artistry. I’ve never seen her perform before but I must say “shes a natural”. She got on that stage like she owned it. Her performance was filled with mad energy and she had the crowd turnt up!
To keep things flowing, Inglewood’s Hip Hop/Alternative band, ILLIE closed out the show in a good old turnt up fashion. In my opinion, they had the livest set! Def be on the look out for these guy’s.
All in all, ‘SOUND STAGE’ was a success and a great musical experience. Make sure you stay hip for the next one.
Stay blessed.
– Life Is Art
All photos shot by Asato Iida
Follow
