Oklahoma and underground news
As far as local and regional artists go, look no further than the top two hip-hop artists Oklahoma has to offer. Jabee dropped a video for his track “Don’t Love Back,” which is a powerful visual featuring him rapping in front of a group of people holding up the faces of prominent civil rights leaders. His daughter makes a cameo, and he raps one of my favorite Jabee lines: “At home they talkin’ bout I made it now / I feel boxed in hoping that I make it out.” If you’re aspiring to achieve something here artistically, a lot of people can connect with that. The very next day, Josh Sallee (whom I manage, full disclosure) dropped his video for “MaybeHeavenWasJustLonely.” When his grandmother passed away, Josh wrote and recorded an EP in an entire night, and this song in specifically touched on the loss of her and loss in general. Death is a heavy, heavy subject that touches people in all different ways, and it’s something no one will ever get used to. I couldn’t tell you the last time I cried watching a music video, but I’ll be damned if this video didn’t do it. The visual catches Sallee at his most poignant and vulnerable, making for an incredibly powerful video, and the moment with his grandfather is nothing short of beautiful. Oklahoma should be very proud of these two for these videos and for the content that our representatives are putting out. The real will always prevail and last.
Artist To Watch: Boogie
Boogie.
Why you should listen: I mentioned how the real will always prevail and last. Boogie’s music consists of a certain substance that reminds me so much of Kendrick Lamar’s self-titled EP and OD it’s scary. The Compton native caught fire with his single “Oh My” and put out one of my favorite projects of the year in The Reach.
Where to start: Listen to “Bitter Raps,” “Oh My” and “The Reach,” but his new project The Reach is a must listen.
Oklahoma Spotlight: Millie Mesh
I’ve only recently gotten familiar with Millie Mesh. I’ve played her track “Boo Thang” on Pairadime Music Radio and seen her name pop up on flyers and local coverage, but my first real brush with her was her performance at the Pairadime-curated H&8th set, and she really killed it. I was impressed with the newcomer performing 40 minutes of material and engaging with fans and passerbys alike. Millie has a great energy about her and a natural skill set that shines through in her live performance. Rap is incredibly male-dominated with a nasty misogynist streak, so when any woman can rise up to that unfortunate challenge and balance the scales a bit, it’s impressive. I expect great things from her.
Read on to see what Gray’s favorite songs and videos of the month were:
