Tori Helene, Cincinnati's latest rising voice in the hip hop and R&B scene, recently dropped her debut EP, Delusional. The Natown-produced project shows growth and a different creative direction for Helene, who released two singles last year - the sensual "Straight F***in" and heated "Judas." The mood shifts quite a bit to introspection, pain, and healing [...]
Lauren Eylise wanted to do something special for the music video for her song, "The Most." "The Most (Madonna-Whore Interlude)" comes off the Cincinnati singer's most recent album, Life / Death / Life and explores themes of shame, expression, and owning the dialogue surrounding female sexuality. Because of her connection to the song and the [...]
Founded in 1979 by Jess Hirbe and Daryl Kalmus, Shake It Records began as a record label, bolstering Cincinnati acts like rock group The Customs. Brothers Darren and Jim Blase acquired the label in the '90s and set up shop in Northside as a record store in 1999. While still a thriving record label representing [...]
Photo by Bradley Thompson For the past year, Ronin Halloway has been hard at work on The Icarus Trilogy. Released a few weeks ago, the EP is a musical collaboration with JayBee Lamahj, with a visual component directed by Bradley Thompson. Icarus takes listeners through a journey of growth, power, and spirituality, all while giving [...]
GrandAce. Photo by Ciara Cruder. You can easily chart the progression of Cincinnati rapper and producer GrandAce through his evolving lyrics and style. Born Jody Jones, GrandAce first hit the scene with singles in 2016 and 2017. Last year, he released two EPs - the first of which, Colors in the Office, existed as an [...]
High school sweethearts Jillian and Nathaniel make up The Bergamot, an indie rock band based in Brooklyn. The two met in their home state of Indiana and moved to New York together to start their music career adventure, which lead to tours, performing at SXSW and releasing five albums. Today, they release their music video [...]
Producer Evan "X" Johnson's awards line the studio halls. Photos by Victoria Moorwood. When CEO / award-winning producer Evan "X" Johnson and President Cameron Napier rebranded, relocated and launched Timeless Recording Studio, they had one question on their minds—how can we improve? The two tech-savvy music professionals had already made names for themselves [...]
In a huge party thrown at The Woodward Theater on Thursday night, the eighth annual Bunbury Music Festival lineup was revealed. The festival, which takes place May 31- June 2 in Cincinnati, has hosted artists such as Post Malone, Tom Petty, Ice Cube, The Chainsmokers and more on their two main stages. This year's lineup boasts [...]
The rapper mentions Bird Box, the government shutdown, cell phone surveillance and homelessness in Cincinnati. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AeH-j2Ad-U Last week, Cincinnati rapper Allen4President appeared on The Wiz radio station’s Freestyle Friday. Although a talented lyricist in the booth, Allen4President proved he’s just as comfortable and quick on his feet in a freestyle. He raps “lifestyle music,’ as [...]
photo by Kevin J. Watkins (@ohthatsdubs) "Peace and blessings onto you," Lauren Eylise says to the barista bringing over her dirty chai, seated in a crowded cafe surrounded by people escaping the chilly January afternoon. I don't know if it's her smile, her voice, or the bourbon in her latte, but this soulful [...]
