MMM’s Musical Exhibition Pt. III – Artist Showcase III
Bill Niels is a Pittsburgh legend around the underground rap scene, working with Mac Miller and the Most Dope crew as far back as Mac goes, building his own clothing brand, “Daily Bread” up to a global status, and continuing to do live shows as Bill Waves still shows a shining hope for the future of entertainment in the Steel City. Waves, Niels, Bill, whatever you call him, people show respect to his name as a wordsmith that has some immaculate styling’s; someone that can rock the microphone and shake the stage too. He moves into the spotlight with his latest project Barbecues & Blues; taking the veil of mystery off for only a moment, before dashing back to the damp alleys and shadows of Pittsburgh.
Niels cuts his teeth with the opening track, “Point Breeze (Prod. By: Thrty) where Bill navigates through a lo-fi situation of production. Niels is hazy on Barbecues & Blues, appearing almost behind a cloud of smoke as he describes, “I am not smiling till I level my head, I got blessed, God’s child but the devil’s my friend”. There is a constant level of coasting behind Bill’s always adapting style and the way that he presents himself is such a raw and natural level of emotion. He does not play with himself or the audience, pulling them along in a list of fake or fictional stories; Bill Waves is one of the realest artists in his craft and gives a window, wide-eyed look into who he is. On following tracks, “Graphite (feat. Fam Ross, Prod. By: SLR)”, Bill moves in a similar fashion that illustrates his strength to tell a story and to entertain as well as teach. The production by SLR uses filtered guitars and rattling hi-hats that vary to create an approachable, but head-bobbing instrumental that works significantly well with Waves’ and Ross’s verses. The two act as a dynamic-duo of classy, but calloused rhymers of practical real life supervillains.
But there are moments on Barbecues & Blues where Bill takes the record in a completely different direction, almost nose-diving toward the opposite lanes with “Blue (feat. Tommy, Prod. By: Young Bicycle) and “Moms Pain” where Niels is more wide awake than ever. His conscious attempts to reflect on his personal moments, like the very shadowed track “Blue” where Tommy acts as a beautiful seamstress, stitching together the ugliness of Bill’s often times rough-spoken dialogue between himself. Tommy who is another Pittsburgh artist has worked with Bill previously, but on Barbecues & Blues; Tommy is a siren that lures the listener away from the crashing waves of Bill’s inner psyche. She is a wonderful tool in Bill’s inventory to create a duality within his music and the following track, “Moms Pain” is similar as well.
Depressed, drowned, but also reminiscing about the past times where Bill Waves explains on his hook/re-phrase, “I just wanna be rich, see from the other side. All I need’s a dollar for every time my mother cried”. The emotional status that Bill reaches into and extracts is sullen, but the change of tone is welcome and is necessary in order to make his livelier tracks stand out as larger pieces of the puzzle. Bill Waves is an enigma, hidden behind his quick-wits and Golden-Age Boom-Bap styled production is a truly creative visionary that built his own path by himself. It’s apparent that Waves can tell a heartwarming story and switch it up just as quick and tell some truth behind his words.
The world is lucky to be graced by someone that is not afraid to put themselves out there, someone that manages to illustrate a great and overbearing sense of pain behind his words; continuing on and inspiring the youth of today with his message. The world is lucky to have a person like Bill Waves, a fresh MC with a lot to give to most, a new mind with new ideas to many, and someone that would be called a friend by all.
Listen to Barbecues & Blues Here!!! – DatPiff (FREE DOWNLOAD)
YOU CAN ALSO SEE Bill Waves PERFORM LIVE THIS FRIDAY (AUGUST 18TH) AT THE MR. ROBOTO PROJECT AT MATT’S MUSIC MINE’S THIRD MUSICAL EXHIBITION!!!
EXTRA INFORMATION HERE!!! – Showcase Info
TICKET TO MMM’s MUSICAL EXHIBITION PT. III
Featuring: Javed // LiveFromTheCity // Bill Waves
$5.00
STREAMING // (ALBUM) LIL B – “BLACK KEN”
THANK YOU LIL B! // Listen Here – DatPiff
STREAMING // (Track) KILLER OF SHEEP – “Sovereignty”
Pittsburgh Punk Legends // Listen Here – Youtube
STREAMING // (Album) Lumpy & The Dumpers – “Tour Tape (Music To Hump A Trashcan To”
This is one of my favorite punk bands // Listen Here – BandCamp
STREAMING // (Track) KMD FT. JAY ELECTRONICA & DOOM “02. Notebook 01 – TRUE LIGHTYEARS”
The Golden Age lurks once again // Listen Here – Adult Swim
MMM’s Musical Exhibition PT. III – Artist Showcase II
LiveFromTheCity has been making a name for himself ever since first appearing on the scene with his mixtapes, features, and now his albums that remix the classiness of the golden-era of hip-hop with a new-age style of rap power. His musical style is one that he has created himself, standing out in the crowd with his newest full project, You Deserve It. From the nominations for being The King Of Pittsburgh’s Hip-Hop from the Pittsburgh City Paper, to the journeys of rocking the stage on 1Hood day, or catching him at some of the clubs around Pittsburgh completely destroying the stage, Live in the newest member to stand up on the war with music.
Live describes on his BandCamp page, “This is for you. Thank you for all your love and support during this journey. As a token of my appreciation, I have released this project (You Deserve It) for free…”. Live makes it well-known that he truly treasures the fan base that boosted him to this higher level of learning, on the opening track “Do You Believe In Angels?”, he is compassionate and reflects on how his choices have led him to this place. He explains over a beat reminiscing of something that The Alchemist would produce, “I was born in the ghetto unto an angel that raised me, never marched to the same beat as them, my rhythm was different”. Live then moves on to the later stages in his life where he describes the stepping stones that would eventually become his career as a hip-hop artist. LiveFromTheCity explains, “A young nigga from Wilkinsburg that should still be hoopin’, four projects later, I still have something to prove then”. It is a humbling journey that Live expresses through and on his later track “Guilt”, Live describes how he sees his home and the changes that occurred after he left.
The production on “Guilt” is a rampant and frantic use of piano chords and boom-bap percussion that tilts toward an aggressive styling that works to boost Live’s lyrical output as he describes, “Have you seen my side of town lately? It’s a disgrace, and it often makes me question if I should be the face of such an ugly oppression”. This is where Live begins to illustrate his personal side and where his upbringing brought him. You Deserve It is a personal recollection of Live’s own journey through life and is a look through his eyes. His style is brash, but there are moments where he is able to possess a shining glimmer of hope behind his verse and display the change he wants to see in the world. This is apparent on his final track, “Low Expectations” where Live explains behind church organs that he is moving on through the hate and the doubters that expressed their disapproval of his career path. He is focused on moving forward and not trying to change the past, but instead curve the path for himself in the future.
You Deserve It is almost a call to Live’s self, he understands that he has the talent to make it big, so he continues on and insists that he himself deserves it. He works everyday to move to where he is now, and the future looks brighter than ever for Live.
Listen to You Deserve It Here!!! – BandCamp
YOU CAN ALSO SEE LiveFromTheCity PERFORM LIVE THIS FRIDAY (AUGUST 18TH) AT THE MR. ROBOTO PROJECT AT MATT’S MUSIC MINE’S THIRD MUSICAL EXHIBITION!!!
EXTRA INFORMATION HERE!!! – Showcase Info
TICKET TO MMM’s MUSICAL EXHIBITION PT. III
Featuring: Javed // LiveFromTheCity // Bill Waves
$5.00
STREAMING // Hardo – “Rice Bag Feat. Kizzl X Flatline Nizzy X Asco 100K X Jimmy Wopo” Prod. By: Yace
Pittsburgh Kings // Listen Here – Soundcloud
