Doc’s publishes the first Doc’s Thumbs Up Playlist, six years after the Doc’s Thumbs Up segment first premiered as an additional commentary segment highlighting artists on Doc’s Castle Media.
It’s a long time coming, but honestly it never crossed my mind until I realized I was already creating my playlist without noticing. The IG algorithm was strong this year pushing way more musical artists than in the past, and I’m not mad at that at all because I love my ears being immersed in absolute originality. What I did that was so different this time was search Spotify for artists who I thought were cool and saved their songs for “later.” Boom, now I have a list.
I spent an entire year saving songs for later. Beginning Fall 2020 to Fall 2021, I added songs that got me through my days.
Aye, Baltimore! I summon you to stand up first, here, as I’m a native and understand the “Baltimore struggle,” I have to use my first Doc’s Thumbs Up Playlist to highlight the artist I love hearing from my hometown. Just to drop a few artist names that I included in the Doc’s Thumbs Up Vol. 1 Playlist, we have Abdu Ali, Kaotic Couture, Kariz Marchel, Kay LA, T.Ali, Miss Kam, Butch Dawson, Hazmat Caz, and so much more.
I’m certainly not the master of curating playlists. I simply like what I like. When I want to listen to a song for a while, I make it a habit to add it to my own track list like I used to make mixtapes back in high school. So this isn’t that much of a big deal than what I’m about to gas this up to be. But anyway…Doc’s published her first Doc’s Thumb’s Up Playlist. Woot woot!
I’m uncertain if I’ll make another Doc’s Thumbs Up Playlist. I did enjoy creating this one. It takes a lot of work finding local artists to include on this list. I spent many work days searching social media and Spotify to find songs I liked to listen to while working out, creating in my art studio, or to include on my daily drives.
Maybe, if I decided to create another playlist, I’ll do a collaboration with someone else. What do you all think?
Shout outs to these two brands that inspire me to curate my very own playlist. They are themselves Baltimore talent and the few media outlets I subscribe to when keeping up with what’s hot in the DMV region. These local media specialists are a great start if you’re looking on where to find out who’s worth listening to locally.
Karlito Freeze, host of and Rides with Freeze, and former host of Strong Way Radio.
Kotic Couture celebrates their one-year anniversary of the official music video for Pink Durag ft. 310N this August 2021. And I can’t help to wonder if they meant to release the video for Pink Durag weeks prior to Durag History Week. Today I share in its glory by making the Pink Durag featuring 310N official music video the latest Doc’s Thumbs Up feature on Doc’s Castle Media.
Kotic and I go way back to 2016 working for Baltimore pop hits radio station Today’s 101.9 as promotion assistants. Thank God we’ve evolved from those humble beginnings. I always loved Kotic’s straightforward tell-it-how-it-is attitude. So when they told me who they really are outside of working at the station, I kept following them closely on all their social media so I can watch their musical journey.
Kotic makes waves in Baltimore like no other. From appearing in the Netflix documentary Dark City Beneath the Beat, DJing, and opening up for other musical artists in Baltimore, to hosting parties at arts and entertainment venue Crown in Baltimore, Couture alerts are from every direction in the DMV and tri-state area. Obviously, the couture is juicy because the Kotic buzz has been busy for a while now. They also appeared in Spotify’s DMV Ripple Effect Playlist as a feature on Miss Kam’s FTCU along with Ddm. Finally, as of recently, they’re traveling more booking gigs across the east coast from New York City to even DJing in the PBNJ Block Party club music tour on August 28th in New Jersey. Like, is this Kotic giving us all that they got? …because gah!
Kotic Couture Pink Durag ft. 310N Official Music Video
Pink Durag is the Doc’s Thumbs Up feature because it’s long overdue. The video premiered last August while I was still learning how to build this website. Now, I remember while Kotic celebrates its one-year release via Instagram. I’ll say this post is better late than never because they deserve all the recognition they can get with this one.
In honor of #DuragHistoryWeek, Kotic Couture is here with it. Though there isn’t a durag insight in this video, the message is as strong as its staple in the black community. Kotic shares with us via email the idea came during the pandemic after watching, what felt like consecutive, fatal killings as a result of police brutality. “The deaths of George Floyd, but specifically Breonna Taylor and Oluwatoyin Salau, left such an impression on me. I was tired of screaming on the Internet. I literally had to tell myself to calm down so I started working on music.” Out of frustration, the song was born.
The production and visuals of the video are fire, but the overall message is what should take you away. Breaking barriers from what society pictures as the norm is what makes Kotic one of my favorites in Baltimore’s art scene. They can really put on a show defying the odds and truly showing who they’ll be. But listen closely to the spoken word closing out the video.
Kotic narrows our attention on Oluwatoyin Salu, a 19-year-old BLM activist who was murdered days after protesting for George Floyd in Tallahassee, FL. Her murder highlighted the notion that despite being the backbones of communities and large movements, Black women still face a high risk of facing a violent end. I love that Kotic took a moment to bring this message to the forefront. It is what truly should be on our minds in her case. The music video defies stereotypes, sure. This breeds a fire 🔥 reaction in itself. But Kotic is also spitting a message American’s need to hear.
The sound and video are a bit different from the usual fast tempo or club banger from Kotic. “The last time people saw a visual from me it was loud and colorful,” Kotic shares. Pink Durag is quite different which shows, early, them to be versatile through maneuvering genres. With this skill, we can expect them to work with numerous different artists in the future. Wow, oh wow, at what we get coming from little ole Baltimore, hmm?
Durag History
Over the course of a decade, summertime is designated as an hour for black people to ride the Durag wave. In September 2014, Durag History Week was declared by Van R. Newick II in a thread of memes via a tweet and Black Twitter went wild. Black people started to come together yearly in honor of celebrating durag history by sharing their favorite durag memes on social media. A few years later, visual artist and activist Dammit Wesley initiated the 1st annual Durag Festival in Charlotte, NC to showcase its history and dismiss the stereotypes associated with black hair and black culture. Just this year on Juneteenth, black folks in NC celebrated its 3rd annual durag celebration, and on July 25th the residents of Milwaukee saw their 1st durag festival. What’s to say that these durag traditions won’t evolve and carry on to more cities and states.
I wondered if there was any relation to releasing Pink Durag the time black people love cherishing durags so much. Actually, Kotic told me the durag didn’t have any influence on the song at all. “I definitely didn’t wear a Durag on purpose. I never want to be too predictable or cheesy and the song had nothing to do with Durags, that’s just the metaphor for things sitting on your mind, so I didn’t think that being in the video needed to be represented.” I guess I’ll scratch the idea of Kotic touring in Charlotte and Milwaukee offering to perform Pink Durag for next year’s festival is officially off the table.
What do you think? Do you like the video? Share your comments below.
Spotify’s Frequency Playlist highlights the music of artists from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia regions. Some of the DMV’s well-known hip-hop artists Rico Nasty, Pusha T, and Ari Lennox come together on Spotify’s Frequency Sunday Dinner podcast to discuss the Ripple Effect: DMV Playlist. I had the time to listen in and wanted to further give a Doc’s Thumbs Up to the artists in the DMV who made this dope hip-hop playlist. So I list five artists to listen to on Ripple Effect: DMV Playlist who do not live in Baltimore city.
The DMV is finally getting its well-deserved flowers from major folks in the music industry. I always knew our region had a spark about it. Too many of my talented friends were going unnoticed in the last decade. But I believe major industry folks are seeing how DMV artists are able to hold their own without traditional media backing. In the new area of social media, everyone has a platform and most of these artists have a loyal following that they work hard for.
Spotify’s Frequency consists of 4 playlists that were ”created in response to a climate in which Black voices in music, fashion, business, and more continue to be left out of the narrative, their contributions left underappreciated and underrepresented.” The Ripple Effect playlists’ mission is to uplift artists who are unknown, unsigned, and from underserved genres. So this playlist was specifically tailored to serve our people!
As savvy underground listeners, we have uplifted these artists through online streaming services. We added their songs to our playlists on services like Spotify and YouTube Music. Supporters followed their Soundclouds. Fans attended their local shows. I’m so proud to see Spotify highlighting dope artists from the DMV, and it’s because of the buzz that’s created by supporters of these talented individuals. It’s a great thing to see, especially coming from where we come from. When we work hard, we elevate to new levels. Some of the Baltimore artists to make the lists, I watched constantly at work for years. Now they’re getting recognition past the borders of the city.
I woke up to expressive Instagram posts from Baltimore artist and last month’s Doc’s Thumb’s Up feature Miss Kam and Baltimore MC Deetranada excited about being featured on Spotify’s Frequency Ripple Effect: DMV Playlist. Rico Nasty also gave shoutouts on The Frequency Sunday Dinner podcast released on July 29th to Miss Kam and Baby Kahlo. Such awesome talent emerging from the DMV area. Other Baltimore artists to grace the ears of listeners of the playlist are DDm, Kotic Couture, CalvoMusic, YG Teck, Ernest Third, and Mighty Mark.
Artists of Baltimore definitely get the top pick of the litter here on Doc’s Castle Media when it comes to highlighting talent. It’s because of my Bmore pride, I want to give my hometown its well-deserved recognition. There’s over 40% of our views coming from Baltimore readers. So I give people what they’re used to seeing and what they like to see represented in the city. But today, I decided to check out a few more artists from The Ripple Effect: DMV Playlist because everyone on it deserves a good listen.
I’m pointing out five artists whose songs feature on the Ripple Effect playlist that I heard for the first time thanks to Spotify. Take note of these artists’ names and tracks as we may hear more from them in the years to come.
Five artists to listen to in the Ripple Effect: DMV Playlist who don’t live in Baltimore:
Soul Belongs 2 U is a cool love song by Dreamcastmoe that puts you in a new atmosphere. It might sound a little creepy, but I can Digg it. Just think of speaking to the love of your life than telling them that their soul is now yours. That’s the type of effect I want on my man. “You’re mine,” said like Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat. Yeeeeeeeah, that’s the vibe I got when I heard it. Haha! Dreamcastmoe got a dope song there.
Broken reminds me of songs by Juice World and what’s funny is in Leeto’s YouTube bio, it’s said that’s who he grasps musical inspiration from. He’s only 16 years old and I can already pick up on musical influences in his tracks. That’s a skill that many artists at that age aren’t able to hown. Good job! You’ve got my attention, young grasshopper.
Let’s add some girl power to this list. Charizard made the Ripple Effect Playlist and it came on with a punch. Let me tell you I did not put this list on any particular shuffle so I wasn’t expecting Charizard to come on after hearing IDK and Young Thug’s PradadaBang. This is something fast-paced that I’ll consider adding to my workout playlist while I’m getting this Thirsty 30 Body right. Kelow is also one of the two female rap artists to make the playlist that does not live in Baltimore. Rico Nasty is the other.
It’s very rare that I find an r&b/hip-hop artist that I like. So it feels good to come across Heavy Heart on the playlist. It gives off an R&B/alternative kind of vibe. Very calming to my ear after hearing so much rap at the start of the playlist. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not the entire list. Shaolinn is one of those soothing voices to subscribe to because we aren’t all hard here in the DMV area. There are some dope vocalists here, too.
Shy Lennox is another smooth-sounding alternative R&B artist coming with his song Poolside. He’s an actual vocalist who studied vocal performance at Virginia Commonwealth University. But his song Poolside projects for me “audiovisuals,” similar to if I closed my eyes and started seeing what is being sung vibrantly. It’s relaxing.
There are 58 tracks on the Ripple Effect: DMV Playlist. Nearly three hours of original content from unsign and unheard-of talent from the Washington metropolitan area. These five artists shared today are only a snippet of the full list.
Baltimore Artist Miss Kam is a force to be reckoned with creating buzz for herself straight out of BMore. She releases our most recent Doc’s Thumbs Up feature this month. The official video for FTCU featuring Ddm and Kotic Couture dropped in early June, and what can I say? What better song to pick from the Tew Faced album to be this LP’s first visual piece of art, than FTCU?
Miss Kam has been on the Doc’s Castle Media radar for quite some time now. The first time I saw her in action was in a cipher for Beet Trip Episode 60 summer of 2020. A year later, she creates buzz traveling for her musical performances and collaborating with other talented underground artists. Her efforts aren’t going unnoticed. Miss Kam is bursting out from the shadows so much so she mentioned in an interview with The Working Title Podcast that she’s even gained attention from the legendary hip-hop artist Missy Elliott following the debut of her We Are The World featuring Zadia official music video. So this lady is certainly a big deal.
Miss Kam released her LP Tew Faced last December 2020 via Bandcamp. It’s definitely worth blasting in your car, or even maybe in some headphones during your work shift since that’s how I listened. The LP is composed of 14 original tracks and features five other local Baltimore music artists. Awesome is she that the previously featured Doc’s Thumb Up artist for Faded, T.Ali is one of the honor guests. Mentioned in her Bandcamp biography, Miss Kam “sets the tone with her rich, yet gritty contralto voice; all while being paralleled with angelic harmonies and unique production.” While she creates this audio art, she makes it “clear on delivering the audible conceptualization of what it truly means to be a Gemini.”
Miss Kam is definitely a “make it happen” queen. She understands the power of social media and uses it to promote original content. Simply check her numbers. She always keeps her social media booming running up retweets and likes while posting weekly freestyles and supporting other artists in Baltimore. My favorite campaign to watch is Freestyle Fridays when she posts new weekly freestyles for social media followers. She’s also a huge supporter of Bandcamp Fridays, a day when listeners can purchase music and an average of 93% of their money reaches the artist/label (after payment processor fees).
Miss Kam often creates campaigns to promote her music and encourage the support of her peers. She collaborates with local business entrepreneurs promoting natural skincare and haircare products. Last summer she launched a campaign selling self-made beanies to raise money for her Tew Faced campaign. Doc’s Castle Media supported by purchasing and we received such a thoughtful note from the queen.
All this greatness said about this goddess, we want to give her her props where it’s due and grant FTCU with a Doc’s Thumbs Up for the hard work she’s putting in.
FTCU features two other Baltimore’s hip-hop artists Ddm and Kotic Couture, both artists and representatives of the LBGTQ community, and also advocates in Baltimore’s Club music culture. They both made appearances in the club culture documentary Dark City Beneath the Beat directed by TT the Artist. Miss Kam couldn’t have chosen a better duo to shut it down for the video. Stylish, poised, and polished, yet still giving us a jab of fierce savagery through their lyrics, they definitely band together to show us how they come to “fuck the check up.” The track truly is giving us Gemini vibes. I’m a Gemini, myself. So I approve this message.
Watch full Video to FTCU featuring Ddm and Kotic Couture
You could feel the spirit of K-Swift in the production in this one. Issa Rae, TT the Artist, and Nexflix come together to showcase Baltimore city’s club culture in Dark City Beneath The Beat documentary.
Dark City Beneath The Beat initially premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and American Black Film Festivals prior to the 2020 pandemic. The documentary premiered mid-April 2021 with a bang on Netflix while artists in Baltimore share in pride and excitement across their social media timelines opening weekend.
I can speak for many in Baltimore when I say we were a little skeptical of the documentary. It’s been years since I celebrated club music. I reminisce of my peak in embracing Baltimore’s club culture when I joined dance battles amongst my middle school classmates. I miss making up dance routines with my neighborhood friends. Those fun moments in my past that I associate with club music and viewed as a distant memory, aren’t as extinct to many artists like TT the Artist, DJ Mighty Mark, and DJ Blaqstarr.
It was in the early 2000s when the city lost its club music queen K-Swift. There are small glimpses of a rise of Baltimore’s club culture – back when K-Swift traveled and advocated nationally for house music prior to her passing. Without K-Swift, the aura is not the same. It’s like the people of Baltimore secretly get jealous of acclamations that other house music listeners from states like, for example, New Jersey claims “to being the land of the greatest club music, ever.” & Such claims are absolutely absurd, of course.
TT The Artist is a Baltimore city arts advocate and director of Dark City Beneath the Beat. She speaks about the hate she receives considered an outsider of Baltimore. Originally from south Florida, TT moved to Baltimore city and fell in love with Baltimore’s club culture while attending the Maryland Institute College of Art. When she left to pursue dreams in Los Angeles, she exited carrying with her the precious sounds of the Baltimore club mix to push an evolution. TT saw something magical. She felt that club music and dance were too good to keep confined to the streets and people of Baltimore city. She sees a culture that uplifts a community that also needs to be uplifted in return. So she created this documentary.
About the Film
The artists featured in the film have the charisma to share with the world what Baltimore’s club culture is about. What I and many other people lack is the knowledge of how they do this. The film sheds light on groups and organizations working to keep the Baltimore club music culture alive. Viewers learn a brief history of club music, the names of staple icons, such as dancers, singers, and producers, in the current Baltimore’s club music scene, and soak up the essence of feeling Baltimore’s original beat. The documentary isn’t so caught up on historical breakthroughs in club music by highlighting influencers that we so often hear of like the well-known Frank Ski, Rod Lee, and Ms. Tony. Rather we learn about influencers in the culture today. A new list of artists comprised of dancers and community leaders like Uneek and Tsu Terry.
I gave the documentary a shot the morning it premiered on Netflix and wasn’t disappointed. I had faith in it doing well so I support it. It stands as a good representation of what Baltimore club music does for those who live here. It’s not so prevalent in my lifestyle as it once was for me as a child, but the beat still speaks to me whenever I do hear Baltimore club mix. It’s near impossible to watch the film without doing the crazy legs or sexy walk in my chair. It should be the same for anyone who’ll stream the film on Netflix. I encourage others to give it a shot, too.
Overall the film gets a Doc’s Thumbs Up because TT The Artist served her purpose well. She paid homage to Baltimore and forged a visual representation for a famous Baltimore art subculture. She works her ass off helping to pave a lane for this art. The film is beautifully done. I commend her and everyone involved in the production of Dark City Beneath the Beat. It deserves to be celebrated.
Watch Hey Baltimore! Produced by Kariz Marcel and written by Rufus Roundtree and Eze Jackson.
Lately, it’s been all about supporting and watching out for Baltimore Artist here on Doc’s Castle Media. In keeping up the momentum by sharing yet another local artist, the Doc’s Thumb’s Up for this week is Ashley Sierra’s Official Music Video for Dummy.
Ashley Sierra was put on my radar in 2015 at the 2nd Annual Baltimore Beat Club event hosted by recording studio Line Up Room. She was one of the many freestyle artists to grace the beat club stage and leave a lasting impression. I have followed her on social media since, and look how she’s a feature on Doc’s Castle Media.
Ashley Sierra’s Dummy is a song glorifying the Baltimore slang term. The word Dummy is of authentic Baltimorean culture. It’s defined in the Urban Dictionary as a word to address someone no matter the situation. “What’s Up Dummy” is a common greeting amongst Baltimoreans. Ashley also gives plenty of examples of how the word is used in the track.
When asked where Ashley got the inspiration to create the song, she says from simply being a Baltimore native. “Dummy is a part of our slang. We say it to refer to a friend or comrade. I just wanted to introduce the world to some Baltimore culture, as well as make a visual statement about the current division in America to encourage reconciliation between America and D.O.C (descendants of slaves)” she shares with Doc’s Castle Media.
Ashley’s use of the word Dummy is catchy and captivating. Similar to her branding and artistic persona, the song gives off a “homegirl” vibe. That’s why it doesn’t come off as a surprise that Ashley’s song gives me thoughts of a friend who’s there to the end no matter what the situation or cause. A “dummy” is just that. The matter is that she’s lyrically painting her visual of comradery but also being first hand that representation, is awesome in itself.
The song Dummy, for me, is reminiscent of moments from my childhood. It makes me want to sit on my front porch similar to how I used to do in the 90s with the radio blasting and a bunch of my neighborhood friends, or shall we say “dummies,” vibing right along with me.
Dummy is from Ashley Sierra’s latest EP Noir Cycle which is available to stream and download on all major streaming services. Click here to visit her Link Tree.
Watch the official video for Dummy:
Dummy is one slang word Baltimore uses often. Can you name other popular Baltimore slang terms used as lyrics in songs? List them in the comments below.
I love the Hazmat Chicks; Caz and Remy! We go way back to kicking it in former recording studio The Dugout Dojo in Baltimore, MD. Whenever I see my girlies making things happen, definitely will share what pride I have in their work. This week’s Doc’s Thumbs Up is Rewind by HazmatCaz Official video.
Hazmatcaz, since having gone viral in early 2019 for her “Hood Siri” interpretation, has been featured by multiple news outlets such as Yahoo News, Fader, ViceTV, and even snagged an interview with Kings of Comedy mogul and talk show host Steve Harvey. Caz’s blow up even caused her to start her own web series on YouTube to keep up with the hype of her newly found fame as Hood Siri.
But…Caz is a rapper first and has expressed plenty of times that she’d rather be recognized for her music. So I want to bring it back to highlighting the official video for Rewind because it’s dope like her.
Rewind is visually vibrant! Like the rainbow in Caz’s hair, every color of the rainbow appears in this video. Life looks great. It’s a life anyone who’d enjoy having a good time would want. Caz personally directed the video and did well creating that very visual of being young and fun. She talks about rewinding back to a time she’d love to relive “over and over.” Take her back to a time where she’d bask in the idea of doing these things “again and again.”
Rewind is an exclusive video from Hazmatcaz that can be found on her SoundCloud and YouTube channels. Watch the full video.
Hazmatcaz also released a new music video over the Christmas holiday for her new single Me. Watch the video via Hazmatcaz YouTube Channel.
Yes! Yes! Yes! I’m still sharing Halloween treats well into November. That’s what you’ll get, and should expect from me anyway when I share in the spirit annually participating in the holiday each year. For Halloween 2020, I chose dressing as a Covid Germ. But the Halloween treat featured as Doc’s Thumbs Up this week is hip-hop artist T.ali’s official music video for Faded.
T.ali, formally known as Kaseo, released visuals for his single Faded from his April album Since We’re Being Honest this Halloween. Finally! Listeners anticipated the video dropping as early as mid-September when casting calls for extras were first mentioned. A month and a half later, we can now feast our eyes on what’s been cooking. I just couldn’t wait to write about it because I already knew T.ali would push some greatness.
I was tuned into the hype posted every couple of days promoted on T.ali’s Instagram and other social media feeds. Mini clips of the mini horror film that advertised to us, the audience, as the official music video was finally pieced together into a full masterpiece.
The video is relatable and reminiscent of growing up watching short, but somewhat lengthy-for-a-music-video, films. Music videos like Thriller and Bad created by the King of Pop Michael Jackson always come to mind as the greatest short musicals ever made. So when fresher artists take on the challenges to carefully create references that skew inspiration within their work to reach heights many other talents have previously succeeded in completing, pure greatness is bound to shine through. That’s what’s seen in T.ali’s performance; an artist who’s challenging himself to own and exploring those heights a plethora of talented people blueprinted. And he’s doing it while collaborating with many other dope artists, bringing them along for the ride too.
The video was produced by filmmaker Juba Productions, styled by Al Rogers, and makeup by Yeah Shae the MUA and Kay L.A.. The team of artists putting this project together is phenomenal. It’s right to assume that Faded would be a hit amongst the listeners because of the magnitude of dopeness. It’s not many times a group like this can come together and not produce great art. Some other Baltimore artists, just to name a few, featured in the video were Forty the Plug, Doowy Lloh, Da’Rious, Brandon Woody, Teddy Alexander, Miss Kam, J Lovey, and various others amazing dancers, actors, and singers. These guys really put on a show.
There’s a second release for the album Since We’re Being Honest this week Friday, November 6 for the deluxe edition. Listeners can get an even deeper listen to other tracks from T.ali and hear a few features from some of the artists spotted in the video.
Baltimore has some of the most unique artsy events any art lover could love. One worthy of being mentioned a second time on Doc’s Castle Media is the Open Mic Series named Beet Trip. This was not my first time attending Beet Trip, but my 3rd time and years later from when I first stepped into experiencing the open mic in 2014. Back then, Beet Trip was brand new, and when I first saw the name, I was turned off because I intentionally thought of the disgusting purplish vegetable beets, thinking it was some veganism attempt to push their health agenda to me using hip-hop. But I digress…
Beet Trip was established over five years ago by a group of beatmakers and rappers seeking to find a place where music artists could share their gifts over crafted beats created by local producers at a nontraditional open mic. Beats from the producers are heard for the first time, just like the freestyles from rappers who spit over the tracks. It’s a true “freestyled” event. For 6 years, the open mic series has ran in numerous art venues across the city.
I thought it would be nice to peek into the festivities to catch some of the vibes and check out some of the talents. It’s been so long since and spectatorship has definitely grown.
Gatherings like these are reminders for artists of the many possibilities and things they can achieve, even while it’s such a small event. Artists start off wanting to take part in something small because they believe in it. They participate in it because it’s an original idea. They support it because it looks cool. But we don’t realize how the pure fun of it manifests into opportunities for so many local artists creating names for themselves.
Beet Trip is where I discovered a style of rap called Basement Rap, a genre coined by a couple of local hip-hop artists, to name a few Butch Dawson and Zheep DZ, two artists who frequent attending and getting involved in Beet Trip over the years. Since taking part in the open mic series and collaborating with other local talents, the rappers build combined followership of over 24,000 monthly listeners on Spotify from just being their authentic Baltimore rapping selves and enjoying creating art.
In Episode 60, I saw lots of new faces and lots of new artists paving a way for their manifestations. Make sure you check out Beet Trip’s Instagram to view more pictures of highlights from the night.
Last time I did a Doc’s Thumbs Up was for 4tae’s “Right Where I Wanna Be” Official Music video in 2015. I definitely need to catch up because there is so much content I’ve seen over the years. I’ve watched so many artists flourish in their crafts. I’m just long overdue to share what dope work I come across. It’s when someone really makes me feel they put in the effort to make a creative piece, it deserves its praises from me. That’s why Jai Ivy’s “I Know” ft. Luki makes Doc’s Thumbs Up.
Ivy dropped her music video for “I know” August 11th via her YouTube Channel. It’s a simple music video that tells a story of heartbreak, something almost every girl can relate to. Honestly, during the generations full of entanglements, hook-ups, and situationships, Jai Ivy’s style is a hammer to nail when it comes to the many woes in the emotional roller coaster we call a toxic love.
The video follows Ivy as she deals with some doubt about the guy she’s dating. They get into an argument, and we watch and get frustrated along with her in the many inaudible cut scenes of her in a debate with the male actor of the video. This scene isn’t unfamiliar. In fact I think this is how Ivy pays homage to many R&B divas before her.
Check Out Jai Ivy’s “I Know” Official Music Video Below:
Jai Ivy is a Baltimore Native artist who is often spotted attending local shows throughout the city. Her album Bleu can be found on all music streaming services. Take a listen to Bleu on Spotify. Follow her on Instagram at @lovee.ivy.
What do you think about this song? Leave your comments below.
