Greg Grease, TaliaKnight, O.D. , Adept, Orko Eloheim, Big Cats, Medium Zach and more at Soundset Last Of The Record Buyers
http://www.soundsetfestival.com/
Welcome Greg Grease, our May DJ in Residence on Local Current
Nate Ryan/MPR
For the past year, The Current has been inviting local musicians to take over our all-Minnesota music stream to talk about the local music scene and to share tracks from their favorite local artists. So far, the roster for Local Current’s DJ in Residence has includedMartin Devaney, Sophia Eris, Al Church, Kerry Alexander (Bad Bad Hats), Eric Mayson, and many others. Leading us into our second year of the project is the multi-talented musician, visual artist, and business owner Greg Grease!
Grease releases music under his own name, leads the soul/funk/future space band ZULUZULUU, and is a frequent collaborator with artists like Muja Messiah, Metasota, Sophia Eris, Crescent Moon, and Andrew Broder in the local hip-hop community.
There is a self-described blue-collar Afro-centricity in all of Grease’s projects and he aims to create sounds that empower and elevate. His raps reflect the reality of growing up in a lower-middle=class neighborhood as a black youth, and are paired with feel-good music that pulls listeners in.
Grease also owns and operates River Life Dry Goods, where he designs and hand sews leather goods, canvas bags, and bespoke menswear. Musically, 2015 saw the release of Greg Grease’s latest album, Born to Lurk Forced to Work, and he’s currently in the studio working on ZULUZULUU’s next record, set to release in June.
“I really look forward to the opportunity to expand my knowledge of Minnesota music in many different genres,” says Grease. “I’m always looking for different way to grow my listening palette. I’m also excited to learn what it’s like to play music from a radio perspective.”
Spend your afternoons delving deep into the Minnesota music scene with Greg Grease: every Friday through June 3 from noon until 6 p.m. on Local Current!
Local Current’s DJ in Residence project is supported by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Related stories
• Greg Grease performs in The Current studio (2013)
• The O.K. Show, Episode 12: A conversation with Greg Grease on self-care and community building (2016)
http://blog.thecurrent.org/2016/05/welcome-greg-grease-our-may-dj-in-residence-on-local-current/
Brother Ali, Sarah White , ZULUZULUU & Lady Midnight for racial justice.
An all-star lineup of artists performed at Icehouse on Thursday night. The sold-out Stay Awake Vol. 3 show, presented by Hope Community Inc.'s Parks and Power campaign, aimed to promote racial justice and awareness. Minneapolis indie-rap stud Brother Ali, Sarah White, Zuluzulu and Lady Midnight performed. All photos by Mike Madison.
City Pages slideshow
http://www.citypages.com/slideshow/brother-ali-rocks-icehouse-for-racial-justice-8274813/43
Dam-Funk with ZULUZULUU & Pho
Damon “Dam-Funk” Riddick is the epitome of funk. Ever since debuting with Stones Throw in 2008, Dam-Funk has become one of the genres most passionate proselytizers, out to save it from devilish depictions of cartoonish caricature. To Dam, funk is a way of living, “a feeling of struggle and staying cool through it all.”
Dam-Funk grew up in the Los Angeles city/suburb of Pasadena. A ‘70s baby, he came of age in the era of the Uncle Jamm’s Army parties, of electro-pharaoh Egyptian Lover, of Prince’s purple reign. His parents nurtured his musical talents as a child and by his teens, he mastered the drums, then the drum machine. A chance encounter led to an apprenticeship under funk songwriter/producer Leon Sylvers III (SOLAR Records) and by the mid-90s G-Funk era in hip-hop, Dam found his musical skills in high demand by rappers such as Mack 10 and MC Eiht. “Everybody was trying to do the live instrumentation thing, so then you got cats like me playing on records,” Dam explains.
Sideman status wasn’t enough though. Dam remembers “watching gold plaques hitting the wall” for everyone but him and he decided to go “full-funk” and make a do-or-die try to become an artist on his own terms. In 2006, Dam-Funk and a few friends launched the popular Funkmosphere party in L.A., bringing the boogie back. It’s around then that Dam drew the attention of Stones Throw and both label and artist related to Dam’s insistence that “funk is not just a Jheri Curl. There was more than that..”
http://www.amsterdambarandhall.com/events/dam-funk/
Greg Grease's experimental side project ZULUZULUU releases new track, Black Maybe
Since their inception, Greg Grease's experimental side project ZULUZULUU has been one of the few can't-miss live sets in the Twin Cities. Yet there's been one problem, they've barely released any music. Lucky for us, that's all about to change in 2016 as the crew says they have plenty of records in the stash. To start, AfroPunk just premiered a new song of theirs, a space funk cover of Syreeta and Stevie Wonder's Black Maybe. In addition, their multi-talented band-member MykeShevy released his own reinterpretation of Dwele's Angel. Keep your ears and eyes peeled for where they go next. via Greenroom Magazine
http://www.greenroommagazine.com/blog/2016/2/15/zuluzuluu-black-maybe