Yuupppp… I’ll be there!

SMKA’s The 808 Experiment: Vol 2 Release Party featured a new class of talent. The project and performers at the show featured artists like Yelawolf, Pill, Nappy Roots, Hollyweerd, Rahbi, Grippylaz and many more. There were several stand out performances in the night, but I doubt there was anyone at the show that didn’t think Aleon Craft killed it!!!

This is an excerpt from the Creative Loafing Review: “808 Experiment: Vol. 2 release party puts the A on blast”

“The best performance of the night came from ALeon Craft, who gave the crowd a snippet of “Botanicals,” his song on Vol. 2, while firing up a skinny blunt onstage. Before the song was halfway through, he had DJ Sol Messiah cut the track and asked the crowd if they wanted to hear some new shit. The track Messiah proceeded to play was such a dookie funked-out groove that it felt like we were entering an alternate dimension with ALeon as some extraterrestrial Clintonian (George, not Bill) tour guide.

The hook featured a backdrop of heavenly voices cooing in harmony while ALeon transformed the slo-mo flow he’d been using on the verses into something more androidish. It was too loud to detect most of the lyrics, but from what I could make out the title was self-explanatory — a salacious shot-out to women with that “Donkey Kong.”

The beat housed this haunting, sensual three-dimensionality that made the Star Bar seem cave-like for the moment, as if overhead stalactites were dripping with delectable sexual energy. Then again, maybe it was ALeon’s contact smoke. I was standing pretty close to the stage. By the time the song ended, Hollyweerd, Grip, Sean Falyon and some white dude who looked like Kevin Federline had all jumped onstage, too, doing a Donkey Kong-like dance. (There’s a video of the performance but the bad audio doesn’t begin to do it justice. ALeon says the song will be included on an upcoming mixtape due to be released in March, and he also has an SMKA project titled Solar Hop due out this spring.)” – Creative Loafing

FULL ARTICLE HERE

This is a very special and unique collaboration between Hip-Hop and Classic that is truly the first of its kind. SMKA was commissioned by The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to remix a piece for their “Concerts for Young People” series. The song 808 Blake created is called “Music is My Life” produced by SMKA, and it is written and performed by Aleon Craft. Additionally, Parker Smith played the guitar and Brand Dorfman scored the peice. It has been performed 20 times since October 2009. CNN covered the collaboration last week and aired the special today. This featured story on CNN aired 12:45pm Today!

The 808 Experiment: Vol 2 Release Party just set the bar for hip-hop shows in 2010. One of the highlights was a performance by Aleon Craft’s (unreleased) “Donkey Kong” (prod. SMKA). KILLED IT.

On Jan 22, 2010, Atlanta celebrated the release of SMKA’s The 808 Experiment: Vol 2. From 6-9pm artists, fans and media packed in WISH for interviews, a photo shoot and free copy of The 808 Experiment: Vol 2. Then everyone migrated next door to the Star Bar for a night of cheap drinks and great performances. The venue was at capacity all night long with a 30 minute line topping 50 people waiting to get in outside. DJ Sol Messiah and Terry Urban played musical DJs throughout the night and keep the party going till 3am. However, the highlights of the night were the unbelievable performances put on by the artists. There were 13 performances including: Nappy Roots, Yelawolf, FKi, Hollyweerd, Aleon Craft, Tom P, Young Scolla, RE, Grip Plyaz… and a special surprise performance from Pill. All the artists performed their song off the 808 Experiment: Vol 2, with a few surprises thrown in the mix. The night was capped off by an improvised set by Terry Urban, Alien the Drummer and Parker Smith on Guitar. We had an amazingly talented band behind the artists, which resulted in one of the best hip-hop shows the city of Atlanta has ever seen. If you don’t believe me, ask someone who was there.

Artist / Singer / Time Travel / Solar Hop / Soul / Yoga Flame / Botanicals Desire / Beauty / Decatur / Life / Knowledge / Stars / Mothership / Spaced Out / Funk / Quest / Gifted / Love / Music / Bass / Journey / Wonder / Right On / Joy / Bearded / Perform / Rock / Technology / The Future / History / Atlanta / Original / Fresh / Vintage / Passion / Stories / Enjoy / Southern / Excitement /

The 808 Experiment: Vol 2 Release Party @ Star Bar — Presented by SMKA and Motion Family

Motion Family: motionfamily.com

Hosted By: Illroots, Creative Loafing, Frank 151, The Smoking Section, Esperanza, Chilly-O, and Ruby Hornet

Download The 808 Experiment: Vol 2 @ smka.bandcamp.com/album/the-808-experiment-vol-2

(Song: Hollyweerd ft Aleon Craft – “So What” off The 808 Experiment: Vol 2)

All Photos ©Lee Starnes 2010
leestarnesphoto.com

For licensing information contact leestarnes [at] gmail [dot] com