Roll Tide Roll: Southern Sojourn Day 3

And then there was ‘Bama.

The place that inspired it all. It’s a funny experience driving into the unknown. Perhaps it’s because it’s been so long since I’ve traveled to somewhere I’d never been but the newness of it all is exciting. And then of course there is the music.

You probably already saw what I arrived in the state too. Then there was Charlemagne Records, an upstairs space that felt cozy and how a record shop should feel… lived in. It was here I met up with Josh from K.L.U.B. Monsta and from there we rode down to the Birmingham Art Museum where an Andy Worhol exhibit is featured right now.

The collection of his later works was interesting and marked my first time seeing anything of his not on a screen of some sort. Lots of images of cars, and a video of him painting a BMW race car. It was a random and cool side journey. And to top it off, the museum sponsored some local writers to do pieces on an outside wall. Legals walls are the greatest.

The thermometer read 105 degrees, bringing back memories of the first day in the A. Josh told me they rarely see temperatures below 80 degrees, something baffeling and slightly comforting to me after a life in the dreary Northwest.

We left downtown and drove out to B-Flat studio, a home studio, but not your typical one. A self taught individual, you can hear his beats all over an array of Birmingham work including the stellar KD album from last year G-Fluid and chunk of things off the most recent K.L.U.B. Monsta album Separate But Sequel. You should probably listen to “Routine” right now. And then the rest of the album.

After they laid down some verses and friendly roasting myself and the Monsta’s rolled out to Jim N Nicks BBQ where we interviewed each other about our respective cities while munching on some BBQ that could only compete with Blacks in Texas.

After parting ways I got lost for a bit in the confusion of too many intersecting highways but I made it back to the hotel and am plotting for my journey to New Orleans. I’m debating if I take the longer route, explore a bit more of the South and see the Gulf Coast or if I make a mad dash for the funky city and Currensy?

As I debate that I’m giving Codie G’s new compilation Dirty Dixie Project. It’s filled with mostly Huntsville Artists, and a handful of Birmingham cats as well. It’s not blowing me away, but it’s introducing me to a different sound and style from a number of people I doubt have ever gotten their music heard outside of their hometown or state. It’s a respectful move on the part of Codie and should prevent anyone from ever saying the SMS camp isn’t trying to spread the love in some way.

Two9 Forever drops today, listen for me as I’ll be stuck in a car with no MP3 abilities…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 4th, 2012 at 8:00 am. It is filed under Blog and tagged with Alabama Hiphop, B-Flat, Birmingham, Codie G, Dirty Dixie, K.L.U.B. Monsta, KD, Southern Sojourn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.