The Renaissance Rundown: Heat 18 — See you never, 2020
The last Rundown of the year!
What’s good y’all?
While 18 is literally an even number, it doesn’t feel like a “conclusion” number to me ya know? 20 would have — 19 definitely would not have. I hope that made sense. But the new year is coming and I am confident we are all waiting for it for one reason or another.
TL;dr — Juwan thanks you for reading. We reveal a new thing we’ve got. We say ‘sayonara’ to 2020… and we share a preview of our most anticipated piece. FINALLY.
Hello everyone!
I am Juwan, the Editorial Revolutionary-in-Charge (i.e. the creator) of The Renaissance . I’m stopping by to write a send-off message for 2020 (thank goodness, and good riddance) and thank you all for supporting us.
I started this publication with little experience in managing a publication, let alone creating a journalism product, self-funding it, and building it almost from scratch. I knew I needed to do it though, because hip hop culture not only deserved better coverage, but had earned it. I cover most of what makes me believe that in our Manifesto, but this year only emphasized that belief for me. We need a renaissance. Not only in hip hop, but… what better place to start?
I knew from the start that I couldn’t do it alone. I was lucky to meet and begin working with Paul in 2019 — rather, lucky and blessed he was willing to put up with my delirious, ever-shifting vision. The Renaissance would not exist without him. His support and willingness to put up the work allowed us to create a new, independent home for hip hop journalism that is read by hundreds of people every month, including you. You’re in good hands with his newsletter every week.
Admittedly, we already had it tough trying to be journalists, editors, self-publishers, and survive at the same time. Needless to say, the pandemic (panorama, panini, panda, Petey Pablo, etc.) made that way harder. We were down and out for some time, trying to figure out how to keep what we started going. I don’t know about Paul, but I nearly gave up dozens of times. It would be much simpler to say, ‘fuck it’ and move on to doing something else. It still is that way, but we remain committed, and this year, we revigorated that commitment. That’s why we came back.
That’s why we started this newsletter, read and syndicated throughout the internet for hundreds of viewers on its own, and we’ve sent it out for eighteen weeks in a row. That’s why we unveiled a legit, versatile logo. That’s why we started writing occasional news articles to go alongside our ongoing commentary and perspective reporting. That’s why we’ve chased stories, profiles and interviews, for similar reasons for every other publication kept on doing throughout this hellish year: the work is needed. That’s why, after trying to figure it out for months, finally put together an external, self-managed website, available at Renaissance.prismcollaborative.com.
People breath, bleed, and live for hip hop. Some don’t, at least not through-and-through, but that’s okay. Just like some don’t need music, or sports, or fashion in every aspect of their lives. That doesn’t make media for it any less important.
We look to make that even clearer, starting now and going beyond the new year. That’s why we’ve bought on two more contributors, Kyle B. Denis and Allahna Stevie, to further diversify and improve The Renaissance. We’ll continue to try and do that, which is why in the new year, we’re planning to bring to you the playlist “Flavor Waves,” created and managed by R&B artist & playlist curator Taylor Gray. This is in addition to, and separately managed from, our own periodical playlists, but welcoming “Flavor Waves” to the family will further diversify and improve the content we bring to you, the reader. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Apple Music and soon, on The Renaissance.
And, most of all, we’ve been working hard for our long-awaited, most-teased article ever, which is about mashup sensation Amorphous. You’ll see an excerpt of our interview below, and it will all finally, actually come out this week. (Don’t stake my life on it, ’cause this is still 2020, after all.)
So anyway, thank you for being patient, trusting us, and/or giving us the chance to earn your time and trust. Here’s to all of us getting the better years we’ve all earned in 2021 and beyond. If you read this in your inbox or on Medium.com weekly, sorry for the longer-than-normal extraordinary rant. Back to your normal newsletter message.
— Juwan J. Holmes
ARTICLES
Here’s some of our favorite articles of 2020. Stop by and read them if you haven’t already:
“Chasing Blanco Billions” — Paul K. Barnes
23-year-old California producer Blanco Billions swoons listening ears with his sensory sound — all without saying a word. The accolades and the recognition have begun to arrive… but even this young, reserved, overworking maestro couldn’t avoid struggles with emotions, time, and isolation.
“Reconsidered: Watch The Throne” — Juwan J. Holmes & Paul K. Barnes
This is the first installation of Reconsideration, a retrospective column from the editorial staff of The Renaissance, taking a past hip hop project and reviewing it in the present with a new lens. This looks at the album Watch the Throne (2011): Jay and Kanye’s collaborative album set hip-hop ablaze 9 years ago. Fittingly, it continues to burn — musically and emotionally — for them, and for us.
How Mariah Carey Sparked (Another) Career Renaissance — Kyle B. Denis
Following that disastrous 2017 New Year’s performance, Mariah earned her 19th Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit — proving she is a marketing master.
“Why I Don’t Listen to Every New Song” — Juwan J. Holmes
The music landscape became as open as it could, thanks to streaming. So why is our listening experience as limited as ever?
“Kobe Bryant’s Rap Career: Do You Remember It?” — Paul K. Barnes
Like the rest of the world, we were devastated to hear of the passing of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and others involved in the horrible helicopter crash on January 26. The tributes and homages we’ve seen have all been beautiful and it’s only right that we do our part in it too. Being that we are The Renaissance Project, we of course opted to discuss Kobe’s rap career. Yes — he had one.
COMING UP…The Renaissance Interviews Amorphous
This week, we’ll be publishing work on the man who currently rules the internet through mixes, Amorphous. If you, like his own backup Soundcloud address asks, are wondering “Who TF is Amorphous?,” prepare to have your life changed.
Here’s some of our interview from earlier this year, exclusively previewed for our newsletter readers:
Juwan J. Holmes, The Renaissance Project: First, starting for all the people who don’t know you are — you are known as Amorphous, tell us how that name came together.
Amorphous: On social media and through my music work, I’m known as Amorphous. I kind of came about that name, I believe, around 2014, 2015. I had gone through a couple of names by then, but they were just not doing it for me. I wanted to find a name that encompassed a feeling that being undefined, that I’m not categorized into a box. Something that I’ve showcased, I can do a multitude of things. Whether a multitude of genres, music, or different media — music, film, art — I wanted something that would represent all of that. So I went through… what’s it called — a thesaurus?
TRP: *laughs*
AMO: …And I just saw ‘Amorphous’, and said, ‘hmm… that’s kind of cute. I like that.’ I just stuck with it. Once I started to take off, I was like, ‘I’m definitely keeping this right now.’ So, yeah, that’s how it came about.
TRP: I can’t even remember the last time I opened a thesaurus — a physical thesaurus…
AMO: I know. Well, it was online, okay? I was looking for synonyms… I was like, ‘okay, what does this mean? Does this go with it?’ Oh no. I didn’t open an actual book. I haven’t done that since middle school [*laughs*] — it’s been a minute!
TRP: So, you are from…
AMO: I’m from Philly, and I went to college in Orlando, went and moved to L.A. for a year, and now I’m back in Orlando. You know, coronavirus and all.
TRP: What would you say you are more known for? Filmmaking, music, or…
AMO: I think, definitely the music. I’ve done some documentaries, I did the Aaliyah documentary, I did a Rihanna documentary that she saw — so those got pretty big, but I feel most people, if you say, ‘Jimir’ or ‘Amorphous’ — they’re like, ‘that’s the guy that does the mashups, or produces.’ You know, I got my following on Soundcloud first, just from producing like the mashups.
…
TRP: You described a lot of your work as exercises or experiments — so it may not feel like hard work, even though I imagine it is. When do you think the time will come to stop exercising and get to work?
AMO: Yeah… I guess — can I just say: when I think of where I want to be in terms of my career or whatever, since I’m interested in so many different things or whatever — I feel like this is true for any creative — I want to be happy creating and financially stable. It’s very rare that anyone will give you the budget to do whatever, and you’ll have all the financial security in the world… but I would say I’m just in the constant system of creating, and, being happy, that’s when I’ll stop exercising.
I may still exercise, but that’s when I’ll start genuinely, 100 percent take it seriously. I don’t think that time has particularly happened yet. Um, and that’s not to say it necessarily has to be in the form of an album, it could still be free music and still available for anyone to download, but I need consistent clientele or a project to create to allow me I’m working toward something, working toward something.
I feel like I’m getting there, you know? I started working with OVO and dvsn, and certain things are happening… but it’s just not there yet. But I’m still really young, and I believe in hard work will pay off. I just have to keep my head up. It’ll happen one day.
…I hope that answers your question. I feel like that was extra.
TRP: No, it definitely, definitely did. *laughs*
NEWS
Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red has officially finally dropped. Coming in at 24 tracks you can’t say we weren’t given a lot for a two year wait. But as expected, core listeners had laundry lists of songs/leaks they hoped to hear on it that were not there. He has since announced a deluxe edition so we’ll see what happens with that. Because it is 2020, his release came with the mother of his baby, Iggy Azalea, airing him out for not being a good father on Twitter and Instagram. His “response” was posting a video and picture of himself with the baby. Other releases include Xavier Wulf’s Rude Dog album with producer Quintin Lamb, a 3 track EP of live songs from Flatbush ZOMBiES, the deluxe edition of From King to a God from Conway the Machine, and an EP called Koron from ameriKKKen whom you may know from Rhythm + Flow on Netflix. We also got a single from BADBADNOTGOOD x MF DOOM called “The Chocolate Conquistadors” which can also be heard in the latest update for the game Grand Theft Auto V.
RECOMMENDED SONGS …for some reason, all the reasons, no reasons
- “Panini” — Lil Nas X — 7 (EP) — Prod. by Take a Daytrip, co-produced by Dot da Genius
- “Sept. 16” — Kid Cudi — Man on the Moon III: The Chosen — Prod. by Dot da Genius, Emile Haynie, Plain Pat, FINNEAS, Kid Cudi and Denis Cummings
- “Almeda” — Solange feat. Playboi Carti — When I Get Home — Prod. by Solange, Pharrell Williams, John Carroll Kirby
