With our most recent issue, Vortex turned three—so we pulled out all the stops. We put together an exclusive record where we asked 11 of our favorite local artists to give us an unreleased song and we cut them to vinyl—you can still order your limited-edition copy here!
Two of those artists were Korgy & Bass and Rasheed Jamal. The former, two musicians with jazz backgrounds, provide innovative instrumental breaks, ideal for the latter to rap over. I knew an emcee like Jamal would be the perfect fit for drummer Barra Brown and keyboard player Alex Meltzer's sampled beats so I asked them if they'd be down to do a live collaboration of some sort. Without hesitation, both were in.
We gathered at the Skype Live Studio with The Thesis and KINK for a happy hour set on Monday, May 15 to watch the inventive partnership unfold. First up: Rapper Rasheed Jamal and his raw, breathless flow.
Segueing straight into Korgy & Bass' set, the live instrumentation mashed with eclectic samples immediately got heads nodding.
Then finally, the special moment came: Korgy & Bass and Rasheed Jamal prepped for their shared set. Prior to the group's final collaborative song, Jamal said: "This is our first time performing together; we rehearsed twice. Never met each other before that."
Yet the three pulled of an incredibly original, creative set that made you marvel at their abilities to recall freshly written music as well as improvise on the fly. Peep the whole awe-inspiring experience below—and pay attention to these artists in the future. CY
