1ForTheShow: Don Of A New Era

When you’ve been in the Oklahoma music scene for a while you start to notice the trend. In the beginning it’s these old artists, that people know and respect and have pushed the culture forward. Then there’s the middle-aged artist that have been doing music for a long time, but you start to see outside influences take their time away from the music such as relationships and kids. Finally, you have the young artists. These are the artists that haven’t been jaded by life. These artists don’t have much money but what they do have on their side is time, and a fearlessness to get their music in front of anybody and everybody who will listen. As J. Cole put it, “I was like a young Simba, couldn't wait to be the king.”.

Last night embodied the young artists that are waiting on their turn to take the throne. The Don of New Era, a fitting title for the nights festivities was filled with the upcoming artists in Tulsa. The new era of kings, which included performances from Crigga, Wxlon, Savvy Kray, JediahKO, Uncle Jay, Shay Breezy, ABK, and JuiceBox. You might be wondering how these artists all came together. It was a collaborative effort from all the artist plus The Underground Collective, Sharpside Trent, and also DJ Alive on Arrival.

Admittedly I didn’t catch all the performances, but the performances I did left a lasting impression. My biggest surprise of the night was Uncle Jay. I didn’t expect for his music to be that good. And it was so versatile. He was able to turn up with the crowd and also have some vibey chill music. The crowd was moving to his music which showed that he’s on to something. Make sure you follow Uncle Jay (@unclejaymakesmusic).

The next artist that really caught my attention was Wxylon. Of course, because of his looks he’s going to get a Kid Cudi comparison. I would also say he also draws comparisons because of the way his music seems to draw in people. By the time he got to his second track the crowd had already surrounded him and were holding on to every word. But he’s not only a rapper, he’s also a producer who produced some of the tracks that were performed by artists sharing the same stage. Maybe that makes him more Kanye, but mostly that makes him an artist. You are definitely going to hear more from him in 2024. Make you follow wxlon (@wxylon)

Last but not certainly least is an artist that has been going for the thrown ever since I first seen him at The Soulbody Cyphers American Idol style contest. JediahKO. It seems like from time I first saw him he’s done nothing but go up. When we talk about artists that can bring a crowd, it’s definitely JediahKO. He’s been one of the most consistent and most booked artists this year. The music just speaks for itself. He has that part down. The versatility to go from hard hitting bars to love songs embody what it means to be an artist. He has a comfortability on stage that shows and he can move the crowd. He is also on our mixtape “The Purple Tape Volume 1.5: The Purple Flee” where he delivered a dope performance on his song “Samson”. The price for JediahKO is going up in 2024. Make sure you follow JediahKO (@jediahko)

Advice: It’s important to know that when you’re young, you can still learn from people who’ve been there and done that. In my case I’ve been to 100s of shows. So here are some things I would tell all the artists. The first major rule is: DON’T RAP OVER YOUR LYRICS. This is what separates a rapper from an emcee. Trust me, you will be able to do so much more with your performance by not rapping over your vocals. The second tip is: Learn breathe control. With being an artist there is so many bad influences but one thing you have to do is to be able to rap rap for over 10 minutes, and the only way you can do that is learning breathe control which takes most likely, training. But it goes a long way to not be wheezing trying to catch your breath and still be mid-bar. My last tip is: Network and work the crowd. You never know who is at these shows, so don’t just leave after your performance. Stay and network because it might be the person who books shows looking for new talent sitting right in the audience. Or it might be an artist looking for more artists that want to perform. Your network equals your net worth. LITERALLY!!!looking A bonus tip would be: Put your music on BandCamp other some other site where people can buy your music rather than solely streaming it. Trust me, the bags bigger. And get some merch. That's a whole bigger bag. 

All in all the night had some amazing talent. Too much to highlight. I can’t wait to see these kings grow and take the throne. But the unique thing was that this group of young kings who all had their own palaces, for one night joined under the same banner.  Will it ever be done again? I sure hope so. Because these events are important. And the thing we can do as music lovers is support these young kings by going to their shows, liking and sharing their content, and of course, actually buying their music. Not just streaming it. But actually, buying their music. This is how they invest in their craft and get better, And when they finally do claim the throne still, we need to support them, because kings still need support at the top. Ask Simba!