I feel that's what good hip hop does. It grabs the listener, entertains them, opens their mind. Solid, classic samples line the background, while a smooth flow lines the foreground. The group pays respect to the borrowed music by creating something new and worthy of skilled ears.

MellowHigh, an extension of Odd Future's MellowHype (Left Brain and Hodgy Beats), will take over the Waiting Room tonight, on tour for their self-titled debut album MellowHigh.

Read my exclusive buffaBLOG interview here, and peak inside the mind of the MellowHigh fellas, the wolfs from the gang: Hodgy Beats, Left Brain and Domo Genesis. Here are some quote snippets from the interview.

Left Brain on why he loves music: "Because, it makes me move, my body. I want to move my body. I don't know anything else, I want to move my body. It's a source of energy. When music turns on, people start moving. When you turn the light on, the fucking room is bright. It's like a source of energy. And I like it."

Domo on the OFWGKTA bond: "These are just my friends. These really are my friends, you know what I'm saying? Before we did music or anything we were all just hanging out, so it didn't really mean much more than just a normal friendship. These are the things we do. When it comes to money and distribution and stuff like that, we're gonna do it all fair and easy because these are my homies. We have stuff, but we all come together. And be like, 'yo, you guys are tripping.' We're homies and we're gonna stay that way."

Hodgy on MellowHigh: "There's like a chemistry or something in the air, and it just worked out. We all know each other."

Their story says it all, need I say more?



After Dark Entertainment presents the event. Opening the night will be performances from two local acts: Network and Koolie High.

Network, comprised by Derek Sullivan and Quinton Brock, set themselves apart by bringing an electronic instrumental vibe to their tunes. The duo has opened for names like Pusha T and Wale. Their EP Wake Up was released on Oct. 31 this year, and is available for pure listening and free download on their Bandcamp page.


Gaines and ToneyBoi lead the KooLiE HiGH gang. While youthful high schoolers they signed to Nickel City Records. Since, the "Krew" has grown, and includes Skateboard MctwistUp, Mr. H-n-F, XtraFresh, M.A.R., TeaPot, Alize' and more. Their motto is to "Live Life Be KooL," cooling out and twisting up. Verses and beats of theirs can be found scattered on SoundCloud, YouTube and one of my all-time favorite go-to websites, DatPiff.

I heard about this event at the Pierce-Arrow building several months ago and have been looking forward to it since. TOATS ORIG and Fat Katz Entertainment present Mayday, Mayday Pop-Up Party. With Buffalo's classic venues on a downward closing spiral, it'll be refreshing to see some of our city's finest talent throwing it down at a whole new venue. The Pierce-Arrow is spacious with the warehouse vibe to it. In addition to the music, visuals will be provided by Projex. Come through tonight and check it out.

December 21, 2012 has come and gone, and nothing happened as far as I know. Hopefully some astrological shift adjusts the social decorum of this and upcoming generations but let's be honest, that was definitely not going to happen over night.

Regardless, Toats Orig is taking advantage of the non-apocalyptic outcome with a party tonight. We're Alive, an exclamatory title for the Soundlab rager that will commence at 10 p.m.

Unable to attend because I'm tucked away in Syracuse for winter break, everyone that can go should  because it will surely be a great time. Rufus Gibson always performs a fantastic set; Mario B is treking back from Rochester; Buzz Trillington and Shooter McNappin (together known as SwaggleRock) in one year have improved greatly and really come into their own as DJs; KooLiE HigH, a local hip-hop crew that claims "Real Nigga Shit but stayed in skool and played it Kool"; Dr. Ooo is a Buffalo favorite of mine, he performed at our holiday party so if you missed out on that you have a second chance.