AMEN DUNES, WHITE LACES, SNOWY OWLS, CANARY OH CANARY, PLAY STRANGE MATTER THIS SATURDAY!
If you follow this blog close enough — you are aware that I will branch out of my zone from time to time to hit a noteworthy indie rock show. I got a note about this show about a month ago and checked around with some of my RVA indie music friends – they all say, this one is worth checking out. Amen Dunes (New York) will be headlining the show. From what I’ve read, Damon McMahnon is Amen Dunes. His work has been getting praise in Pitchfork for a while now. Joining the bill is some really good local bands: White Laces (who are friends of the blog – I dig them), Snowy Owls (who I’ve never seen live but are highly recommended, and Canary Oh Canary. The show is this Saturday (10 PM) at Strange Matter. I’ve been told it is sure to sell out! (Pictured Amen Dunes (left) and White Laces.
FULL PHOTOS: CAIN MCCOY’S BIRTHDAY BASH [STRANGE MATTER, RVA]
Last weekend my dude Cain McCoy and Team Slapdash took over Strange Matter for two nights of events. I was able to make it out to Cain’s Birthday Bash. The event featured performances from Eli Dynamite, Sky Blew, Les La Britanica, Dr. Millionaire (Former Isaiah and Hovey), Rebel E, Conrizzle, and Suburban District.
It is always nice to see RVA’s hip hop community supporting each other. The more I cover RVA’s hip hop scene – the more I realize that everything is not always what appears on the surface but Friday night was more love than anything else and that was promising. I’ve said before and I say again now - The Cheats Movement Blog is really about the positive elements in RVA’s creative community. If you are on your grind and doing things the right way – that uplifts the creative community – hit me up. There is just something about that Cheats Movement Logo – it’s starting to catch on. #WESEEIT.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE PHOTOS FROM CAIN’S BIRTHDAY BASH
Conrizzle, Octavion Xcellence, Isaiah, and Hovey getting it in.
PHOTOS: NELLY KATE’S ALBUM RELEASE SHOW FT. THE DIAMOND CENTER
I was on my brand new ISH last night – taking photos at the album release show for Nelly Kate’s ISH ISH. I must admit that the show is not a normal Cheats Movement blog stop BUT I was really happy by the number of friends I saw at Strange Matter and how cool the vibe was last night. To be honest, I shouldn’t have been surprised at all – I’ve seen The Diamond Center a few times and they are some of the nicest people around. This was my first time seeing them live inside (I saw them at RVA Music Fest) and they are flat out awesome.
However, the reason most people were in the building last night was to see Nelly Kate play songs off her new album ISH ISH. I’ve never seen anything like it – Nelly’s live performance is a beautiful war. She plays amazing – she sounds amazing – she is going to battle up there to create her unique sound and she pulls it off flawlessly. Also on the bill were The Pharmacy (Seattle) and SoftSpot (Brooklyn). They both turned in really solid sets. You should check for all of these bands online.
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE PHOTOS FROM NELLY KATE’S ISH ISH RELEASE SHOW [COMING SOON]
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BRAND NEW ISH: NELLY KATE PRESENTS: ISH ISH [MARCH 1]
The last few weeks have been really amazing for The Cheats Movement Blog. I have been able to branch out of my normal zone, meet new people, cover new events, and heard some new music. I must admit, from time to time I can get to a place where I want to hear something completely different. I think everyone feels that way some days. You just want to hear something that you’ve never heard before. Well, I got something like that for you on this Monday. Allow me to introduce to you: Nelly Kate.
Nelly Kate emailed me a few weeks ago and asked if I would listen to her new album Ish Ish. It is being officially released this Thursday (March 1) at Strange Matter. I gave the album a listen, not knowing what to expect and what I heard was something different, something unique, and something worth sharing to you. You can tell immediately that she takes pride in her music. It’s a personal experience for her. Most artist can transfer their passion to a live audience but it is much more difficult to transfer that same energy through studio recordings. I think Ish Ish does a really good job transferring real feeling to anyone that listens to it.
The album is ten tracks. Most of the songs have a relaxing pace to them but hold a tension that forces you to pay attention. I’m not an expert in this genre of music but think bjork or Tori Amos. I selected the song Blue Badges to share because I believe this song highlights Nelly Kate’s project Ish Ish but also a direction that an artist like Nelly Kate can go in the future. The other tracks that really grabbed my attention are: Mind Corners and Every Article. Check it out and let me know if you’ve heard a sound like this before.
Blue Badges by Nelly Kate
NELLY KATE’S ISH ISH ALBUM RELEASE SHOW IS AT STRANGE MATTER ON MARCH 1. PERFORMING WITH NONE OTHER THAN THE DIAMOND CENTER (S/O KYLE AND BRANDI), THE PHARMACY, AND SOFTSPOT
PHOTOS: HIP HOP FOR THE HUNGRY [STRANGE MATTER, RVA]
First and foremost, S/O to MizzUndastood and Black Liquid for organizing, hosting, and promoting such a good cause in RVA. Homelessness is a problem in our city, especially during this holiday season. We all must do our part to help our community. RVA Hip Hop has really presented a strong – positive showing with community events throughout the year. With that said, last night’s Hip Hop For The Hungry went hard with performances by: Artik Phreeze, Black Liquid, Bobby Capri, The Big League, Divine Profitz, Illa Scorsese, Kleph Dollaz, Radio B, Ms Proper, NickelusF (with Conrizzle), Sleaze, and more (If I left you off — my bad –holla at me).
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See all 30 plus photos by clicking a photo or the link below.
Nickelus F
Artik Phreeze
Ms. Proper
The Honorable Sleaze
Hip Hop For the Hungry – Click Here to see all the photos!
Face Melt V [Strange Matter, RVA]
Face Melt Fridays at Strange Matter keeps getting stronger. Face Melt V brought its most enthusiastic crowd to the series. Hosted by Azrael Onassis and Black Liquid, I’ve got a few photos from the part of the night I was there — S/O to the New Juice Crew, OMG, Swordplay killed it, Cameo by Octavion Xcellence. I had a real nice talk with Conrizzle – fresh off of his Big Sean performance — big things coming from him. Click HERE to see all the photos.
FACE MELT V: THE LEAKED 6
Face Melt Friday is always a fun shoot — a lot of love and support for each other and hip-hop. I’ve been crazy busy preparing for RVA HOT SAUCE on Oct 21st! Make sure you come through and support the fam. BUT I did manage to leak a preview of the Face Melt Shoot…for now click here to enjoy the leaked 6.
Tonight: Black Liquid & OMG Presents Face Melt Friday IV
![Face Melt Friday III [Strange Matter, RVA]](http://i2.wp.com/videos.videopress.com/n7Whg72n/face-melt-friday_scruberthumbnail_11.jpg "Watch: Face Melt Friday III [Strange Matter, RVA]")
Talented RVA Hip-Hop tonight at Strange Matter. DJ King James is in the building! If you missed my clip from FMF III – Check this out! Don’t sleep on RVA! It’s going down.
Dope On Plastic on The Cheats Movement [DOP NIGHTSHIFT Party Tonight!]
It’s no secret that I am a fan of RVA blogs. I very much consider myself much more of a reader and fan than a blogger (or even photoblogger) myself. I started reading Dope on Plastic around a year ago and liked it so much that I “cold” emailed Erik Fox, the creator of the site, just to tell him how much I enjoyed his work. Last Sunday, I finally ran into and met Erik shooting some shots at the Camel (Hence the Pic). It’s always great to meet people in person and Erik was very cool. Dope on Plastic, along with Rumors, is throwing a party tonight at Strange Matter. Click HERE for all the details. Check it out tonight and support RVA!
Richmond Kids – Episode 1 [Strange Matter, RVA]
I started this blog in January after seeing a site from a NYC Photographer name Tone. I was just hooked on his site every day. Tone had a video post titled Sway Kids. It was shot outside of Sway in NYC. I had to have watched those episodes a million times. I still watch them. Richmond Kids is my version of Sway Kids. It was shot outside of Strange Matter during Face Melt Friday. Shout out to Tone and shout out to everyone that just gave love. This week has been amazing for the blog. Keep that love going and the RVA effort going. The freestyle is from Holik (Adrian King).
FACE MELT FRIDAY III – RVA Hip-Hop [Strange Matter,RVA]
First and foremost, shout to Azrael Onassis. We go back a bit and I appreciate the love he’s always giving the Cheats Movement Blog. With that, shout to OMG, Black Liquid, and Strange Matter. It went down Friday night; true RVA Hip-Hop. It was all positive and all love – SEE ALL MY PHOTOS BY CLICKING HERE. Stay tuned this week for Richmond Kids: Episode 1. A short vid from Face Melt Friday III. Hit me up on twitter and Like the Cheats Movement on Facebook.
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