Honey Mag

I slept twice today in Texas, which is odd because for the last couple of days in New York I haven’t been able to sleep. I got here this morning on a red eye from LaGuardia that I almost missed because in my supreme intelligence I assumed I was flying out of JFK. $70 cab later, I made it to LaGuardia and Funkmaster Flex was two people behind me in the TSA line. Omen? Possibly.

I got down to Houston and skipped my connecting flight to Austin to catch up with my twin, IB3. Me and IB did SXSW together last year the same way, I flew to Houston and then we drove to Austin. Superstition is a motherfu&%er. We gassed up IB’s brand new old school Ford “Cocaine” (no lie, that’s the car’s name) and got on I-10. Two hours late, we hit the Austin City limits and my South by Southwest started.

SXSW is a different experience for each artist that goes through it. Some embrace it and some utilize it. I’d like to think that I embrace it more than I use it — especially this year. Music festivals like this are one of the few times that artists from all over the country — different genres on the same grind — are all in the same place. That’s an incredible thing to see with your own eyes if you appreciate music.

Last year, when I came down here for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect but I knew I needed to be there. Once I was there I understood. After last year I knew I needed to be here as many years as I could and coming this year was never a question for me.

Everybody’s ride to SXSW is different. In order to understand what I mean you have to actually see it. People come down and play on the streets in front of the bars and lounges the showcases are being held in. SXSW is NOT a Hip Hop Festival. It’s become more of a Hip Hop festival in the last few years but the feeling here is truly indie. A city full of people believing in their talents, chasing their dreams and doing it on an incredible stage.

Some fly into Austin, some drive like we did, some caravan across country, some hitchhike I’m sure. The people that come here for the most part feel like we need to be here by any means necessary. Which is the same way that we feel about our success. The stage is set, even if the only stage some of the artists down here see is a curb on 6th street….

Ride wit me,

Esso