Artspeak Radio- Curated Vibes

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, March 9, 2022, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1FM KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes guest co-host Flare Tha Rebel for a special show today, Curated Vibes.

Curated Vibes Overview
Each episode we focus on a musical theme and break down and listen to songs within that theme. Additionally, understanding that music can be used to empower, we end each show by highlighting an artist doing something meaningful in the community.
Guests include; Kemet Coleman, Ubi, and Jade and Xavier of The Black Creatures.

Flare Tha Rebel
Career and love brought hip-hop MC Flare Tha Rebel back to his hometown of Kansas City, MO, which created a second wind of new music. Noted by The Pitch, “As a member of hip-hop collective Anti-Crew, Flare Tha Rebel made quite an impact on the Kansas City hip-hop scene. After making the leap from KC to Chicago in the late ‘00s, he’s now back…” Flare’s new music continues to gain traction, as his songs “Happy Clouds (Bob Ross Flow)” and “Child’s Play” were voted number 3 & 4 of 90.9 FM The Bridge’s Top 90 Songs of 2021.
Known for a highly energetic live performance, Flare has shared the stage with artists such as Chance the Rapper, RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Mac Lethal, Nappy Roots, and CES Cru. Although hip-hop at the core, Flare Tha Rebel’s versatility remains as he balances music with socially progressive themes that are still enjoyable enough to raise a glass to at a party. Flare Tha Rebel’s most recent release is his social justice fueled four-track EP, The Revolution Will Not Be Hashtagged.

Kemet
He’s been called the “Spirit and Soul of Kansas City” by the Kansas City Star and has played a significant role in the effort to define Kansas City’s modern musical and cultural identity under the auspices of hip=hop and jazz and marketing. Kemet, one of the most heralded rap artists, producers, and urbanists from Kansas City, formlessly combines elements of Hip-Hop, Soul, Jazz and Electronic Music into his compositions, creating a kaleidoscopic “Gumbo Groove.” As an urbanist and marketing guru, he is the recipient of several awards and has brokered many unconventional collaborations. The award-winning song, Get Out (the Streetcar Song) played a significant role in fostering 1,000,000 riders during it’s first year of operation as it became the official song of the public transit movement in KC. Kemet is the lead vocalist and band leader of the psychedelic soul collective, The Phantastics and one of the founding members of the 18-piece ensemble, Brass Boujee.

Ubi
Ubi (you-bee-eye) aka Ubiquitous is a Hip Hop artist representing Kansas City, MO. He moves as a solo lyricist and is one half of the dynamic duo CES Cru. Now independent (former Strange Music signee) and venturing out on his own, Ubi’s style and approach that made him a pillar of Strange Music with singles such as “Seven Chakras” (over 11 million streams on Spotify) is unchanging. Loaded with dense bars are thoughtful, barbered social commentary delivered with fervor and authenticity, Ubi takes his rock-solid foundation and builds on it with a vision that is solely and powerfully his own.

The Black Creatures
The Black Creatures are a multifaceted music duo from Kansas City. Gleefully playing with elements of soul, hip-hop, and EDM, they’re here to tell interdimensional stories – through all-original, lyric-heavy songs and live performances. They share real stories from a less-explored perspective, while others are spun from fantastical vantage points. Influenced by neo-soul sirens like Erykah Badu and Alicia Keys, wordsmiths like Da Brat and Tech N9ne, and composers a la Daft Punk and Robert Glasper, they make music that defies genre and tradition in an effort to break generational curses. The idea is that society’s hexes, long bound up by the threads of anti-black repression, insincerity, and envy, can be uncrossed by doing what has not been done before. They aim to honor the past, celebrate the present, and transcend the expectations of the future by creating consistently unique songs, videos, images, and interactive live performances.


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