Four Great North Carolina Musical Artists

by Resita Cox

Far from the big labels and high-priced venues of New York and L.A., bands and solo artists are forming their own business and audience opportunities. It’s not really unlike the old days — but now you don’t need the critical mass of an Athens or a Seattle scene. In addition to club shows and local tours, there’s a chance to grow up or even break out on the Internet. Here’s a guide to four strong and hungry acts working and playing in North Carolina.

1UP

“Swing the gas mask like an elephant trunk/then dunk/ the whole beat/ in a O-Z /of somethin’ skunk/Then I said what’s up/They say my ish was downloaded /promoted/ Hella dope so they tote it/” –J. Rowdy

In modern hip-hop, just about any artist can make a club banger, but where most fall apart is lyrical substance. 1UP can combine lyrics and beats that can stimulate your mind while still creating a song that will bang at any club scene. “1UP consists of two individuals that aren’t in the rapper norm, but decided that this is what they want to do,” said 1UP member (J) Rowdy. “We are finding our own lane outside of what, generally, hip-hop is.”

Rowdy and Cayso formed 1UP during their undergraduate years at UNC. The duo has climbed rap stairways; they were nominated this year for a Carolina Music Award. They’re on their own label, No9to5 Music, which includes five other artists and producers.

“Right now we are more than just internet rappers,” Rowdy said, “but we are not quite on the forefront. We are making our way towards the underground. This is what we do and people understand that now.”

The duo performed their first large show in Raleigh, NC. The show they’d previously performed was in a driveway. Rowdy said the experience was nerve-racking. “From a driveway to Lincoln Theatre, thats rather big,” Rowdy said. He describes their sound as “abstract 90s pop culture music.”

“We decided on 1UP as our name because, of course you have the video game concept of 1Up, but we literally wanted to 1Up everything we did,” Rowdy said. “Every single expectation we have, we want to 1Up it. 1Up is always about taking what you have and pushing your limits.”

Matt Phillips & the Philharmonic

Matt Phillips & the Philharmonic are southern musicians with a soft spot for jazz and folk. “We like to call it pop music because the goal is to make music people like — not that will sell, but what people will like,” Phillips said. Influenced by Jason Mraz, the band makes live studio recordings to preserve a natural sound.

“We had originally discussed doing a stacked record where you go in with one instrument at a time but our producer said, well, you guys sort of have this thing that when you play together, you just have a better sound,” Phillips said. The foursome came together during Phillips’ undergraduate years at East Carolina University. They recorded their first EP last summer; an EP that Phillips said they now hate. They are now working on their debut album with Manifold Recordings.

“There is a swing jazz track, folk tracks, Latin tracks, so this is really a big project for us and it has really made us a band,” Phillips said.

Their song “Olah” tells the unfortunate story of when Phillips started dating a married woman. “The song is very funny and has a lot of goofy things that were involved in my interactions with her,” Phillips said. “It’s a really straight up folky tune. This song demonstrates a lot of our fun vibe.” Phillips said his favorite stage was a small art gallery/coffee shop called Tipsy Tea Pot in Greenville, NC. “But it doesn’t matter where we play, these guys are my best friends and I enjoy every time we play,” he said.

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Star Studies

Star Studies is a cross of country, blues and folk with a pop filter. The four guys used to call themselves Band of Fools — but grew out of that name. The band aspires to incorporate all of their musical backgrounds into one sound: “We are big in the blues; we are big on the classics; we love John Mayer,” the band said. “We all grew up listening to pop music too. We all brought a lot of different musical backgrounds.”

The band formed last year and has released one single, and will be releasing their second single soon. “I say that right now we are working really hard towards putting out this EP and we are really looking forward to it,” the band said. “We plan on doing this long term.” They’re also putting out another single this summer.

JSWISS

JSWISS got his nickname in fifth grade, after the shoe KSwiss, and he’s been writing since the age of 12. He’s also on No9to5 Records. He works in the lineage of a lot of “positive” rap, but also doesn’t mind rapping about cars. “I feel like all of my lines have wordplay and it’s like a double entendre, but nothing that goes over your head and it’s still a hot line,” JSWISS said. “There are a lot of rappers that use that wordplay, but they do it so much that it goes over your head. What I like about my lines is that you can catch it on the surface level as well as in the deep complex way.”

He called his LP “Awthenticity.” “The idea behind Awthenticity is that keeping it real has lost its meaning. If you don’t fit in to what’s ‘real’, then it’s not real,” he said.

And he’s not afraid to go big. “Right now I am in the underground. I’ve had some visibility and good looks but I’m really taking it to the next level where if you know hip-hop, you know JSWISS.”

Resita Cox is an Awl summer reporter.