For rappers looking to establish themselves within the genre, 2013 was a tough year to do so, with veteran artists such as Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Drake dominating the charts and airwaves. Enter 2014, and enter Kid Ink. Gathering momentum from his 2012 debut indie release “Up & Away,” the tattooed Los Angeles native […]
Category Archives: Music
Alumnus founds True Grit Records music label
The crisp, pure sound of a vinyl record resonates throughout the main room of alumnus Xavier Delgado’s True Grit Records office. The smooth combination of a hip-hop beat and soloing electric guitar accompanied by a serene harmonization of two voices is transmitted by a gramophone. The label, formed in October 2012 by Delgado and longtime […]
A cappella group Naya Zamaana places first at Anahat
The lights dim and a short introductory film flickers to life in UC Berkeley’s Wheeler Auditorium. In the film, a princess and a prince, adorned in Indian clothes and jewelry, stand in front of Royce Hall and proclaim their undying love for each other, only to be separated by an evil king. After the movie […]
We the Folk’s journey expands beyond UCLA
Eighteen miles from the Hill, in a dimly lit bar for an audience dotted with A-list celebrities such as Kirsten Dunst, student band We the Folk delivered one of its largest performances at Villains Tavern, located in downtown Los Angeles, this summer. The band first formed at UCLA in 2012 as a trio. It established […]
Q&A: ‘California rock’ band The Wes Coast give a taste of upcoming EP
Los Angeles-based “California rock band, the Wes Coast, was born in 2011 when then-first-year ethnomusicology student Wes Miller met then-fourth-year history student and guitarist David Han. Over the course of that quarter, and those to follow, the two began writing music together and assembling the components of what would become their band. With the combined talent and […]
Terry Gray releases first rap mixtape ‘American Paradox’
At age nine, Terry Gray realized his passion by way of his mother. When Gray’s mom noticed his knack for freestyling at school, she wrote him his first rap. Now, a fourth-year Afro-American studies student at UCLA, Gray released his first mixtape, “American Paradox,” on Nov. 17. Gray teased the public with the release of […]
Alex Sloane expands musical style, stage persona as career advances
Alexandria Pickell’s unnaturally blonde hair, spider-like eyelashes, and unconventional sense of style demand attention upon first glance. So much so that her alter ego as part-time indie pop-rocker Alex Sloane is practically exposed to the world. Sloane, a first-year English student, additionally distinguishes herself among the many student musicians present on campus with her recent […]