As a part of Treefort 10’s Deep Dive Series, we’re diving into Treefort 10 artists that our team recommends if you like (RIYL) Treefort Alums Run The Jewels (2014), Lizzo (2017), Oddisee (2016, 2018), Vince Staples (2019), JPEGMAFIA (2019) + Lyrics Born (2015).
Did you see Run The Jewels play Treefort 2014? We are still in disbelief at the amazing Main Stage set that Lizzo performed back in 2017. Have you caught an Oddisee set at Treefort? Or did you see Vince Staples and JPEGMAFIA in 2019?
Explore the tunes of Treefort 10 artists that will have you vibin’ the same way this year.
AMS
( chicago , illinois )
Saturday, March 26th 10:40p – 11:30p @ Spacebar Arcade
You might take a look at AMS., and immediately be able to see the mild-mannered and polite IT professional, and you wouldn’t be wrong. The man dubbed “The Nerd King” at 14 wasn’t seeing that moniker existing beyond his interest in computers.
However, underneath all of that is an artist that has been a storm on a stage over the course of his musical career. And that title became one that was associated with some of the best independent artists in Midwest Hip-Hop over the last 10+ years.
Across the 20 years AMS. has been rapping, he’s shared the stage with generational Hip-Hop luminaries such as Gift of Gab, Atmosphere, Blueprint, Mr. Lif, RJD2, KRS-One, and Dres of Black Sheep. You may have heard his voice holding the floor at B-Boy jams, or letting all of it loose at once, straining the walls and speakers of venues he’s played. Regardless of where you’ve seen him, you never forget the sound, the delivery, or the energy.
GENESIS OWUSU
( canberra , australia )
Thursday, March 24th 12:10a – 1:30a @ El Korah Shrine
Genesis Owusu’s debut body of work, Smiling With No Teeth arrived in 2021 as an artistic triumph that has resonated with audiences globally, surpassing genre and disrupting boundaries. Six months on from its release, the album has proven a runaway success and garnered universal acclaim from critics, including covers with Acclaim and NME Australia, feature album on triple j, FBi, Triple R and Radio Adelaide and praise from The Needle Drop, Line of Best Fit, The Guardian, Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone, T Magazine, The Monthly, The Australian and ICON.
In 2021, Genesis Owusu received four ARIA Awards for Smiling With No Teeth, including the coveted Album of the Year award, as well as triple j’s J Award for Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year J Award alongside his close collaborator, Riley Blakeway for“The Other Black Dog”.
Since his introduction with the Cardrive EP in 2017, Genesis Owusu has demonstrated his versatility and talent as both a rapper and vocalist on singles like ‘awomen, amen’, ‘Wit Da Team’ and ‘WUTD’. He has amassed millions of digital streams and proven himself an incredible performer at festivals like Splendour in the Grass, Meredith Music Festival, Groovin the Moo and St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival. All the while, his talent, vision and creativity have been unmatched.
SNOTTY NOSE REZ KIDS
( british columbia , canada )
Wednesday, March 23th 11:20p – 12:10a @ Reef
Snotty Nose Rez Kids is a Canadian Hip-Hop duo of Haisla (Indigenous) descent from Kitimat, BC. Rappers Yung Trybez and Young D formed the duo in 2016, releasing two albums in 2017 with their second, The Average Savage, winning them them Best Hip Hop Artist at the Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA’s), cemented them on 2018’s Top 10 list of the coveted Polaris Music Prize, and landed them a 2019 Juno Nomination for best Indigenous Music Album. The group toured heavily in Canada with appearances in New York City, Seattle and Darwin, Australia. They quickly gained notoriety for their energetic, inspiring and thought provoking performances.
Coming off a busy 2019 releasing their third album, TRAPLINE, touring North America, Australia and Mexico, landing stellar news pieces from Complex,Vice, Exclaim!, Okayplayer, and The FADER, and wrapping the year with multiple awards and millions of streams, SNRK were poised for 2020 to be their breakout year. Complex named them in their ‘Ones to Watch for 2020.’ After announcing their first 23 city US headline tour, COVID hit and all plans were abandoned. They released their debut EP, Born Deadly, and landed various sync deals with network shows Trickster and Resident Alien, and feature films Monkey Beach and Inconvenient Indian. Their 2019 single, Boujee Natives, achieved over 1.5 million streams and became their first music video to reach over 2 million views.
JANGO
( spokane , washington )
Friday, March 25th 10:30p – 11:10p @ Reef
Elijah Kilborn, born in Connecticut, but grew up with his grandparents in Spokane, is a hip-hop artist that is breaking barriers both locally and regionally. Known to the music industry as Jango, he is a representation of what his moniker symbolizes, the pride for his black culture. Jango found a passion for hip-hop at a young age freestyling as a kid with his younger brother. What began as a pastime for fun, transformed over the years into a career that he went on to pursue seriously.
Being the perfectionist he is, Jango has developed his craft to the level that separates him from the influx of rappers gunning for a shot at hip-hop greatness. Competition is all but nonexistent in the face of Jango and it comes to no surprise. Inspired by iconic artists like JID, Fugees, Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem, the Roots and J. Cole, his flow and style of lyricism has attained top tier status. His music is sonically pleasing to the ear with expert bars and melodies that transcends the walls of just rap. Influenced by a wide range of musical acts, his music has found form over various genres. He is a connoisseur of rhymes, blending flows with conscious messages that aim to both resonate with listeners and spark a buzz on a commercial level. Versatile as they come, he can go from aggressive lyrical assassination over beats, to emotion filled R&B flows.
BABY LUCIA
( boise , idaho )
Saturday, March 26th 5:30p – 6:20p @ El Korah Shrine
Baby Lucia is an in your face rap/punk/pop project with inspirations from the likes of COUCOUCHLOE, Tommy Cash, SOPHIE and more. Baby Lucia brings an energetic live performance with a bit of trash to create a live show with high energy that’s full of surprises.
MAGNA CARDA
( austin , texas )
Thursday, March 24th 10:30p – 11:20p @ Reef
Friday, March 25th 7:40p – 8:30p @ Radioland
Magna Carda is an American hip hop outfit based in Austin, Texas. The mc producer duo is notable for their eclectic musical style -a genre defying blend of rap-meets-jazz-meets-r&b-meets-electronic – and for performing with elaborate live arrangements and instrumentation. Described by Mashable as “Austin’s answer to The Roots,” Magna Carda is led by the city’s most dynamic MC-producer duo, Megz Kelli and Dougie Do.
FLY ANAKIN
( atlanta , georgia )
Saturday, March 26th 12:00a – 12:40a @ Reef
Raised on a steady diet of Ready To Die and Supreme Clientele, equipped with a penchant for dizzying internal rhyme, and damn near impossible to outrap, 27-year-old Richmond, VA artist Fly Anakin has established himself as one of the country’s most essential rappers dedicated to transmuting the rugged spirit of ‘90s New York and sending it spinning into the future. He is linchpin of Richmond’s rap community and the co-founder of the Richmond-based rap collective Mutant Academy. Since 2015, he has released over 25 projects, including many with his inner circle of rap friends, including Tuamie, Ohbliv, Big Kahuna OG, Koncept Jack$on, Henny L.O., and Birmingham hero Pink Siifu. In this span, Anakin has placed collaboration at the core of his artistic identity, and he’s honed his sharp, observational, and sometimes surreal manner and the bulletproof sneer with which he delivers it. All the while, he’s maintained a DIY ethos, recording an estimated 95% of his music at home. His wizardry has garnered extensive praise from Pitchfork, which wrote, “Fly Anakin is a marvel to behold, the kind of lightning-in-a-bottle technician who makes you drop what you’re doing to better absorb his enunciation, syllable placement, and superhuman breath control.” Fly Anakin has been rapping for nearly two decades and it shows—but his prime has only just begun.
AKAI SOLO
( brooklyn , new york )
Saturday, March 26th 11:10p – 11:50p @ Reef
Within the last two years, AKAI SOLO has trail blazed a bespoke path for himself; carving a glacier sized valley of original lyricism into the rap landscape, at lightning pace. As AKAI SOLO, Daniel Dickson Eburu “weaponizes his quaintness for the sake of keeping the narrative authentic,” purveying a wide range of empowering and contemplative emotions in a style that is truly 1 of 1. Flatbush native and captain of Brooklyn rap collective; Tase Grip, AKAI SOLO is the nucleus to a burgeoning new climate within hip hop – surrounding himself with a community of the most groundbreaking and illuminating producers and emcees that call Brooklyn home.
BBYMUTHA
( chattanooga , tennessee )
Saturday, March 26th 12:50a – 1:40a @ Reef
Famed for her myth-busting lyrics on sexuality, motherhood, and identity, Tennessee-based rapper and vocalist bbymutha is one of underground hip hop’s most daring and admired talents.
Emerging with a series of self-released EP’s and singles, her track “Rules” went viral in 2017 and earned her praise from the likes of Erykah Badu, Björk, Earl Sweatshirt, SZA, Kehlani, actress Amandla Stenberg. While bbymutha fits into Southern rap’s legacy of originality via a refusal to conform to any coastal trends, choosing instead respective local flairs for self-expression and her non-apologetic attitude. The result is a soundscape all her own—a slow, ice-cool Chattanooga drawl rapping through the distorted and progressive production that gives her an artistic voice all her own — earning her spot on Pitchfork’s 10 Rappers to Watch 2019, Vibe’s Best Female Rap Albums of 2018, Pitchfork’s Best Rap Albums of 2018, & FACT Mag’s Rappers to Watch 2018
She candidly blends her life experiences into hard-hitting raps — where she pointedly brandishes her sexuality in the face of respectability politics: unapologetically celebrating women for their ambition, savvy, sexuality, & sometimes vulgarity. Her sharp + provocative lyrics (openly sexual, feminist, & positive) are leisurely wrapped-around beats that are typically endemic to experimental and electronic corners of the internet.
ANIK KHAN
( new york , new york )
Thursday, March 24th 12:40a – 1:20a @ Reef
Anik Khan is a Queens, NYC based artist and entrepreneur who makes hip hop that travels, drawing from his immigrant roots and his inner city upbringing.
His latest double EP, “Denied // Approved” features collaborations with Bas, Xavier Omar, Sango and more. The EP explores his battle for his U.S. citizenship and reflects the realities of a global artist who is dedicated to bridging different cultures and communities together.
Outside of music, Anik has created an entrepreneurial ecosystem which includes being a partner in the critically acclaimed Kolkata Chai cafe and his “Foreign Affair” apparel brand. He was also featured as a speaker at a TEDx conference, speaking about the power of cultural diversity in pop culture and recently published a book about immigration titled “Words of Change.”
FREE CREATURES
( applegate , oregon )
Thursday, March 24th 7:20p – 8:00p @ Knitting Factory
Friday, March 25th 9:10p – 10:00p @ Lost Grove Brewing
Friday, March 25th 12:20a – 1:30a @ The Funky Taco
Power trio fuses hip hop, psych rock, jazz and EDM. Featuring a strong and sexy female on the upright bass and trumpet, an uber-fresh Northwest gentleman emcee and cypher master crushing an MPC beat machine, AND an upside-down-leftie cosmonaut rocker-fellow on the electric guitar- this act does NOT disappoint. Free Creatures left both venues packed and popping during Treefort Music Fest 9 (2021), establishing their base in Boise quite ceremoniously. Their fresh fusion sound no doubt lures in any who may pass, leaving listeners lifted and bright.
ZERO
( boise , idaho )
Thursday, March 24th 12:00a – 12:40a @ Spacebar Arcade
I’m a conscious hip hop artist that incorporates the art of storytelling, positive messages and hopes for the future. Always looking to inspire and be inspired.
KNWBDY
( boise , idaho )
Thursday, March 24th 11:40p – 12:20p @ Reef
knwbdy is an indie hip-hop duo formed and based in Boise, Idaho. Their authentic formula, as well as their reflective lyrical and melodic approach established a unique style all their own in the short time that they have worked together. Coming from two very different backgrounds the singer/songwriter Spencer Boliou and his conscious rapping counter part wins combined their experiences from prior artistic endeavors after discovering their intertwined vision for creating “conversation music.” This perspective allows for knwbdy to be able to place introspective and challenging topics within their art while remaining authentic and relatable on the human level. They are in no way boxed in by typical hip hop sounds and have found a genuine way to transcend the genre norms by comitting to both high level lyricism and infectious songwriting. Only just releasing their first single together as a group in July, following many late night IHOP conversations about their aspirations, their first single “wayg” laid the foundation to continue forward within their niche. Although they recently met, both artist have substantial individual recording and performance experience that enables them to thrive on any stage. The sole mission for knwbdy is to inspire their listeners to journey through life’s questions while being confident in who they are and what they do. knwbdy will continue to dissolve expectations with their witty delivery and down to earth personality. Welcome to the knwbdy party. – yuhp
KARI FAUX
( little rock , arkansas )
Sunday, March 27th 3:10p – 4:00a @ Main Stage
Kari Faux is a multi-faceted artist – rapper, singer, producer, DJ and clothing designer – from Little Rock, AR. She is known for her bold fashion and genre-bending music, fusing elements of southern hip-hop, funk, and alternative soundscapes. Her unique style of rhyming, dashes of sultry vocal harmonizing and confidence have helped garner a cult following and make her a force amongst the new generation of hip-hop’s most fearless and outspoken female voices.
At the start of her career, Kari’s hit “No Small Talk” was remixed by Childish Gambino and featured on HBO’s Insecure. Since then, she has made an imprint on the music industry as an independent artist who has released four projects, headlined tours, opened for acts such as Steve Lacy and Mick Jenkins, and has written or produced on tracks for artists such as The Internet. Kari Faux’s newest album, Lowkey Superstar Deluxe, is out now and features fellow heavy-hitters Smino, J.I.D, Baby Tate and more.
N3PTUNE
( denver , colorado )
Friday, March 25th 11:40p – 12:10p @ The Balcony
Saturday, March 26th 11:10p – 11:50p @ The Funky Taco
N3ptune is an explosive multi-hyphenate hailing from Denver, CO. A proudly queer singer/songwriter, producer, dancer, model, actor, and director, N3ptune is carving out a lane in Denver’s music scene, unlike anything that has come before.
Influenced heavily by his upbringing in the Baptist Church, N3ptune is a genre-bender who merges the essence of gospel, blues, and soul into an amalgamation of pop music as only his mind can create. His songs are bold and brash, and his live performances are raw and captivating, to the point where Sleigh Bells’ Alexis Krauss likened the experience to “seeing Prince live for the first time” and proceeded to invite him on their tour on the spot.
