From the streets of Athens to the stages of Huntsville, they spread to the festivals of NYC and the pages of the New York Times. Now ST 2 Lettaz and Yung Clova, making up the Huntsville based hip-hop duo G-Side, will hit the University of Alabama campus.
G-Side will be interviewed by NPR music critic and New College adjunct faculty member Ann Powers at 3 p.m. on Sept. 9 in the New College lounge (216 Lloyd Hall) and then perform at the final benefit concert of the 2011 ABALABIP! series, coined after Eddie Cole’s – brother of Nat King Cole – song of the same name at 8 p.m. on Sept. 10 at The Bama Theatre.
The series, sponsored by the Oxford American, features a plethora of local musicians of varying styles. Tickets can be found at the Oxford American’s website for $10, and all proceeds go towards the American Red Cross and the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund for storm victims.
According to G-Side’s Lettaz, the group comes to Tuscaloosa thrilled to meet with students and have fun but also to share their story with aspiring musicians and businessmen. Based in heavy beats and honest lyrical content speaking to their southern experience, G-side’s music has spread steadily since their first release “Sumthin 2 Hate” in 2007 without the help of a major label.
“It’s a mixture of the internet and the physical,” said Lettaz. “It’s not only emailing people; it’s showing up to their house and saying ‘What’s up?’ We made a lot of good relationships and keep working.”
G-Side will share the stage with rock group Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Inductee Cleve Eaton & The Alabama All Stars and the alt-country folk players The Bear. Lettaz said he looks forward to playing on such a varied bill in the historic Bama Theatre, recalling punk-rock bands opening their shows and adding with a laugh, “We’ll rock a pizza parlor, a bowling alley, with whoever.”
“We come from the South, and everybody knows what it was like back in the day – the racism,” said Lettaz. “It’s important that we all can come together now and express ourselves… We just enjoy the music.”
Powers, who was turned on to G-Side after finding them featured in major publications, saw them perform at a local Oxford American event and said she was struck by their drive, energy and unique sound. According to Powers, G-Side’s growth, alongside the success of musicians such as The Civil Wars and Yelawolf, is representative of the growth of Alabama’s music scene.
“There’s a lot of exciting things coming out of Alabama,” said Powers. “I feel like right now is the moment that Alabama has stepped back into the spotlight.”
Power’s interview, set to discuss the realities of making music in Alabama, will provide a forum for students, who might be involved in music themselves, to ask questions and gain insight from G-Side’s Internet-driven rise and “forward-thinking” sound.
“The Internet is so important for artists from a state like this to break out into a national audience,” said Powers. “It can be difficult to sustain yourself at a national level by traditional means- touring and selling albums – but through the Internet… You can reach people in a way that was inconceivable before 2004.”
John Rothman, a history professor and the director of the Summersell Center for the Study of the South at the University, brought the center on as the lead local sponsor for both events. Taking on the role originally in the spirit of celebrating local culture and then to support those affected by the April 27 tornado, Rothman said he hopes the interview will publicize the upcoming concert but also provide the community with an opportunity to directly interact with their local culture.
“I think the activities of the University ought to be not only about the students and faculty who happen to be on campus, but to demonstrate what we do on campus has a larger connection to the world around us,” said Rothman. “[This event] enables a celebration that goes beyond the boundaries of the University alone.”
