If you had to envision a band from southern California, you’d probably think of a little indie band with a mellow aura, a variety of haircuts and at least two pairs of Ray-Bans on at all times. You might think they got lucky by virtue of proximity to LA, and that they put on the type of sleepy show where the audience members toe the hesitant line between swaying and standing completely still.
With Young the Giant, you’d be half right. The five men who make up the group are a barber shop’s dream, they have been known to rock way-farers once in a while and the band does have a decidedly indie rock vibe.
But you’d be wrong about the rest. Young the Giant won’t have you wondering if it’s awkward that you’re nodding your head to the rhythm, mostly because you’ll be way too busy jumping up and down to care. And singer Sameer Gadhia won’t just moan into the microphone on a dark stage, he’ll be crooning and moving to the beat too – unless he’s jumping into the crowd for a good old-fashioned crowd surf. (They are from southern California, after all.)
Young the Giant formed in Irvine, Calif. as The Jakes in 2004. After a few personnel changes, the band changed its name to Young the Giant and, in 2009, gained notoriety after winning a contest and grabbing the opening spot for a Kings of Leon show at the House of Blues in Chicago. The band’s single “Cough Syrup” earned some airplay on LA radio stations, and in 2010 they toured with Minus the Bear and Steel Train in addition to playing a few shows with Neon Trees and The Futureheads.
On Jan. 25, 2011, the band's self-titled album was physically released in the United States. Their most high-profile moment, though, came that summer, when the quintet earned a spot performing at MTV’s Video Music Awards. Slated alongside the likes of Lady Gaga, Adele, Jay-Z and Kanye West, the band was conspicuously unknown. So whether it was to ensure they’d have enthusiastic audience or to extend a huge thank you to the people that got them there, Young the Giant invited 300 fans to attend the VMA performance. The crowd was rabid with energy; Gadhia once again dove into the crowd and the band delivered arguably the highest energy performance of the night.
After the VMAs, it became clear this quintet can hold its own against some of the major names in music – which is good, considering the band is sharing the Blowout bill with Nas. Young the Giant’s self-titled album reached number 42 on the Billboard 200, while the single “My Body” reached number 65 on the Billboard 100. They kicked off their first headlining tour this past February, and yes, they were even covered by Glee.
So don’t be fooled by their decidedly chill appearance; these guys are making noise in the music industry and they’ll bring a high-energy performance to Welsh-Ryan. And yes, it’s okay if you sway a little.
Nas:
Among casual hip-hop fans, Nas doesn’t get the love of a Jay-Z or Kanye West. But throughout his multiplatinum career hip-hop heads, as well as some of the industry’s most prominent voices, have showered him with praise. The Source called Nas the second-best lyricist of all-time, behind only Rakim and ahead of big names such as The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, 2Pac and Eminem. MTV also ranked Nas as the fifth best MC of all-time.
Nas, born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, is regarded by critics as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all-time. His first album, Illmatic, was released in 1994, and includes some of Nas’s classic hits, including “The World Is Yours” and “One Love.”
The rapper’s first album preceded It Was Written, which features several of Nas’s most famous songs, such as “The Message” and “If I Ruled The World.” The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and launched him to hip-hop fame.
Illmatic and It Was Written were the first two of eight straight platinum albums for Nas, but the rapper was one of a number of New York City artists to break onto the hip-hop scene in the mid-nineties. And it was Nas’s relationship with one of New York’s rap titans that helped redefine each artist’s career.
Starting in the early 2000’s, Nas and Jay-Z began what eventually became one of hip-hop’s most notorious feuds of all-time. The two artists began to take shots at each other publically, both during freestyles and in diss tracks. The most famous of these diss tracks was Nas’s “Ether,” one of the most famous diss tracks in hip-hop history. The song questions Jay-Z’s street cred, hurls homophobic insults, and lifts the words “Fuck Jay-Z” from 2Pac’s track “Fuck Friendz.”
The beef between Nas and Jay-Z eventually ended around 2006 when Nas signed with Def Jam Records (Jay-Z was president of Def Jam when Nas signed). The duo even recorded a couple tracks together, including “Black Republican” and “Success.”
The Jay-Z feud, however, has not been Nas’s only brush with controversy. Nas gave a free concert at Virginia Tech after the mass shooting on campus in 2007; the decision to offer him a performing slot, however, faced criticism from political commentator Bill O’Reilly, who noted that a number of Nas’s songs were violent in nature and thus he should not be performing after a mass shooting. Nas told MTV that O’Reilly “doesn’t understand the younger generation.” Nas also found himself in hot water with a wide spectrum of prominent individuals, including civil rights activists Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, when the rapper decided to name his 2008 album “Nigger.” After tremendous pressure on Def Jam, the record was released without a title.
But Nas is more than just controversy and beef. Although he is known by more casual hip-hop fans as Jay-Z’s longtime nemesis, there’s no doubt that the former has made quite a career of his own, even if Jay-Z is far better known. Nas has put out ten studio albums, the most recent of which was Life Is Good, released earlier this year.
Artistically, Nas is one of hip-hop’s best lyricists, and also has tremendous ability to tell a deeply descriptive and moving story about life on the streets. In his nearly 20 years on the hip-hop scene, Nas has become an iconic artist and a key figure in rap history. Though he never quite made it to the very top of the hip-hop world, he has been one of the industry’s most consistent figures for the past two decades.
