written by Connor McAuliffe
Back for its 6th year in the Big Easy, Buku Music & Art Project boasts a lineup that has a diverse set of hip-hop, indie, and electronic artists. Hosted at Mardi Gras World along the Mississippi River, I am eager to see the live art that is crafted by each artist with their unique styles, the new stage setups, and the crowd these artists will draw to New Orleans.
There are a few 2-in-1 specials in the form of B2B sets that I’m really looking forward to: Ghastly B2B Herobust, Space Jesus B2B Minnesota, Shiba San B2B Justin Jay, and Musa B2B Otto. But, the following three artists in particular hold the top three to-see spots on my list.
1. Vince Staples: A featured artist on the XXL 2015 Freshman Class hailing from Long Beach, California, Staples rose to prominence in 2014 after being featured on Stolen Youth, a collaborative mixtape with Mac Miller. I had the chance to catch Vince Staples at Bonnaroo this year and his live performance was great!
2. Lido: I had a friend send me a list of Lido tracks to help me get acquainted with his style, and he’s certainly unique. Lido has been praised for his work with alt-j, The Weeknd, Disclosure, and Chance the Rapper. He is good friends with Alison Wonderland, so I am excited to find out if he has any collaborations with her that he plays in his sets!
3. Ganja White Night: A dynamic duo from Belgium, Erwan Charlie Dodson and Benjamin Bayeul create dubstep tracks that stem from the roots of “Bass-Music”. They have traveled to many countries, mainly in Europe, but their popularity in the US has increased substantially as of late…I just might go VIP to catch them on the SS Buku.