Rap and hip hop are alive and well in DFW. Ask any of the artists and doers behind GitMo Music--there is no shortage of great music being pumped out right here in Denton. But the underground scene is thriving too. In August we spoke with Kundalini Kids, the collective that's reshaping these genres through new-wave sounds, collaboration, and innovative production. In partnership with other artists across the Metroplex, they're bringing a completely unique event to two different cities over 48 hours: a festival lovingly entitled Fuck The Neighbors.

Fuck The Neighbors was initially conceived as a birthday celebration for Jordan Jamal Johnson, who’s better known in the scene as J3’s Journal. (What musician doesn’t want a giant music fest as their birthday present?) J3 will perform both nights alongside additional artists Lil Durt, LVL. 9, Xanni, and Ascendant Apaulo. Lil Durt (aka Jabari English) tells us that rap and hip hop won’t be the event’s only draws: “There’ll be bands and maybe even a few surprises,” he says. The event has been organized collaboratively by English, Johnson, and Konciniti Entertainment, a collective specializing in basically everything—music and film engineering, graphic design, promotion, marketing, and more. Although the event was conceived less than a month ago, it’s clear that the whole ordeal has been painstakingly planned. “This is something we all have been working very hard on together,” English tells us.

Fuck The Neighbors will be a two-day event. The fest’s first day will be held in Dallas at Freak Show Studio, a tattoo shop and sometime-venue in Dallas. Day One (hosted by LVL. 9) will feature performances by Rachetasswooda, Lil Sega, JStoner, Ethernet, and Gwalla. Day Two of the fest (hosted by J3’s Journal) is slated to be held in Denton at a house venue on North Elm Street and will feature performances by Remy LaFlare (aka W$B), Iiny, Shaquan Bivens, and Itchy Whiro. Sounds courtesy of Ecchibeats and DJ Paul Beraw will keep the parties going in between sets. The whole festival is free, open to the public, and not to be missed.

Header image design by Jason Lee
Header photo by Konciniti LLC