The “Stuntarious” Series

If there were a cheat code to understand what Unapologetic stands for as succinctly as possible, it would be the Stuntarious series, five mixtapes released at various points throughout the years. Launched in the early days of the label, these collaborative mixtapes became semi-annual checkpoints of the collective’s evolution — chaotic, confident, and creatively unhinged. Blending trap, punk, R&B, spoken word, and experimental electronics, each Stuntarious release acts as both a time capsule and a manifesto. 

Unexpected Collaborations

In 2018, Ballet Memphis invited Unapologetic to participate in their fall program with an inspired blending of ballet and hip-hop, marking the beginning of a remarkable series of unconventional collaborations. Since then, the collective has partnered with a wide range of organizations beyond the music scene, including the PGA Tour, Memphis International Airport, and local cultural institutions like the Metal Museum and the Memphis Zoo. Whether or not it seemed to make sense on paper, each collab has proven to be a resounding success.

Indie Memphis Block Party

Speaking of partnerships, in 2019 Unapologetic curated a raucous Indie Memphis Film Festival block party that transformed the family-friendly Overton Square area into a high-brow, politically-tinged showcase that would make Kendrick Lamar proud. For those who were lucky enough to be there, the performance cemented the label’s reputation for high-concept DIY events in the starkest terms possible. One could argue that the group has outdone themselves since, but there’s nothing quite like your first time.

The Unapologetic World App

Launched in 2017, the Unapologetic World App was an early sign that the label simply wasn’t interested in playing by industry rules. Designed as a digital home for everything Unapologetic (music, visuals, films, interviews, live streams, and exclusive content), the app has remained a reliable one-stop-shop for dedicated fans. 

Unapologetic Garments

After making waves in music, art, and digital media, it was only natural that Unapologetic would dive into fashion with Unapologetic Garments. Since its launch, the label has emphasized original design, quality craftsmanship, and community storytelling, offering everything from graphic tees and hoodies to limited-edition merch that blends art and fashion. Their 2024 collaboration with the Memphis Grizzlies marked a milestone—bringing their signature aesthetic to a wider audience through the “Gold Collection,” a line that captured the city’s grit and pride while celebrating Memphis’ sports culture.

The Opening of Outerspace

In November 2022, Unapologetic celebrated the grand opening of Outerspace, their new studio nestled in the heart of Midtown. The studio acted as a physical manifestation of both the label’s meteoric growth and the bright future that they envisioned. Visually stunning and meticulously planned, Outerspace isn’t just a studio—it’s a sonic launchpad, designed to foster collaboration, vulnerability, and the boundary-pushing ethos that defines Unapologetic. 

A Weirdo from Memphis’ Gonerfest Performance

Photo by Laura Jean Hocking

Over its two-decade run, Gonerfest has seen its share of unforgettable sets from punk and garage heavyweights like Jay Reatard, Ty Segall, and King Khan. But even the most seasoned festivalgoers were caught off guard by A Weirdo From Memphis’ wildly unhinged—and undeniably electric—performance in 2022. By the time he scaled the stage at Railgarten, any lingering hip-hop skeptics in the crowd had been thoroughly won over by the beautiful chaos. 

Midnight Marauder Series

Last year, Unapologetic introduced a new series at MOSH called Midnight Marauder (shouts to ATCQ!). Designed as a public celebration of beat culture, the series highlights producers, beatmakers, and electronic artists as performers in their own right. Unlike traditional beat battles, Midnight Marauder centers on musical expression and live performance. As IMAKEMADBEATS put it, “This is not a beat battle, it’s a beat performance.” 

IMAKEMADBEATS Releases WANDS

Strictly as a piece of music, IMAKEMADBEATS’ 2024 release WANDS is a landmark release for the label–abrooding, richly textured instrumental project that showcases his signature ability to evoke emotion without a single lyric. Beyond the music itself, though, WANDS marked a significant moment in the artist’s journey: a deliberate and personal return to the forefront of music-making after years focused on building his Unapologetic label and nurturing other artists.

A Glimpse into the Future

While many of the artists who first defined Unapologetic’s first era remain central to its identity, the rise of Kid Maestro as the label’s leader, the emergence of bold new voices like EILLO and Nubia Yasin, and the company’s expansion into bold new fields make it clear the collective is constantly evolving. If the past decade was about breaking molds, the next era promises to redefine them entirely.

The post A Decade of Disruption: 10 Iconic Moments From Unapologetic appeared first on We Are Memphis.

RØA- “BORDERLINE“

For several years, Memphis singer-songwriter RØA has quietly been releasing some of the city’s best and most experimental alt-R&B and neo-soul songs. We’re proud to announce that her newest single “BORDERLINE” is no exception. Dedicated to the ups and downs of what she calls a “temporary lover,” the song’s hazy atmosphere paired with RØA’s unique vocal style is a perfect fit for the coming dog days of summer.

Key Glock- “No Sweat“

Key Glock’s emergence as one of the city’s most popular stars in recent memory is due in large part to two things: his effortlessly hypnotic flow, and his elite ability to select beats. Both of these strengths are on full display throughout his fourth album Glockavelli, which is a masterclass in finding a lane and then excelling within it. While we’d suggest listening to the album in full, “No Sweat” is an excellent starting point.

Cyrena Wages- “If It Ain’t Broke“

In her new single “If It Ain’t Broke,” Cyrena Wages embodies a classic and beloved figure within popular music: the woman scorned. Although we’re accustomed to Wages’ soulful Americana coming with a bit of venom, this is the singer at her snarky best. Teased as the first single from an upcoming album, “If It Ain’t Broke” has us giddy to hear what comes next.

C MaJor, Spookyli, AWFM, & Project Pat-“Expresso“

When Unapologetic’s last Stuntarious album was released, Avengers: Endgame was dominating the box office, “Old Town Road” was inescapable, and global pandemics were solely the concern of epidemiologists. In other words, it’s been a hot minute, but the wait was well worth it. With Stuntaious V, the gang is back to their old tricks with a few new and exciting faces along for the ride. One of the many stand-out tracks in “Expresso,” an already great posse cut that is elevated even further by the inclusion of Memphis rap icon Project Pat, whose menacing sing-song flow never ceases to get heads bopping.

Spek Was Here & Dame Mufasa-“Rabbit Reloaded (Low Down Dirty Shame)“

Speaking of posse albums from innovative local hip-hop talent, iNGud Co’s newly released Anthology, Vol. 1 is proof positive that Unapologetic doesn’t have a monopoly on avante garde hip-hop and R&B. Featuring performances from Spek Was Here, The Goddessie, Dame Mufasa, Ash Leon, 91’ Co., and others, Anthology is truly one of the best–and most unexpected– local releases of the year thus far. The opening track “Rabbit Reloaded” sets expectations high from the beginning, which the crew goes on to clear throughout the 7-song project.

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For nearly a decade, IMAKEMADBEATS and the Unapologetic collective that he founded have been at the cutting-edge of music, reimagining what it means to be part of the Memphis music scene. However, as he has helped lead his company to newfound heights of public recognition, including high-profile collaborations with the Memphis Grizzlies and the PGA, MAD has often had to put his own music on the back-burner.

That all changes this Saturday, November 16th, when MAD will return to the stage for the first time since 2019 for an album release showcase that he’s calling “Masters of the Universe” at the Pink Palace Planetarium. Last month, we caught up with IMAKEMADBEATS at his Midtown studio Outerspace to learn more about the album and his upcoming live performance.

To set the stage a bit, MAD–née James Dukes–has been quietly managing a rare auto-immune disorder, which has often times made keeping up with his grueling schedule a near impossibility. This struggle, he says, was a primary inspiration for his new album.

“I was watching War of the Worlds recently, and I noted the fact that the humans could not defeat the aliens…the aliens were ultimately defeated by bacteria. Essentially, the strength of the aliens was undermined by one of the smallest things on earth. I started to feel like ‘Well, maybe I have this issue. Maybe my body wasn’t made to deal with earth’s atmosphere. Maybe I’m not from here…”

This idea birthed the concept for WANDS, his new (largely instrumental) concept album that begins with MAD leaving earth in search of his home, wherever in the cosmos that may be. “Everyone who knows me well knows that for the last 10 years or so I’ve been saying ‘One day I’m just gonna disappear.’ This album is the story of what happens when I finally disappear.”

Conceived as a movie score, WANDS is a soundtrack “for those daring to leave the familiar  behind, seeking solace and understanding in the vast expanse of the universe.” As such, there likely isn’t a more fitting place in the city to unveil it than at the Pink Palace, an organization that Unapologetic has already collaborated with for their ongoing Midnight Marauder series.

When I tell him that I find the budding relationship between Unapologetic and the Pink Palace as being beautifully serendipitous–-especially when considering Saturday night’s celestially-themed event–MAD is quick to correct me. 

“To quote V in V for Vendetta, ‘I don’t believe in coincidences, only the illusion of it.’ My life has been filled with instances that make you say ‘How the fuck did this happen at exactly the right time?’ I just lean into it at this point,” he explains. “As a matter of fact, when I first met [Pink Palace Executive Director] Kevin Thompson, he was like ‘Yeah man, I’m not sure if you’re into things like the planetarium’ and I had to stop him and say ‘Bro, you know my studio is called Outerspace right?!’”

This all brings up back to Saturday night’s “Masters of the  Universe” celebration, which will be held on MAD’s birthday. No coincidences, right? In addition to playing his new album, MAD will also be controlling the stars in the sky and unveiling new visuals, guiding the audience  through a mysterious interstellar journey.

“This is not just a performance,” reads the press release. “It is an odyssey where vulnerability becomes art, and  music becomes a portal to the magical realms beyond our world.” Honestly, we wouldn’t expect anything less.

Tickets for “Masters of the Universe” can be purchased here. The event begins at 7PM.

The post With His Upcoming “Masters of the Universe” Event, IMAKEMADBEATS Invites You to a Journey into the Cosmos appeared first on We Are Memphis.

Photo by Jackson Hendrix

“I am not you, bitch I am me,” is the resounding declaration made within the first 3 seconds of A Weirdo From Memphis’ single “Polo.” The statement and delivery is riveting, not just because of the boldness, but because you’re left with the unmistakable feeling that this is the truth and not some sort of superficial proclamation. The Memphis rapper is not you or me and truthfully, he never wants to be. A Weirdo From Memphis (AWFM) is wholly and unapologetically himself and this year he’s about to reintroduce you, dear listeners, to exactly who that is.

Music, and hip-hop specifically, has been a constant in AWFM’s life for as long as he can remember. “I’ve been into rap since I could talk. I was very lucky to have a mom that didn’t make us go to church or like listen to gospel all day. Back then, there were only two stations for rap on the radio. I remember being in the car seat and if I didn’t like the song on one station, I would ask my mom to switch it to the other station,” he recalls. “It’s funny, I think this is a good example of you should be very careful what you show your kids, because when you think they’re not absorbing, they are. Rap became a love for me,” he says laughing.

Despite the prominence of rap in AWFM’s life, it wasn’t something he felt comfortable sharing as he grew up. Confronted with the “aggressiveness of Memphis,” he often found himself being bullied in school. “The more I was pushed around, the more I started to, I guess, try to be as normal as possible, and just do whatever to be in the background. And normal wasn’t telling people you’re trying to be a rapper.”

Suppressing something meant to shine, however, can only last for so long. He enrolled at the University of Memphis for software engineering in 2010, still confident that rap was just a passion and not a career. But while in college, AWFM started going to more concerts, and each time he noticed something: a gnawing, growing discomfort. Instead of enjoying the show, he’d pace back and forth, back and forth. It was almost as if the more he surrounded himself with music, the more it became painfully clear – this was the life he was meant to have.

By 2013, his discontentedness was unmistakable. “I was really recognizing, like, yo, I am not meant to be an engineer. I took all of my money and I flew to go see Tyler, the Creator in Columbus. It wasn’t even his tour, he was the opening act for Kid Cudi,” AWFM tells me. It was here, at a baseball field turned venue in Ohio, that everything sort of aligned.

“I’m just looking at this baseball field full of kids who listen to the same stuff as me, who know the same obscure rappers as me…normally I only see and feel these things looking through the box that is my phone, so it was completely different to experience this in person. Even though I had never seen these people, it just felt like being amongst some sort of family. It was like we were sharing souls for a second and in the midst of that I realized ‘oh, I don’t want to be down HERE, I want to be up THERE.’”

AWFM returned to Memphis following this experience reinvigorated, albeit broke (“I spent all my money on that concert. Man, what an outrageous decision” he says laughing). He jumped headfirst into rapping, initially writing over MF DOOM instrumentals and recording in friends’ makeshift studios. Eventually after a few years of this, he met a producer named Skip Fearless who wanted to introduce AWFM to another local producer. “He was like, ‘I just booked time with this very dope producer named IMAKEMADBEATS, you should come through and we can record the song you’ve been working on.’”

@gduffiephoto

Instantly, AWFM felt a comfortability with Unapologetic that he hadn’t at other studios before. “This is my first time in a place that felt professional and where everybody was serious. Everybody wasn’t, like, smoked out and drunk. It just felt like people who get it and people who want a lot more for themselves.” Once immersed in this world, AWFM didn’t want to leave. With the blessing of IMAKEMADBEATS, he started booking sessions all the time, even if he didn’t have a song written. “I would pull up to the studio six hours early and park around the corner and write, just to make sure I had something to go in with,” he recounts.

Once officially joining Unapologetic, things flowed for AWFM until the entire world essentially stopped at the top of 2020. Right before the pandemic hit, AWFM quit his 9-5 job in IT to make music full time. He was set to go on tour around the US and drop a string of new releases, but Covid changed all of that. The shows were cancelled and his music was put on hold. “That moment was traumatizing. I put everything on the line for that, and then absolutely nothing came from it. So, what really changed my art was the lack of resources after.”

In the wake of the pandemic, it became increasingly difficult for AWFM to find a “traditional” job to replace the one he had left prior. Instead, he took to other forms of revenue like Door Dash or Uber Eats. “I was really unable to get corporate work anymore. I’m out here in the streets delivering food and that’s where I start seeing people get murdered every other week. I came face to face with mortality and I came face to face with failure. It’s not like the homeless people are 15, you know, they’re 46. They have glory days they reminisce on, and then whatever went wrong went wrong and it never went right again. There were moments where it definitely felt like I was headed down the same path.”

It’s a profound sentiment, but this level of cognizance isn’t new for AWFM. If you delve into his lyrics, you see he presents his personal world (and the world at large) with the acute awareness that other artists dream of. There is no sugarcoating in his songs and honestly, thank God for that. Instead, his music is something more important: his music is reality. Just like life, his music is at times dark and depressing, and other times it’s triumphant and celebratory. And he’s able to seamlessly tell all these different stories because, like we’ve already established, at his core AWFM is not you or me – he is completely AWFM.

“I feel like focusing so much on curation will have you never releasing anything at all, you know?” he tells me when we talk about his plans for 2024. So far this year he’s already released two massive singles, the aforementioned “Polo” and his latest, the RXKNephew-assisted “Hysteria.” Both tracks feature menacing production courtesy of Unapologetic producer CmaJor over which AWFM layers his signature “ugly truth.” In addition to the new music, AWFM is also dropping new t-shirts and other merchandise through Unapologetic’s Garments division. Oh yea, and he’s also going on a multi-city tour with fellow Unapologetic artists PreauXX, CmaJor, and Kid Maestro dubbed The Weirdly LuXXurious Tour.

He’s got a lot of things in the pipeline for 2024, because after everything he’s been through, he knows one thing to be true of his music: “I can’t keep waiting for the right moment to release something, because that may never come. I feel like now I have to put out art because I don’t know how long I’m gonna be here.” It might sound morbid, but it’s real. Where most artists try to put a filter on these dark, uncomfortable thoughts in an effort to make them prettier, AWFM doesn’t. It’s what makes him a once in a lifetime type of artist that I hope everyone has the chance to listen to.

As I leave the studio after our interview, AWFM throws one last curveball my way. “Oh also, I’m halfway done with a gospel EP,” he says nonchalantly. “It’ll of course be my version of gospel.” I don’t doubt for a second that if there’s one artist to make gospel music their own, it’ll be A Weirdo From Memphis.

The post The Year of Weird(o) appeared first on We Are Memphis.

Want to get in on the conversation? Share your story with us! Use #bringyoursoul and #wearememphis. We’ll be reposting stories throughout the month!

You may remember the interview we did with Sarai on the Keep Blooming GARMENTS collection! Click here to check it out!

Sarai Payne

When you think of the phrase “Black joy,” what does that mean to you? How do you look for moments of joy in your daily life?

“Black Joy” to me means being happy unapologetically as a black person without worrying what someone else may think or perceive how I choose to be happy and express myself. Black joy can be me being happy in any form, such as me wearing a bonnet :), feeling like I’m the shit without worrying how someone may interpret it.

Thinking about the community around you, how do they give you joy or help you pursue your own?

They motivate me, seeing people make a way out of no way and being happy with what they have always put things into perspective for me and motivates me to find ways of happiness. Seeing others happy always makes me happy.

Think about the thing, people, or Memphis-related place that brings you the most joy or allows you to be who you are.

My family Unapologetic. brings me joy, I love them folks mane lol like forreals. My blood family also brings me joy as well. Being able to be myself around them does that for me, I don’t have to apologize for being who I am, or shrink myself to be a certain way and I love it.

How does Memphis (think the city, the community, the places here that you find the most peace) allow you to express yourself?

The places I frequent actually value that you come as you are. I truly find peace in communities where they are accepting of every type of black person, and not the ones who fit a certain “mold”.

For the younger Black generations, what is your greatest piece of advice for living unapologetically or pursuing passions or joy?

I know it’s wayy easier said than done, but I will say stay away from people, or places who may make you feel like you being who you are is a problem. As long as it’s not harming anyone, be you. Also, this may sound morbid so I apologize, but do keep in mind that you’re going to die one day so you really shouldn’t care what someone thinks too much honestly.

You might also be interested in: Live Music Memphis Tonight 

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If there’s one thing we know about Memphis music, it’s that our community is collaborative and some of the most passionate fans are the scene’s most talented artists. In our #SquadGoals series, we ask an artist to choose a fellow Memphis music maker – someone they admire or even a collaborator – and write a bit about why they’re a fan. 

Aaron James: there is so much to be said about this guy. Aaron James and I both moved to the city and started attending the University of Memphis at the same time in 2013. Through participation in intramural flag football, we discovered we had the same major and became good friends. Aaron James is one of the biggest inspirations to my artistic journey that I can call to memory. I’ve had the pleasure of watching him literally transform from a session electric guitar player into a full-fledge artist that defines what it means to be authentic and vulnerable. His work ethic, humility, and sense of humor make him an absolute pleasure to be around. 

One thing I feel is understated about him is his versatility. Whether it be collaborating on beats, writing an indie-folk ballad, or contributing lyrics to one of the many artists that come through Dirty Socks Studios, Aaron James can contribute in a meaningful way no matter the style of music. Aside from our similar sense of humor, I think his versatility is one of the characteristics I resonate most with about him. I think that’s led us to be able to work so well with each other on a variety of different soundscapes. 

Check out some of the music we’ve worked on together!

‘Happy Songs’ 

‘Eve & Delilah’

‘Kauri Wood’

‘No More Raining Over Me’

You can follow Kid Maestro and Aaron James on Instagram for more Memphis Music goodies!

You might also be interested in: Live Music Memphis Tonight | Memphis Live Music Calendar

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