If you’ve never heard of Prince Paul you should — he’s only one of the more influential people in the history of hip-hop. So when a publicist emailed to tell me about his new YouTube documentary series, I took notice, and when said publicist mentioned that one of the episodes in the series was dedicated to the New Orleans music scene, particularly bounce music, I really took notice.
The gist of the series, sponsored by Scion A/V, is that Prince Paul “sets out across the country exploring genres outside of this comfort zone like garage music festival in Lawrence, Kansas and dance music at the Coachella music fest. In turn, he hopes to find influence for his own projects.” The New Orleans episode embedded above features the likes of Big Freedia and Katey Red and is pretty damn fantastic, not to mention educational — and the dancing/booty-shakin’ in it is unreal. SO OF COURSE I’M GOING TO POST ON IT!!!
Oh, and speaking of New Orleans and New Orleans music, there’s something I’ve been meaning to mention around here — if you’ve never been to Mardi Gras, or Nola at all for that matter (or hell even if you have) tickets recently went on sale for an Mardi Gras-related event worthy of your consideration. Last year the band Better Than Ezra, a group from the city you probably remember from the 90s, threw what was essentially an epic Mardi Gras party they called the “Krewe Of Rocckus,” and they’re doing it again this year. There’s a website set up where you can find all the info you could want on it, but it basically is this: a 3-day, all inclusive tour of the city’s best food, music and drinks led by guys who know just about anyone and everyone in the city. I talked to a few of the people who made the trip last year and they seemed pretty blown away by the whole experience — and I know the BTE guys a little bit and can vouch for their being a good time. So, anyway — something to consider if you’ve ever thought about coming to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, even if you’re not really a fan of the band. There are few people I can think of, myself included, who’d make for better Mardi Gras personal concierges.