South By South Selfie

Another South By South West has come and gone, and the music industry's spring break is officially over. As always, there was an overwhelming amount of shows from every hour of the day, and artists were constantly running all over the streets of Austin in a variety of belligerent conditions. As I participated in SXSW this year, THUMP gave me the opportunity to share my experience through selfies. I know this is the Internet and all, but as you scan through these pictures, do try to be nice.

DJ Rashad (left) and DJ Spinn (right)
Tuesday, March 11th 5:30 PM
This was taken on the docks after a boat ride in Austin, which was hosted by Dub Academy and Surefire Agency. This photograph was taken after three hour hours of listening to dance music and unlimited tequila shots, margaritas, and Red Stripe beer. In a way, For someone who just stepped off a 6 AM flight from New York, it's a bit off-putting to see wasted boys and girls footwork on a boat in the broad afternoon sunlight.

Giraffage
Wednesday, March 12th 3:45 PM
Giraffage did short set welcoming SXSW-ers to free drinks and snacks on the Parkside rooftop for a media event. I showed up as my best friend's +1, so I was not held responsible and can't remember much of the event after this selfie, which was taken during Giraffage's set.

Supreme Cuts (left) Kit (second the the left)
Wednesday, March 12th 5:00 PM
This one was snapped after Kit finished rapping over Supreme Cut's beats in a white tent at Pandora's VIP area. To the far left corner as we took the selfie, members in Chicago-based hip hop crew Jody were taking shots and getting back massages by representatives of St. Ives. I might have done some shots the with the boys and stole a few travel-sized body lotions.

Ryan Hemsworth
Wednesday, March 12th 6:00 PM 
Ryan took the decks after Supreme Cuts wrapped up, and I took Ryan aside after he finished playing for a quick selfie. After hours spent downing free cocktails, I had to start drinking water, so this is me with Ryan looking sad and day drunk.

Tommy Kruise

Wednesday, March 12th 7:00 PM

Earlier in the day, Tommy allegedly walked passed me while I was asleep on a lonely picnic table at Fader Fortduring Snoop Dogg's set. I later found him. We sat on a bench staring at pretty girls and ate free ice cream.  Everyone around us was pretty drunk because, well, there was free rum at Fader Fort. Afterwards, I went home and passed out for three more hours.

Different Sleep

Thursday, March 13th

4:00pm

A brand new day and a brand new liver, sort of. This was at the staircase entry to Barcelona at the Friends of Friends day party. Esta was playing in the back and girls were already breaking it down to sensitive trap music. I don't know if the Internet knows this butDifferent Sleep is actually one of those very rare, very tall producers in real life.

[NOT PICTURED]

Charles Damga, UNO Records

Thursday, March 13th 1:00 AM

When I ran into Future Brown's manager, Charles Damga, at the Luckyme x Warp showcase and asked for a selfie, he asked me, "What's a selfie?" Bless.

Jerome LOL

Thursday, March 13th 6:30 PM

Jerome really understands the art of the selfie. He was the only one that ran into the men's bathroom with my phone and took the picture alone. He snapped quite a few, but this was perfect—you can see the peeing dude over his shoulder.

Cashmere Cat

Thursday, March 13th 7:00PM

Coming out of Malverde from a Nylon party, I found Cashmere Cat sitting outside the restaurant downstairs. He was at a table with beautiful girls and gracefully welcomed me to the posse. I had to awkwardly lean in from the little gate as we posed.

MOD Crew—Rewrote, Lil Texas, CZ (from left to right)

Friday, March 14th 6:00 PM

I found MOD in a parking lot in downtown Austin during WEDIDIT's party. I missed the headliner, Paul Wall, but I was happy to catch up with these boys. Three up-and-coming producers equal one rapper from the early 2000s, right? I should have probably done a rap squad with the boys in front of the massive speakers that had been built into vintage car wheels.

DJ Baby Chino

Friday, March 14th 6:30 PM

I had and still have no idea who this baby boy is, but he was playing in front of a store on East 6th Street. According to Facebook, DJ Baby Chino is the world's youngest DJ. To be honest, it was really mind blowing watching him spin real trap shit. This selfie was taken during his set and he knew exactly what to do when my camera came out.

Sweater Beats

Friday, March 14th 6:45 PM

Sweater Beats performed on the same stage as Ludacris, the same day that I took this selfie. I found him and the Proper Management crew outside of Barcelona for the Symbols showcase. I obviously followed them to Ludacris, but unfortunately, I didn't manage to get any selfies with Luda.

Kastle

Saturday, March 15th 4:00 PM

I found Kastle at the Live For The Funk showcase at The Parish, where he recruited everyone to his official SXSW party later that night. As you can see, he's pretty charming. All I can say is #ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin.

Mykki Blanco

Sunday, March 16th 11:00 PM

I took this one post-SXSW, at a bar next to a church in the middle of nowhere. Mykki Blanco performed at Gay Bi Gay Gay with a beautiful new wig and fresh summer dress. There was a lot of grinding going on at this party. Maybe everyone needed extra attention because of post-festival depression. I certainly was not immune: at one point during the evening, I texted a boy the lyrics to the Rihanna and Future "Love Song…." O.o

Mess Kid

Monday, March 17th 12:05 AM

I ended my trip in Austin at Mess Kid's set at Plush. He was working hard and played almost every day of SXSW. I really wanted a selfie when Artem was DJing an underground wrestling match with special guest performances from Rome Fortune, Mobb Deep and Mike Jones, but it was one of those treasured moments in Texas where everyone was too wasted to do anything but enjoy the music and just keep drinking. That's the overall SXSW experience.