Electro-punk-rapper Sneaky Mike's persona emphasizes having a good time
-
Sneaky Mike -- Sharing his release party with other local acts, making it "almost like a mini-festival."
Share with others:
Coincidences can be startling: one week after I received the debut solo EP from local "party martyr" Sneaky Mike (featuring the single "Lil B"), a cover story emerged in the respected British music mag The Wire about that very same Lil B, the "Based God" rapper from Berkeley, Calif.
There's nothing new about Lil B's "I look like [Jesus, Moses, Mel Gibson, etc.]" meme, nor his repeated use of the term "swag" (he was already in The Fader and SF Guardian two years ago, along with equally zany compatriots Odd Future), but what's novel is that someone in Pittsburgh paid close enough attention to create an "answer song" in the time-tested hip-hop tradition going all the way back to Roxanne Shante.
With: Dazzletine, Ag Ag Lady, Melody Joy, Boyfindery, Powell, and King Moody.
When: 8 p.m. Friday.
Where: Rex Theater, 1602 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-381-6811.
Tickets: $10; www.rextheater.com.
"I don't necessarily like [Lil B's] music, but I like him as an idea," explains Sneaky, known to his mom as Michael Lubbert. "There was an NPR [story] about how he's absurdist and contradictory. And people do say I look like Jesus Christ -- my long hair precedes me. So I reflected his gimmick to another level of response. If Lil B is the rap version of abstract expressionism, I guess I'm the weird transition into pop-art."
Pop artistry could be an operative term for Sneaky's efforts, because he delves at least as much into dance music and indie/punk as into rap music. His track "Make Noise" is reminiscent of electro-punks Le Tigre or The Death Set, while "I'm From the Future" is closer to the electroclash of Peaches or Fischerspooner.
"When I started my solo project, I went back to my studio to make productions that would get more into the dance scene. I go out to good Pittsburgh DJ nights -- like Lazercrunk or James Gyre's night -- and dance to electro music. So I've been making electronic dance music mixed with experimental rapping, and I'm also getting into electropop, inspired by LCD Soundsystem. But I still feel like I bring my punk aesthetic -- call it 'electro-punk-rap.' "
First Published February 2, 2012 12:00 am
