Watch InTheRough on The Burgh Boyz /  by Alex Young

InTheRough featured on episode 72 of The Burgh Boyz podcast with DJ Motormane and DJ Spillz

InTheRough featured on episode 72 of The Burgh Boyz podcast with DJ Motormane and DJ Spillz

Shout out to The Burgh Boyz for passing InTheRough the mic for episode 72 of their podcast. We spoke about being writers who represent the scenes in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. It was hard not to bring up Steelers football with the chase for seven upon us September 9, so we mentioned new projects with Stillers™ too. Rising rapper Fedd, a.k.a. Fedd The God walked into the room during our interview. He was on The Burgh Boyz set to leak an early listen to his "DaKingJamesVersion" record dropping September 3. Check his work on DJ Motormane's "Motor Muzik 2" mixtape. We covered more topics, like mistaking journalism for being a culture vulture. Watch some clips and the full video below.

Basketball Legends Host 3-on-3 Tournament in Pittsburgh's Hill District /  by Alex Young

DeAndre Kane (left) and D.J. Kennedy (right) who won the Pennsylvania state basketball title in 2007 have won The Basketball Tournament four times.

DeAndre Kane (left) and D.J. Kennedy (right) who won the Pennsylvania state basketball title in 2007 have won The Basketball Tournament four times.

In the world of basketball, The Basketball Tournament, which carries a multi-million dollar prize, "is just like a hobby or something extra for guys,” D.J. Kennedy said in a Deadspin about the tournament his team Overseas Elite has won four years in a row. There's something legendary about the tournament though. It's the fact that two kids from Pittsburgh's Hill District ran a train through great competition filled with former NBA veterans and collegiate superstars every year to accumulate a 25 win and zero loss record along with $7 million in prize money. 

DeAndre Kane and D.J. Kennedy have a reputation in the 'Burgh for playing championship ball. In 2007, their Schenley Spartans team won the quad-A State title with help from University of Pittsburgh standout and former San Antonio Spur DeJuan Blair. At Marshall University and Iowa State University, Kane earned weekly and yearly awards consistently until he graduated. He was the Big 12 conference tournament MVP in 2014, and then he went on to bounce the North Carolina Tar Heels out of that year's March Madness NCAA Tournament with a clutch drive to the hoop beating the buzzer. Kane's Maccabi Tel Aviv team won the competitive Israeli Basketball Premier League this year. For Kennedy, his defensive and scoring consistency at St. John's University carried him into the NBA briefly. More impressively, Kennedy's been the top scorer of two separate European basketball leagues in 2015 and 2018. He's been The Basketball Tournament MVP in the same years too.  Kane and Kennedy's prestige may not be mainstream like that of an NBA superstar's, but their legend is battle-tested as they repeatedly rise to the occasion.

This Saturday, August 18, 2018, appreciate the men's achievements, especially as they celebrate more T.B.T. rings (4 for Kennedy and 3 for Kane), and come out to their 3-on-3 basketball tournament and community event giving away backpacks and school supplies at Ammons Recreation Center in Pittsburgh's Hill District from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Turn up with the fellas that night at V Lounge.

Ammons Recreation Center

2217 Bedford Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

++

V Lounge

2625 Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Beer Brakes Barriers /  by Alex Young

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They're calling Fresh Fest Pittsburgh's first black beer festival. Black Brew Culture magazine and the Drinking Partners Podcast are responsible for making it happen.

Overall, Fresh Fest highlights local brew culture in Pittsburgh, except the spotlight is on the people who typically go unnoticed in the brew scene. "It's the most embarrassing thing to me that I can't say that I know a single black brewer in Pittsburgh. That's pitiful and that needs to be rectified," Andy Kwiatkowski, part owner of Hitchhiker Brewing Company, said.

On Saturday, August 11 at Nova Place and Alloy 26 in what used to be the Allegheny Center Mall on the North Side, black brewers, black entrepreneurs and even black public officials join the beer community. 21 collaborations between black businesses and Pittsburgh breweries feature at Fresh Fest where attendees can drink craft beer, ciders and more spirits. Food trucks and music supply the fun atmosphere. People can see musicians like singer Clara Kent, bassist Jonny Good and rapper Mars Jackson perform.

The key part of the beer festival is the welcoming attitude for the community. Like the Greek food festival, more nationalities and ethnicities can be part of Fresh Fest. It's not discriminatorily only for black people. It's about "not having this opportunity to having this opportunity," Thomas Agnew, co-owner of BOOM Concepts said as he sipped on the BOOM Shandy, a beer he and his partner Darrell Kinsel crafted with Hitchhiker Brewing for Fresh Fest.

“Any alcohol is a communal beverage... It’s all about bringing people together. That’s why the name’s Hitchhiker. It’s because it brings people from all walks of life together.”
— Andy Kwiatkowski of Hitchhiker Brewing Company

While breaking down racial barriers and having a good human conversation, Thomas, DeVaughn Rodgers, Andy and myself talked about what Fresh Fest means for Pittsburgh and the incredibly tasty BOOM Shandy.

Nova Place

100 S Commons

Pittsburgh, PA 15212

5pm - 9pm

Thomas Agnew with his BOOM Shandy | photographs of Agnew and the BOOM Shandy by Alex Young, Thomas Agnew and via Hitchhiker Brewing

Thomas Agnew with his BOOM Shandy | photographs of Agnew and the BOOM Shandy by Alex Young, Thomas Agnew and via Hitchhiker Brewing

Thomas Agnew of BOOM Concepts: We just sat and talked about the different beers. Darrell and myself drink light beers. We talked about different fruits that would be smart to use for the summertime. We wanted it to be something for the summer. But this is the BOOM Shandy.

InTheRough: How many test runs did you guys go through before arriving to this beer?

Andy Kwiatkowski of Hitchhiker Brewing Company: This is the test round. [laughs]

Thomas: We had all the faith in Andy.

Andy: I've never made a shandy before. It worked out.

Thomas: First time for both. First time shandy and first beer for BOOM. This is great.

ITR: Shandies are light on alcohol content, right?

Andy: Yes, but this is 4.5%. This is .3% more than Miller Lite.

Thomas: It'll get the job done though.

Andy: Yeah, you finish one of those off yourself you're good.

Thomas: We went down to the Hitchhiker Brewing to see his process. It was really cool, but the biggest thing, especially with this Fresh Fest beer festival, was having the people of color representation to be a part of something like this. I never imagined I'd be sitting across from someone who brews beer and talk about, "Let's make a beer." How do we take steps to do other things with this and make that work? Being in a brewery seeing the big stacks and seeing him pouring in the wheat and seeing it mix in this big thing they had. It was crazy to see them make beer legally.

ITR: "Beerland" on Viceland, I don't know if you've seen the Pittsburgh episode, but from a people of color perspective it was nice to see them highlight a little bit of how black people and other minorities add to the brew culture in Pittsburgh.

Andy: I used to be in the hip-hop community. A lot more diversity to a field that has literally no diversity whatsoever. It's all white dudes. This is the most needed thing to be done. I'm so excited the beer and the festival is here. I'm really excited about it. It's the most embarrassing thing to me that I can't say that I know a single black brewer in Pittsburgh. That's pitiful and that needs to be rectified.

Thomas: I think also on the backend when we think about diversity, it's always talking about that cost. How it's never affordable for us. Like how much does your equipment cost?

Andy: All of the equipment is like $750,000. Initially, we had a smaller set-up that led to this viable business and bigger set-up. Initially, our equipment was like $60,000. You could do it way cheaper than that, but you won't make any money. It's economies of scale. The more volume you can produce the more you can make profitable. One of those big tanks that we make in 12 hours now is as much beer we made in a month at the old spot.

ITR: Where are you selling?

Andy: We're in over 100 bars and restaurants around the area. We have cans in Giant Eagle, Whole Foods and other select distributors.

Thomas: That's what I'm saying. I want to see BOOM Shandy in Giant Eagle. I was losing my mind.

ITR: Yeah, this is tasty.

Andy: Any beer we can Giant Eagle buys. Whole Foods buys.

ITR: What's your plan with this beer? Is it coming and then going or coming and staying?

Thomas: Hell nah. It's coming and staying. I mess with this for real. This is like, "How do I make money without having to do hard ass work?" We are willing to invest in this and then continuously doing that. You go from not having this opportunity to having this opportunity. We don't know if anybody else is thinking like this. "Oh, it's just a collaboration for this time." We're like, "So, we want to make more beer. How do we do it? How much does it cost? Can we give you some money and see how it does?" Also, with what we do here and all the opportunities we try to build working with different organizations. If we can figure out a way of how to do this with events like at the Carnegie Museum. Like, "Yo, we have our own beer. You don't even need to bring beer. We have a brewery we work with." This is a move and the shit tastes good.

Andy: Right, it's not gross! It has balance.

Thomas: It's good, man.

Andy: We were dumping in like Country Time lemonade mix. I was like, "I don't know what's going to happen with this." [laughs]

ITR: You did your thing. This tastes like beer. I'm not big on alcohol, but this tastes good. I feel like I'm drinking a good beer. This has it's place.

DeVaughn Rodgers: Have you ever had a shandy before?

ITR: Yeah. The shandies I've had were like ciders and sweet though.

DeVaughn: Right, I don't need that.

Andy: That's what we talked about. We wanted to make a "beer" version of a shandy.

Thomas: We got deep into it. Going down to the brewery.

ITR: How do you think breweries bring together people in Pittsburgh?

Andy: Any alcohol is a communal beverage. There are people who sit at home and drink by themselves, but it's a communal beverage. It's all about bringing people together. That's why the name's Hitchhiker. It's because it brings people from all walks of life together. It doesn't matter if you're unemployed, down on your luck, The C.E.O., and you're the the man, it doesn't matter. You could be sitting at the bar next to someone who you have no idea of their circumstances, where they came from or what their upbringing was. It starts a conversation. There everyday at the bar, people randomly don't know each other. They connect over beer. They start a conversation. They become friends. That's what it's all about and that's the way that alcohol has been since inception. It settled down nomadic man. It made people cultivate crops because they wanted to get lit and the rest is history.

Thomas: Yeah, this shit's great, man.

Andy: It'll be even better by Saturday for the festival. When we move beer around it gets beat up. It needs a couple days to mellow out. Usually day one or two after we carbonate a beer I fucking hate it and I don't hate this. So, that says a lot.

Thomas: Good, I'm glad you don't hate it. This is extra fire.

 

 

I.G. Funnymen /  by Alex Young

You can really use the Instagram app like a TV show. Some accounts keep you coming back because you want to tune in to your own version of the Kardashians. Flack, Glasshead and SweetBaby DayDay are the hottest shows on Instagram. Immediate digital culture lets us digest their quick, funny clips. NVSV (NASA), a producer and rapper from the Library Collaborative in Pittsburgh's South Hills, calls their video I.G. posts "commercials."

The content is nutty, witty and makes you shake your head as you hold back laughter because it's so stupid.

Flack's storylines with his toddler size action figure Ricardo are good enough for the silver screen. He appeals to the culture in an obnoxiously accurate way. After the Instagram comedian Shiggy went viral for his #DoTheShiggy to Drake's "In My Feelings" song, Flack mocked the trend. London Yellow, Glasshead founder, and rapper Ahsé did the same with their obnoxious twist of Drake's song. The comedy in the clips is that they only make us appreciate the relief the entertainers like Drake or Flack and Glasshead give us.

A post shared by GLASSHEAD (@_glasshead_) on

Glasshead and SweetBaby DayDay go hand-in-hand. Glasshead, the rap crew, which DayDay is part of, doubles as a media company, so they are self-sufficient. They promote their music with dazzling effects in videos, but also self-degradation comedy. SweetBaby DayDay put out this series called "Lost In The Woods." It's delirium. "Mumble Comic" Vinay Umapathy and London Yellow join DayDay in the foolery. On Day 30 DayDay and the Mumble Comic, the name of Umapathy's latest stand-up comedy tape, are listening to a tree with wired headphones. Mad.

Everybody in this post deserves more coverage, so watch for more documents on them here, especially as we talk to Flack during our episode of The Burgh Boyz with DJ Motormane and DJ Spillz on August 7.

@sweetbbyday @blanco337 go tag @kbcomdian and get them a new job

A post shared by GLASSHEAD (@_glasshead_) on

Faces and Spaces by ArtLikeUs /  by Alex Young

ArtLikeUs | photograph by Alex Young

ArtLikeUs | photograph by Alex Young

Take it back to September 18 two years ago. Photographer ArtLikeUs was set, collected at Stage AE making images of entertainers Choo Jackson, The Come Up, Mac Miller, Quentin Cuff and more in Pittsburgh. Outside, InTheRough handed out stickers and T-shirts to people in line waiting to enter the concert. At this moment, we met this tall kid with a welcoming attitude and supreme afro, sometimes he caged it with a silk head scarf, Yung Mulatto. Put the city's culture into perspective.

Two days later, ArtLikeUs photos from the concert published in an ITR article about some discriminatory mess that went on before the show. ArtLikeUs' photos amplified our words about the injustice to create a legendary piece of journalism that many people championed. The photo of Mac and Q hyping the Stage AE crowd is "one of my favorite photos," ArtLikeUs said.

Two years later, the man behind ArtLikeUs Xavier Thomas is 26 and still capturing images of entertainment and black life in city settings. "I can relate to black on a grand scale," Thomas said. When rap queen Cardi B visited Pittsburgh at Xtaza nightclub, ArtLikeUs was there to photograph. When Levels Agency brought Gucci Mane to the 'Burgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center, people saw the footage on the ArtLikeUs Instagram feed. Once late rapper and Pittsburgh legend Jimmy Wopo came home from a brief jail sentence, Art, camera in hand, was at his "crackin'" welcome home party at the Galaxy Lounge in Homewood. Big Lonn of the native Pittsburgh Taylor Gang rap crew invited Art to photograph his jiu-jitsu sparring sessions. Art bounced around from local podcasts like the Burgh Boyz to The New Wave Podcast to Straight To The League giving them video footage of each episode. All of this and more, ArtLikeUs was deep in the scene creating visual narratives of daily life in Pittsburgh.

In his home office in Greenfield, Pittsburgh, a news clipping of a feature article about Wiz Khalifa in the New Pittsburgh Courier with ArtLikeUs photos tacked to his cork board. Art scrolled through his Twitter account of Tweets from years ago. "My only dream is to be a sought out photographer," one said from 2013. Each one predicts the future. Now, ArtLikeUs is a prominent photographer making images of superstars like P Diddy.

A post shared by Xavier Thomas (@artlikeus) on

ArtLikeUs stood outside the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on assignment with heavyweight rapper Fabolous for the Global Spin Awards. "Diddy hops out of a truck right next to me," he said. "I tapped Diddy to get a photo." The music mogul's bodyguards muffled under their breaths creating a boundary around Diddy with their arms. "I interjected. I over-stepped. I couldn't let him walk away from me." Art walked away with footage of the Combs family, a private conversation between super producer Pharrell and Fabolous, images of Snoop Dogg and much more. There was "an insane list of people. I don't know how to tell these stories it was so rich," Art said.

“I got celebrities all over my page. If you have a list this long you can be trusted.”
— ArtLikeUs
Thomas shared a Facebook memory when prominent publications XXL Magazine, Hot New Hip Hop and The Source Magazine published his photo.

Thomas shared a Facebook memory when prominent publications XXL Magazine, Hot New Hip Hop and The Source Magazine published his photo.

Thomas got his access card to the stars through his relationship with Fab. The rapper had a show in New Castle, Pa. and Art was there making opportunities for himself. Prominent hip-hop magazine XXL published ArtLikeUs photos of Fab from that night. When Fab came to the 'Burgh for a show at the Strip District's Xtaza club, Art linked with Fab officially and even met with him at Bliss Nightclub in Washington, D.C. "I really spent a considerable amount of time with him," Thomas said. He's able to text the rapper and work with him because "I never fan'd out over nobody. I just try to be distinctive and get my shit done." Well, he did fan out once when R&B songstress Teyana Taylor gave him a hug at a Def Jam Recordings party. "Teyana Taylor is one of the prime examples of a black woman," he said.

In L.A. and other big market cities, "getting in a room is usually the hardest part," Art said. But working diligently and "doing good work" will get you in that room.

Already in rooms photographing the major culture out West, ArtLikeUs worked with Taylor Gang honcho Wiz Khalifa for a week in L.A. Art featured on Khalifa's "420 Freestyle" record screaming "We don't know!" Clips inside the studio promote music from Taylor Chevy Woods. Once, Justin Bieber pulled up on Wiz in a stout Mercedes G-Wagon. DJ Khaled had celebrity guests to his new House in Hollywood Hills, L.A. ArtLikeUs was there with Fabolous and his crew, like Fab's manager Big Fendi. So Art grabbed looks at Khaled's ginormous shoe closet and a family photo of Busta Rhymes, DJ Khaled and Fab. Notoriety stretches in ArtLikeUs photos from cool people like music entrepreneur YesJulz, comedian DC Young Fly and radio DJ Funk Flex.

Although Thomas has built a foundation in Pittsburgh, speaking to his well-known camera talents and the family he's created, he needs more and "I'm willing to go get it," he said. Just then, his youngest son toddled toward a slice of pizza on Thomas' living room table. "I need to get paid like I want to. The budget for music projects here isn't industry standard and I need industry standard," Thomas said.

A post shared by Xavier Thomas (@artlikeus) on

So far in 2018, Atlanta and Los Angeles have facilitated Art's financial goals. The big markets with pools of entertainment can support talent in multiple industries like photography. But, "my come up was here in Pittsburgh," ArtLikeUs admits. "The Pittsburgh art community super fucks with me," the scene just needs to grow so that local heroes and talented people don't feel like an "A1 prospect playing in the D League," Thomas said. After all, people in some Pittsburgh entertainment industries, like musicians, say making money is nearly impossible. The Pittsburgh Music Ecosystem Study by Sound Music Cities states that 69% of musicians here earn less than $10,000 per year from performing or selling music. 10% of musicians earn $35,000 and above.

Something must be done to expand the scene because "this is about me achieving my dreams and not compromising," Thomas said.

ArtLikeUs: To get paid like I want to I have to leave. I'm not trying to get paid $10,000 per shoot, but I literally get paid by companies here [Pittsburgh] $100 to shoot. I'm going to grind and get something out of this photography. 'I gotta get this money. Understand me?' (Chief Keef "Sosa Baby" lyrics)

InTheRough: Do you think Pittsburgh is able to sustain your dreams or do you think Pittsburgh is capable of paying industry level budgets for photographers and other artists?

ArtLikeUs: Yes, once my industry is broader. You need to pursue weddings if you're a photographer. If you want to be a good photographer and guarantee to make money get into weddings. I'm looking for entertainment though. I'm into the hip-hop scene. I'm into the urban. I'm into Black on a grand scale and Pittsburgh isn't that. It could get there one day with the way music streaming is going. I'm just saying the people that have money to spend on foolish shit aren't in Pittsburgh. We don't take that and build something here. Say Wiz built a club or Mac opened a restaurant. People would gravitate towards that. But people hate so hard, so I get why people wouldn't come back.

ITR: What is it that you need from the city to come back whenever you make it?

ArtLikeUs: I need the city more geared toward youth. This is an old ass city. We don't have anybody that represents us in politics or the stuff where the power is really at. It's not geared toward us. This is currently geared toward settling down. If we could broaden the technology stuff people talk about here to other business sectors that would be lit. If we get recreational marijuana here that will change a lot. That's when our money will matter.

Thomas at his home in Pittsburgh | photograph by Alex Young

Thomas at his home in Pittsburgh | photograph by Alex Young

ITR: When you look back at the photos you've taken, especially of stars like Wiz, Fabolous or Gucci Mane, which one sticks out?

ArtLikeUs: Definitely Fab and definitely Wiz. Fab, I got to him first. My first time shooting Fab's image went to XXL, Hot New Hip Hop and The Source and hella other blogs. That was amazing People were hitting me up like, 'Yo! It went to XXL!' I was like, 'What? That's my picture?' I couldn't believe it. I shot Wiz in Atlantic Records' studio in New York. Man, I was the biggest Wiz Khalifa fan since a long time ago. That was a personal thing. When I first moved to Pittsburgh and got into the scene I was like, 'I think I can get to Mac and Wiz if they come to town.' And I got to both of them. I got to go to New York with Wiz. Just because of those things that happened to me I don't doubt my path anymore because I didn't expect that. That shit happened to me by accident. I was just doing shit and that's why I keep doing shit and shit keep happening.

ITR: I've heard you say you look up to Dan Folger.

ArtLikeUs: Dan Folger is probably my primary reason for getting a camera, especially with what he was doing with Wiz Khalifa in the "DayToday" episodes. Besides photography though, Dan Folger was on his grind. He had a job and was doing this photography. He was on the Galaxy [Galaxy Lounge] grind like I was. He was doing things I do now, the behind the scenes stuff. That was really cool for me. Cam Kirk, Johnathan Manion, and Terry Richardson are a few photographers who are big inspirations too.

ITR: What did you want to be when you grew up?

ArtLikeUs: Bro, I wanted to play basketball and just be rich.

ITR: Where are some venues in Pittsburgh that you liked to shoot?

ArtLikeUs: The Spot and Galaxy Lounge, they're gems. If you know, you know. Owey had it crackin' and same with Hardo and Wopo. I want you to go there. It's a bit harder, but you have to get the whole city.

ITR: What tips do you have for networking?

ArtLikeUs: I don't mind expressing an idea that somebody might steal. I want to express something to somebody so they know I'm trying to grow. Don't be a weirdo and just talk to people.

ITR: What about your photos makes them so good? What's your talent in image making?

ArtLikeUs: I want the moment to last. The other day I saw an image of when my son was first born. That was lit. I have a really good family album or life album of shit, and now there's all this entertainment and poppin' shit that fills in there. It's crackin'.

Definitely, keep up with the ArtLikeUs Instagram page. Check out his photos from the Pittsburgh stop of Wiz Khalifa and Rae Sremmurd's Dazed & Blazed Summer 2018 Tour and more content as Art follows music star Hardo on the tour.