At last year’s Forecastle Festival, Dr. Dundiff rallied his friends to make a statement about Louisville hip-hop. The local emcee had pitched himself to the festival organizers via a series of YouTube videos promising an epic performance, and boy, did he deliver. Joined by over a dozen other hometown rappers and a full band, Dundiff put on a true showcase of the city’s potential. The highlight of the whole thing was when the entire entourage performed a cypher on a remix of My Morning Jacket frontman (and Louisville resident) Jim James’ “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.” from his solo LP, Regions of Light and Sound of God.
Not long after the memorable set, the whole horde of artists entered LaLaLand Studios with MMJ’s original sound engineer Kevin Ratterman to record a studio version of the performance, including the James remix. Over the course of seven months, they managed to put together a video for their take on “State of the Art”, with a drone following around each rapper in a section of Louisville that they call their own. In all, the clip features appearances by (deep breath) James, Dr. Dundiff, Sleye Kooper, Rmllw2llz, Jack Harlow, Dat Boi Dunn, Nightmare The Rusty Robot, Modern Marvill, Bonez, Chuck Deuce, Kogan Dumb, Space Duck, Nacirema, Goodbar, James Lindsey & 1200, and Touch A.C..
“This is the biggest collaboration Louisville has ever seen,” Dr. Dundiff tells Consequence of Sound. “The Dr. Dundiff & Friends set at Forecastle 2015 was a huge step for not only Louisville hip-hop, but also Louisville music culture. From putting on the most epic set at Forecastle last year, to recording the album at LaLaLand, to releasing this video, this experience has been historical. This video symbolizes a time that won’t soon be forgotten.”
Watch the video above. You can order the Dr. Dundiff & Friends record on Bandcamp or on marbled blue vinyl via FatBeats.