10. Kevion “KeVante1” Barkley
One of the most interesting things about the Internet is it gives people the platform to do basically whatever the fuck they want. And while this isn’t always a good thing (see: Nazis, gay bashers, Verizon Wireless), Kevion Barkley’s Facebook page and YouTube Channel is an example of this phenomenon at its best. I know absolutely nothing about this guy, except that he is a big fan of progressive emoticons, Jodeci-frontman Devante Swing, and slowwww jams (dude’s YouTube channel is called SLOWJAMZ-4-LIFE!!!!!!!!!!). His feeds are full of his “SLOWJAM” music videos, which are basically super obscure R&B and gospel jams that he slows down just a touch. I may be the only person on the planet who is following these feeds, but I am sure happy that I do. Majestic can go fuck itself.
9. Robin Carolan (Tri Angle Records)
A couple years ago, Tri Angle Records rose as one of the driving forces in independent electronic music. Fallaciously pegged as the first label of Witch House, 2011 was an incredible year for label, scoring massive success with releases from artists du jour like How to Dress Well, Balam Acab, and Clams Casino. And though witch house fell away as quickly as it came, Carolan adjusted with the times and consolidated Tri Angle’s status as one of indie music’s foremost tastemakers with progressive releases from AlunaGeorge, Evian Christ, and Holy Other.
8. DJ Screw
More than 10 years after his untimely death, DJ Screw’s beloved screwed n’ chopped sound finally truly permeated pop culture. I first heard a Screw Tape while in college in New Orleans (’04), and I never would have guessed that eight years later it would have taken such a hold on pop music. Besides being near ubiquitous in hip-hop nowadays, we’ve heard the screw voice all over pop music and R&B this year, and you can easily find a screwed version of damn near every album released this year.
7. Johnny Jewel
It was a magnificent year for Johnny Jewel, his label (Italians Do it Better), and his main band (Chromatics). Chromatics’ Kill For Love was one of the best and most critically acclaimed albums of the year, and his mixtapes received universal acclaim. Even his free disc of b-sides, Running From the Sun, felt like a fully realized album. Though I.D.I.B released Symmetry’s impossibly expansive masterpiece, Themes from an Imaginary Film, late in 2011, it really broke at the beginning of this year. The ever-prolific Portland-native has spent much of his career crafting a very particular aesthetic, and this was the year the rest of the world fell in love with it.
6. Will Abramson from YoursTru.ly
Possibly a homer pick, but San Francisco-based production crew Yours Truly had another incredible year with a string of excellent videos from many of music’s foremost tastemakers. Though they remain known primarily for beautifully shot performance videos, they debuted a number of successful video series. “Songs from Scratch” — their most interesting new series — pairs rappers with producers and gives them one day to create a new song. It gives fans fascinating insight into the creative process and always results in a new dope track. Yours Truly has always been more than just a video production company, and that was never more apparent than in 2012.
Lunice & Angel Haze’s “Songs From Scratch” entry:
