Nadeem SalaamThe Artists, Event Series, & Music Blogs We Loved In 2016
This year we published 1,116 blog posts, covered 58 live events, organized 6 events, and had visitors from 142 countries around the globe.
Not bad for our 1st year! Here are a just a few artists, event series, and music blogs we want to give some extra love to for inspiring us along the way, I leave you with a message that reminded me why art is liberation and like the amber of our humanity, keep creating, keep dreaming, keep telling your story.
“A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called “leaves”) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time ― proof that humans can work magic.” ― Carl Sagan
Artists
A. Sarr
We first met A.Sarr outside of Pianos when he jumped in front of the camera to join Tattoo Money’s interview, and the first thing out of his mouth was “Thank you for elevating us.” Although the track “Praying Hands” that he premiered on our site began in the hospital, it would up being one of my favorite premieres we did all year, it also was one of the most read articles we put out! Major love to a New York native and artist doing great things.
Humeysha
Elle Winston
Twig Twig
Oracle Room
Event Series
The Hum
The announcement that shocked many this year was Manhattan Inn closing, so the Hum series this October would than go on to be its last at the location that gave it life. Hypnocraft elevating women in music is certainly not going to end however, and we’re proud to announce we will be releasing an archive of the entire last series that we filmed on their behalf in 2017. 
C’mon Everybody
When it comes to the best in Afro futuristic, deep house, funk, soul and disco C’mon Everybody has been an shining example of ally-ship and community anchor-ship. From the legendary DJ’s to the DIY bands, no other programing this year has been as consistently exploratory, free to express, and fun as Bed-stuy’s new kid on the block. A great example of fostering communal art of disparate peoples with the intention of empowerment vs co-opting.
Music Blog
Smoothie Tunes
If working as agents of light and support for artists had an award I could give, I’d give it to Smoothie Tunes. In many ways they’re my sister soulmate, they show that the writers of the future are imbued with a deep sense of empathy for people, a social consciousness permeates their thoughts, and often manifests in the realm of music. We see you Smoothie Tunes, and we’re happy you have the courage and stamina to wake up everyday and try to make the world a better place with each blog post you write.
Consider a donation of any amount to Elevtr Trax! We are going into remission for January because I will be doing some organizing work in DC and then to New Orleans to finish writing a book i’ve been working on. We want to expand next year and will depend on a person based donation model. If you want more bands to have their first albums covered, first live HD-videos produced, or POC issues, LGBT artists voices amplified, and the grass roots supported on the picket line, we’re going to need your support! Thanks for giving us that in 2016, next year, in the words of Bernie, “the struggle continues.”