This Pitchfork Music Festival update is brought to you by our friends at Dark Horse Wine.
A lot of conversation surrounded the release of Future Brown’s debut album earlier this year: Whether between listeners arguing about the album’s strengths, or critics and the musicians themselves about the group’s intentions, the record fueled a lot of talk. While the frequently controversial back-and-forth wasn’t necessarily the goal of their music, communication sits at his core — at the very least, the kind that says “Time to dance.”
The Los Angeles quartet’s fusion of various rhythmic styles — grime, dancehall, hip-hop — is irresistible, the kind of thing that naturally gets heads bobbing and feet moving. It can be difficult to get a festival crowd into club mode early in the day, with the threat of rain pouring down rather than strobe lights, but if anyone was up to the task, it was Future Brown.
The production group know how to start a party. They’ve worked on multiple occasions with Chicago rapper Tink, but they invited other local guests to get things turned. Members of Chop Squad jumped in first, Future Brown giving King Rell his excellent “Can’t Trust A Soul” and let the group hype up Lil Durk’s “What Your Life Like” and a remix of Rae Sremmurd’s “No Flex Zone”.
Large sections of the crowd seemed drawn in by the unexpected dance burst, the group clearly working hard to get things moving, but making it look effortless. Sicko Mobb were the next guests, and it was unclear whether the Super Saiyan duo of Lil Trav and Lil Ceno were dancing harder or the U.S. Flag be-decked Chicago Bulls mascot, Benny, roaming the crowd.
Future Brown seemed to be making the impossible possible, warding off the impending rain with their infectious grooves. The group’s collaboration with Sicko Mobb, “Big Homie”, nearer the end of the set, and then the rain pounded down, giving some relief to all the sweaty dancers grinning ear to ear after Future Brown’s winning set.
We washed it all down with…
Dark Horse Wine “Sauvignon Blanc”
Flavor chart: Bright aromas of grapefruit and gooseberry lined with a fresh, crisp taste and one long, refreshing finish
