The Lineup
- Airstrip (Carrboro, N.C.)
- Altar of Plagues (Cork, Ireland)
- Altos (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Alvarius B. (Seattle, Wash.)
- Amen Dunes (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Arnold Dreyblatt and Megafaun (Berlin, Germany / Durham, N.C.)
- Balam Acab (Mechanicsburg, Pa.)
- Baroness (Savannah, Ga.)
- Beat Report (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Big Troubles (Ridgewood, N.J.)
- Bill Orcutt (San Francisco, Calif.)
- Bio Ritmo (Richmond, Va.)
- BIrds of Avalon (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Black Skies (Carrboro, N.C.)
- Boy Friend (Austin, Texas)
- Built to Spill (Boise, Idaho)
- Burglar Fucker (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
- Calico Haunts (Durham, N.C.)
- Cantwell, Gomez & Jordan (Durham, N.C.)
- Carlos Giffoni (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Charles Latham (Durham, N.C.)
- Charlie Parr (Duluth, Minn.)
- Cheater Slicks (Columbus, Ohio)
- Chelsea Crowell (Nashville, Tenn.)
- Chris Corsano (Rochester, N.Y.)
- Chris Forsyth & Koen Holtkamp (Philadelphia, Penn.)
- Chuck Johnson (Oakland, Calif.)
- Cities Aviv (Memphis, Tenn.)
- Class Actress (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Co La (Baltimore, Md.)
- Colin Stetson (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
- Corrosion of Conformity (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Curtis Eller (Durham, N.C.)
- Damien Jurado (Seattle, Wash.)
- Dan Deacon (Baltimore, Md.)
- Danny Brown (Detroit, Mich.)
- Death Grips (Sacramento, Calif.)
- Deerhoof (San Francisco, Calif.)
- Delicate Steve (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Doldrums (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
- Donovan Quinn (San Francisco, Calif.)
- Dope Body (Baltimore, Md.)
- Drique London (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Duchess Says (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
- Ducktails (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Elephant Micah (Bloomington, Ind.)
- Escort (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Exitmusic (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Feltbattery (Hillsborough, N.C.)
- Field Report (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Flesh Wounds (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Flosstradamus (Chicago, Ill.)
- Free Electric State (Durham, N.C.)
- Frustrations (Detroit, Mich.)
- G-Side (Huntsville, Ala.)
- Glenn Jones (Boston, Mass.)
- Grohg (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Gross Ghost (Carrboro, N.C.)
- Guardian Alien (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Guinea Worms (Columbus, Ohio)
- Hacienda (San Antonio, Texas)
- Heads On Sticks (Raleigh, N.C.)
- High Wolf (Europe)
- Hiss Golden Messenger (Durham, N.C.)
- Holograms (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Hubble (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Hume (Washington, D.C.)
- Hundred Waters (Gainesville, Fla.)
- Ital (Washington, D.C.)
- J Kutchma and the 5 Fifths (Durham, N.C.)
- J. Roddy Walston and The Business (Baltimore, Md.)
- Jacaszek (Gdansk, Poland)
- Jackie Chain (Huntsville, Ala.)
- Jane Jane Pollock (Thomasville, Ga.)
- Jenny Besetzt (Greensboro, N.C.)
- JOINT D (Charlotte, N.C.)
- Jon Mueller’s Death Blues (Milwaukee, Wis.)
- Julia Holter (Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Kenny Roby (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Kevin Drumm (Chicago, Ill.)
- Lambchop (Nashville, Tenn.)
- Laurel Halo (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Lazy Janes (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Left Outlet (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Liars (Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Lilac Shadows (Durham, N.C.)
- Little Hollow (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Lizzy Ross Band (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Mac McCaughan (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- MAKE (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Mark Holland (Pittsboro, N.C.)
- Mark McGuire (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Matthew E. White (Richmond, Va.)
- Midtown Dickens (Durham, N.C.)
- Minor Stars (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Mirel Wagner (Espoo, Finland)
- My Best Fiend (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Nails (La Palma, Calif.)
- Naked Gods (Boone, N.C.)
- Nerves Junior (Louisville, Ky.)
- Nests (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Nick Catchdubs (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- No BS! Brass Band (Richmond, Va.)
- NOBUNNY (Oakland, Calif.)
- Odonis Odonis (Toronto, Canada)
- Oneida (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Oren Ambarchi (Sydney, Australia)
- Paint Fumes (Charlotte, N.C.)
- Pallbearer (Little Rock, Ark.)
- Papa M (David Pajo) (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Phil Cook & His Feat (Durham, N.C.)
- Pipe (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Pop. 1280 (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Quiet Evenings (LaGrange, Ga.)
- Roman Candle (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Roomrunner (Baltimore, Md.)
- Samantha Crain (Shawnee, Okla.)
- Savage Knights (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Say Brother (Columbia, S.C.)
- Screaming Females (New Brunswick, N.J.)
- Secret Cities (Fargo, N.D.)
- Secret Mountains (Baltimore, Md.)
- Shark Quest (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Shirlette & The Dynamite Brothers (Durham, N.C.)
- Shovels & Rope (Charleston, S.C.)
- Silver Swans (San Francisco, Calif.)
- Sinful Savage Tigers (Chapel Hill/ Durham, N.C.)
- Sister Crayon (Sacramento, Calif.)
- Some Army (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- STAG (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Starlings, TN (Austin, Texas)
- Strand of Oaks (Philadelphia, Penn.)
- Sunn O))) (Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Sutekh Hexen (San Francisco, Calif.)
- T0W3RS (Carrboro, N.C.)
- Tenement (Appleton, Wis.)
- The Atlas Moth (Chicago, Ill.)
- The Band In Heaven (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
- The Beast (Durham, N.C.)
- The Bronzed Chorus (Greensboro, N.C.)
- The dB’s (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- The Future Kings Of Nowhere (Durham, N.C.)
- The Hot at Nights (Raleigh, N.C.)
- The Jesus and Mary Chain (Glasgow, Scotland)
- The Mountain Goats (Durham, N.C.)
- The Roots (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- The Spits (Seattle, Wash.)
- The Toddlers (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- The Weather Station (Toronto, Cananda)
- Thee Oh Sees (San Francisco, Calif.)
- Tom Maxwell (Pittsboro, N.C.)
- Tomas Phillips and Craig Hilton (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Toon and The Real Laww (Durham, N.C.)
- Valient Thorr (Raleigh, N.C.)
- Vattnet Viskar (Plaistow, N.H.)
- Versus (New York City, N.Y.)
- Whatever Brains (Raleigh, N.C.)
- White Hills (New York City, N.Y.)
- Withered (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Wood Ear (Durham, N.C.)
- Work Clothes (Carrboro, N.C.)
- Wowser Bowser (Atlanta, Ga.)
- Wye Oak (Baltimore, Md.)
- Wylie Hunter and the Cazadores (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
- Yo La Tengo (Hoboken, N.J.)
- Young And In The Way (Charlotte, N.C.)
- Young Magic (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- Zack Mexico (Kill Devil Hills, N.C.)
- Zammuto (Readsboro, Vt.)
- Zeus (Toronto, Cananda)
- Zola Jesus (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Skyzoo
Brooklyn, NY
This Brooklyn upstart is still glowing from the acclaim behind his 2009 freshman LP Salvation, released via 9th Wonder’s Jamla label and Duck Down. But before that, Skyzoo took the rap world by surprise by collaborating with 9th on the Cloud 9: The 3 Day High project, a 12-track, mixtape-style, retail album. After receiving a batch of beats from 9th Wonder, it only took Skyzoo three days to pen the songs that were featured on this project, or so the story goes.>/p>
Subsequently, 9th signed Skyzoo, and why wouldn’t he? Skyzoo’s a precise lyricist whose dedication to detail and craft isn’t compromised by a lust for fortune and bad-boy trifles. He possesses a writer’s discipline that has earned him spots in bona fide groups like “Top 10 Emcees Alive,” and he exhibits a work ethic deserving of honors like the 2008 Underground Music Awards’ Best Lyricist. Hip-hop lovers, this guy might be your future. —Eric Tullis