Tasty Vibes: Good Music, Good Energy

Two of the dopest brands out have come together for A3C to put on the ultimate showcase experience. TasteCreators and Positive Vibe have linked up to bring not only good music, but good energy to the A3C festival and conference. "Tasty Vibes" has a lineup like no other and will be going down Thursday night at TEN ATL.

TasteCreators is a platform dedicated to showing love to indie artists who aren't quite mainstream. Their goal is to highlight up and coming artists, producers, brands, and entrepreneurs that people need to be checking for. Positive Vibe is a creative talent agency out of Baltimore that curates music showcases, clothing drives, and other events.

We got a chance to speak with Brianna "BreezyB" DeMayo of Taste Creators and Jay Holz of Positive Vibe to hear, in their own words, exactly what it takes to put together such an incredible collab showcase.

How did TasteCreators and Positive Vibe end up coming together for A3C?

BREEZY: It was really organic. I've known Jay Holz for a few years now and he's always had lots of integrity and he's done some great work with artists. He mentioned wanting to get involved with A3C and I was already planning on having a Taste Creators stage so we thought it would make total sense to collab since both of our brands fit well together.

JAY HOLZ: Breezy hit me up earlier this year to tell me her and Taste Creators are planning on throwing a showcase at A3C and that she wanted me and Positive Vibe involved. Her and I had been talking about doing an event together for a while, so when she offered to bring me on, it was a no brainer. Now I'm throwing my first A3C show! Salute to Breezy.

What do you look for in rising artists to determine if they have that “it” factor?

BREEZY: The "it" factor can be debatable because technically everyone has their own preference for what they like or see in an artist. I feel that the "it" factor comes naturally, it can't be forced. You either have it or you don't. You can just tell even by an artist's presence when they walk in the room or by how they own the stage and control the crowd at a show. Also their music definitely plays a big factor. If I listen to a song and it makes me want to play it again and add it to a playlist, that’s the “it” factor I look for.

JAY HOLZ: I look for 3 different things: 1) the quality of their music; 2) how they interact with both fans and industry folks; and 3) what makes them different from everyone else. There's a billion "rappers" these days - how are you going to stand out?

You guys have a pretty diverse lineup this year. What type of sound can the fans expect from the Tasty Vibes stage this year?

We purposely made sure that our line up was diverse because we wanted to bring many different vibes to the show (hence the name “Tasty Vibes”). Each artist on our line up has their own unique sound and style and I’m excited to see how it all comes together. You'll hear gritty street raps out of folks like Tate Kobang and Shawn Smith, while you'll hear alternative-sounding hip-hop from the likes of Mannywellz and Malik Ferraud. Then we have some incredible female performers like B. Simone and Joie Kathos, who will undoubtedly bring a unique energy to the show. All in all, there's something for everyone at Tasty Vibes.

What's something that each of you prides yourself on most when it comes to how you both managed to put this together?

BREEZY: We've both thrown our own events in the past and have been heavily involved with the artist development and PR side of things, but it's really exciting because this is our first festival stage. It was a lot to coordinate in a pretty short period of time but it went a lot smoother than we thought..

JAY HOLZ: I pride ourselves on how quickly we put it all together and how promising the lineup is. Breezy hit me with the idea of an A3C showcase; we spent a few days coming up with the name of the event; spent a couple weeks after that locking in all the artists; then confirmed with A3C. Boom.

You both are known for shedding light on up and comers. What was the inspiration behind getting the old school legend, Bahamadia, on the bill?

There’s a lot of “old school” vs “new school” artist debates that are always floating down everyone’s timelines but Bahamadia is really supportive of the new artists so we felt she would be a great addition to the show.

 Any tips for indie artists performing in this year's festival?

BREEZY: Don't get caught up on just going to showcases, make sure you go to the panels and conferences and really take advantage of all the amazing knowledge and connections that you can make to further your career. Also make sure you're well equipped with marketing materials (tee shirts, posters, stickers etc). And make sure you introduce yourself and really connect with people before you try to hand them a copy of your mixtape.

JAY HOLZ: Network, Network and Network! The reason A3C is such an incredible festival/conference is because of the endless opportunities to further your career. There's just as many panels/seminars as there are concerts. At A3C, you can learn a slew of information about every "role" in hip-hop including: the artist, the producer, the DJ, the manager, the publicist, the blogger/journalist, etc. Utilize all A3C has to offer. It's more than just your performance.

You definitely don't want to miss the inaugural "Tasty Vibes" Showcase at A3C! Secure your spot before it's too late and check out the lineup here.