Any self-respecting Milwaukee music fan has known WebsterX for a while now. But after repeatedly bubbling up to the surface of national attention over the past few years, scoring write-ups and premieres in the likes of Entertainment Weekly, Complex and Noisey, the local alternative hip-hop artist looks primed to fully break out with the announcement today that the rapper was selected with 19 other nationwide artists to receive support from Slingshot.
Slingshot is an NPR-affiliated effort from radio stations across the country aimed at elevating emerging artists onto greater platforms – and therefore hopefully elevating them to the next level of their careers. The movement officially began last September with a video, interview and live event series featuring three artists: Lo Moon, Jamila Woods and Big Thief. The three artists toured the country, recording interviews, live performances and videos alongside VuHaus' public radio stations – including 88Nine – that appeared on-air and online at NPR's Slingshot website.
This year, however, NPR and VuHaus expanded Slingshot, with each member radio station selecting one new artist to include – WebsterX, in the case of Radio Milwaukee.
So what does Slingshot mean for the rapper and the other 19 selected artists in 2018? It means they'll be featured on NPR's "World Cafe" program, as well as the organization's "All Songs Considered" podcast. In addition, NPS and VuHaus will include WebsterX and company in their on-air programming and curated Spotify playlist, combining to offer a massive national platform and audience to talented musicians on the brink of stardom.
"On stage and off, WebsterX is a dynamic person," 88Nine Radio Milwaukee program director Jordan Lee said in a press release. "He is electricity with a microphone, a big heart, a mentor – and he's ready to take over the world."
We, for one, welcome our future hip-hop overlord, and we look forward to seeing what WebsterX will do with this new platform – and how high he'll go next. And what better way to help his takeover than by passing around his "Blue Streak"-inspired LocaMoji?
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
