We're living in very trying times... a lot of uncertainty. But, as many of us know, some of the greatest art is created during struggle, so we look to talented creatives to say and express thoughts that we can relate to and that reflect these times. We've learned how fragile things can be for artists who live check to check, unable to tour and perform like they used to - and without health insurance. Still, music persevered and artists have found their way through the maze. In 2021, Verzuz became a staple of performance-based art: The Lox vs. Dipset, Big Daddy Kane vs. KRS-One, Ja Rule vs. Fat Joe, Raekwon vs. Ghostface Killah, etc. DJ Premier came through with the So Wassup? video series that gave me life; podcasts like Take It Personal, Legendize, Vinyl Esquire, What Had Happened Was, Showoff Your Gems, Drink Champs, Joe Budden's Podcast and more gave us an escape, too. DJs like J. Period, Statik Selektah, DJ Filthy Rich, Donnie Propa and more stepped up to entertain with their mixes. Albums from Breeze Brewin, Pharoahe Monch (Th1rt3en), The Alchemist, Blu, Jay Electronica, J. Cole, Evidence, Blu, Nas, AZ, Common, Big Ghost, Rasheed Chappell and more, were atop my playlist all year. But... of course, tragedy continued to hit us hard with the loss of friends, loved ones, and artists like Zumbi of Zion I, Shock G of Digital Underground, Biz Markie, Gift of Gab, DMX, Ricky Powell, Double K of P.U.T.S., Michael K. Williams and more. It's terribly hard to predict if it'll be more of the same in 2022, or if we'll finally turn the corner, but whatever it is, nothing will be the same again. My message to everyone reading this is to hold on and survive. Don't fight change, find ways to navigate this new normal and you'll come out the other side stronger than before. I apologize, once again, for all the delays in my posts. One love. - DJ Sav One. Oh, and 30 years since the "Happy New Year" drawing below from the talented Andre LeRoy Davis...
