This week in Memphis Music was a doozy, complete with highs and lows. Early reviews for Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” have started rolling in (more on that next week), live music has returned to the Overton Park Shell, and the estate of Isaac Hayes is suing Donald Trump, but these didn’t even make the short list! Keep reading for some of this week’s Memphis Music highlights
Memphis Music Initiative teams up with Hershey, Target
This week it was announced that local music non-profit Memphis Music Initiative had partnered together with Hershey and Target to elevate Black voices and the next generation of Memphis musicians in a new campaign called The Beat of the Future. Per the Daily Memphian: “Through a grant, the amount of which was not disclosed, Hershey will support MMI on its mission to cultivate a thriving arts and culture ecosystem.
The campaign also features limited-edition Kit Kat and Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme bar packaging designed by Black artists. Each design has the MMI logo on the front and a QR code going to a unique campaign website on the back.”
Noted Memphis hip-hop engineer Leo Goff III dies
In sadder news, renowned engineer Leo Goff III passed away earlier this week. Goff, who got his start at Ardent Studios, had worked on numerous gold and platinum projects for Yo Gotti, Moneybagg Yo and BlocBoy JB, among others. To learn more about Goff’s life and career, check out this article from the Commercial Appeal.
Yo Gotti, Moneybagg Yo and CMG label drop ‘official’ song for NBA Finals, ‘Big League’
Speaking of Yo Gotti, the rapper and his label CMG have dropped their new song “Big League,” which is being used at the official song of the NBA Finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. Of course we’d love to see Memphis represented in the Finals by the Grizzlies (next season!), but it’s nice to see the Bluff City getting represented either way.
