For the second year in a row, 1800 Tequila joined forces with a major artist. This year it was Future and producer Papamitrou, to curate 1800 Seconds Vol. 2.
A group of seven ambitious artists from across the United States came together in this collaborative effort for the chance to have their music broadcasted to a larger audience.
Though the artists were mentored through the process and given access to industry-grade equipment and resources, the magic stemmed from their ability to create, share and build with one another for the duration of the project.
The team consisted of Herion Young, Juiicy2xS, Seddy Hendrinx, Lihtz, Shaun Sloan, Test, and Aurora Anthony. Each brought their own unique style. Styles that shined through yet were easy to meld together with another.
The album was full of emotion; from love to pain. From start to finish, it brought you into the reality of each artist and gave you a taste of who they are.
We were invited to attend the official album release party. There we were able to glimpse into what the experience was like for the artists.
1800 Tequila not only helped create an amazing album, but they also threw an amazing party. At Domaine, a night club in Midtown Atlanta, the stage was set and transformed into a shrine for the album and artists.
The club had screens with images of the artists surrounding it like a halo, and 1800 banner sign, and a large screen on the stage with the album logo.
In another room the walls were all adorned with framed images of Future and each creative from the album, reminding me of a gallery.
The club was packed. The crowd was a mix of artists, friends, family, fans, media, and the energy was palpable. As each artist hit the stage, you could feel the raw emotion put into the creation and performance of their music.
Though we didn’t get the chance to speak with every artist those we did speak to all seemed to agree on one thing and it was about the camaraderie of the group.
It was such a diverse group, that just worked. Seddy spoke about the acceptance and respect they shared for one another.
He made it clear that for them it was more than just a collaborative work by a group of artists, it was a piece of work created by a family.
“Everyone was so open to everybody’s ideas, and we all kinda got it right on the first try…That’s what had me like ‘oh I can really work with these people.’ I can continually work with these people…
Seddy continued,
“We’re a family. That’s due to 1800 sparking that up, putting us together.”
When we asked Seddy about Shaun Sloan, who was unable to be at the party he said, “He’s not here tonight due to his illness. But he’s here, my boy here fo sho.”
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Despite him not being there physically, they would all agree he was there in spirit.
It’s difficult to capture what 1800 brought to each of these artists in words because it transcends their music and the album.
A year ago, none of these artists imagined that they’d be celebrating a collaborative work, with a bunch of people they didn’t know before.
Herion Young, from Memphis and signed to Freebandz, was nothing but grateful for the opportunity to work on this project.
“Where I come from everything is a plus to me cause we make opportunities we don’t have them…I’m humble about it I love everything about it… You gotta be humble.”
Young raps about his reality, in his song, “Hit Like Mike” he tells the tale of his struggles and his accomplishments. He keeps it real as you would notice in any of his songs he really tries to connect and speak the “things you think about saying.”
When asked about working on the collaborative project Lihtz said “When you put people who are talented together it’s either gonna be amazing or that shit gon go left…everyone does things differently.”
“I’m from Philly, Test from Baltimore, Juicy is from Ohio, Seddy is from Florida. So, you know you got all these different vibes, different cultures, but it’s all from the same background. The same bottom…it was dope.”
Lihtz continued,
“For one you have all these different energies all these different vibes. 1800 set it up perfectly for us. Like they pampered us, you know what I mean. They treated us like next-level artists because technically that’s what we are.”
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By the time we were done talking to them, we got to see firsthand the fruits of their labor. They each took the stage and showed us basically everything they had just told us.
The energy was visible from the moment the artists took the stage and having Future come out to follow up their great performance was something very hard to capture with words.
1800 helped foster this energy by bringing these artists together and putting out such a great project.
