LAH LiVE

When you talk to LAH LiVE, “hamness” is going to come up as many times as it takes you to ask what it means.

“Ham is, in the most non-swine way, the most beautiful thing in the world,” explained Austin Patterson (or Yahz Chyld), vocalist and keyboard player for Baton Rouge hip-hop group, LAH LiVE. “Like we’re doing this interview, this is ham.”

LAH LiVE, a hip-hop group comprised of rapper LAH backed by a live band, is committed to finding the “hamness” in all situations. Though they’ve only been LAH LiVE for a year, they’ve been wading through a spreading trend in hip-hop – lyrical improvisation combined with full-band sounds and contribution – with success.

Once upon a time, the group was merely LAH (Richard Slaughter), conquering beats and challenging the lyrical status-quo solo. It was the gospel-inspired Patterson who approached LAH with the prospect of backing his tracks with a live band.

“I was just hearing them at the Lyceum, and went up to him, and was like, ‘What about a band?’ I told them to come to a practice,” said Patterson.

The band consists of Yahz, Droid (Erik Parker), and Oracle (Evin Parker). The three make up the “LiVE” of LAH LiVE, and the musicianship is strong within the group, partly due to their gospel upbringing.

“We’re born and bred gospel musicians,” said Parker (Droid). “But what gospel entails is a multitude of genres. A lot of things came out of it. You can come to gospel with any style or genre and it turns into gospel. I guess we were exposed to a lot of things, but it’s still in the church, still inside the church.”

LAH was open to the idea of being backed by a band – hip-hop groups have been doing it more and more. In the case of LAH LiVE, the band adds a third dimension to the raps and beats, an improvisation that is almost jazz.

The band has been performing within the church since they were young and they know their way around a stage. The tracks are nothing short of amazing, and live, they are on fire – even YouTube captured enough of their live show to make a lasting impression.

Or, as they’d say it, they bring the ham.

“All that aimed in a right direction, with the right people going with the right mind frame, it just allows us to move,” said LAH. “Everybody has the freedom to come and go as they please…no one gets in anyone’s lane; no one is the star. It’s not just LAH, it’s everything.”

LAH LiVE has been blowing up the Lyceum, Northgate Tavern, Chelsea’s, and the M Bar for a little over a year now, and their crowds just keep getting bigger. They’re headliners at the Baton Rouge Hops festival this weekend, where they’ll no doubt rock the house, next to the likes of Marcel P. Black, Shoelace, Dee-1, and Donny Rose. Catch them on Saturday at the Shaw Center for the Arts (100 Lafayette St.). All outdoor concerts during Baton Rouge Hops are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.ManshipTheatre.org. - DIG Magazine

When you talk to LAH LiVE, “hamness” is going to come up as many times as it takes you to ask what it means.

“Ham is, in the most non-swine way, the most beautiful thing in the world,” explained Austin Patterson (or Yahz Chyld), vocalist and keyboard player for Baton Rouge hip-hop group, LAH LiVE. “Like we’re doing this interview, this is ham.”

LAH LiVE, a hip-hop group comprised of rapper LAH backed by a live band, is committed to finding the “hamness” in all situations. Though they’ve only been LAH LiVE for a year, they’ve been wading through a spreading trend in hip-hop – lyrical improvisation combined with full-band sounds and contribution – with success.

Once upon a time, the group was merely LAH (Richard Slaughter), conquering beats and challenging the lyrical status-quo solo. It was the gospel-inspired Patterson who approached LAH with the prospect of backing his tracks with a live band.

“I was just hearing them at the Lyceum, and went up to him, and was like, ‘What about a band?’ I told them to come to a practice,” said Patterson.

The band consists of Yahz, Droid (Erik Parker), and Oracle (Evin Parker). The three make up the “LiVE” of LAH LiVE, and the musicianship is strong within the group, partly due to their gospel upbringing.

“We’re born and bred gospel musicians,” said Parker (Droid). “But what gospel entails is a multitude of genres. A lot of things came out of it. You can come to gospel with any style or genre and it turns into gospel. I guess we were exposed to a lot of things, but it’s still in the church, still inside the church.”

LAH was open to the idea of being backed by a band – hip-hop groups have been doing it more and more. In the case of LAH LiVE, the band adds a third dimension to the raps and beats, an improvisation that is almost jazz.

The band has been performing within the church since they were young and they know their way around a stage. The tracks are nothing short of amazing, and live, they are on fire – even YouTube captured enough of their live show to make a lasting impression.

Or, as they’d say it, they bring the ham.

“All that aimed in a right direction, with the right people going with the right mind frame, it just allows us to move,” said LAH. “Everybody has the freedom to come and go as they please…no one gets in anyone’s lane; no one is the star. It’s not just LAH, it’s everything.”

LAH LiVE has been blowing up the Lyceum, Northgate Tavern, Chelsea’s, and the M Bar for a little over a year now, and their crowds just keep getting bigger. They’re headliners at the Baton Rouge Hops festival this weekend, where they’ll no doubt rock the house, next to the likes of Marcel P. Black, Shoelace, Dee-1, and Donny Rose. Catch them on Saturday at the Shaw Center for the Arts (100 Lafayette St.). All outdoor concerts during Baton Rouge Hops are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.ManshipTheatre.org. - DIG Magazine