Keys to the City

Keys to the City

See a scene through the eyes of its artists and architects

Mission
To identify artists who act as catalysts for the creation of community, to promote those who push collective progress over personal gain, to recognize a region's respect for itself, and to document its dynamics with authentically dope multimedia.

Area code isn't a declaration of geography, its a degree of familiarity. Keys to the City turns tourists into natives, boundaries into borders and observers into outposts.

Goals

1. Garner national expsoure for a city's definitive artists
   
2. Empower its journalists, bloggers, photographers, fans, filmmakers to tell their story from a native perspective
   

Moving Parts

1. An essay written by a local magazine or blogger
1. Philly essay by Hezekiah here
   
2. A DJ mix featuring all the participating artists & honorable mentions/out of reach people
   
3. A photo slideshow featuring one of the scene's most active photographers
   
4. A music playlist created by a blogger or artist
   
5. Interviews with artists about their hometown, how it informs the music they make, what it's like to be an artist there, how their city differs from others, what fills them with pride about it, their hopes for it, who they respect and how they contribute to the scene.
   
6. Video shot on location with the artists acting as tour guides, narrators, ambassadors
1. Favorite places to eat, drink, play shows. Where they make music, where they grew up, where they got in trouble, fought, won, were inspired. Showing popular reference points or places they shout out or describe in songs.
   
7. A Keys to the City song. A beat by an influential or definitive producer from the area that every participating MC drops a verse on. Hopefully becoming something of an anthem or ode to the city itself.
   
8. History and context. A playlist of songs or music videos key to that region's development & idenity as dj'd or vj'd by one of its elder statesmen.
   

Highlights so far

Videos

The Roots on Philly


The Roots Picnic webisode series


Diplo on Philly


Wale Presents DC




Playlists

Jazmine Sullivan on Philly


?uestlove's favorite Illadelph Songs