The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
Local Current Blog

Celebrating the women of the Klituation

The first Klituation at First Avenue on July 15, 2016. Courtesy DJ Keezy
The first Klituation at First Avenue on July 15, 2016. Courtesy DJ Keezy

by Cecilia Johnson

December 27, 2016

New Year’s Eve is only a few days away, but with the overload of celebrity deaths, tumultuous political climate, and the recent holidays, many have already started reflecting on the last year. If your 2016 needed more dancing, celebration, and art from incredible women — and whose didn’t? — it’s not too late to end with a bang. DJ Keezy throws the second installment of the Klituation, a majestic party with an all-woman line-up, at First Avenue on Dec. 30. Get to know each of the DJs, musicians, and hosts below (flyers by Alex Appel).

Role: DJ

Klituation veteran? Yes

Projects: DJ hustle. Saturday night mixtape on 89.3 The Current. Formerly, GRRRL PRTY and All The Pretty Horses.

Specialty: A music taste that spans from '80s jams to trap.

[image]

Role: DJ, although she's also a R&B/soul artist who released her debut album in July. Look out for her to grab a mic.

Klituation veteran? Yes

Projects: R&B/soul music. Lizzo's right-hand person and touring DJ. Formerly, GRRRL PRTY.

Specialty: A knack for picking those "lose it on the dance floor" tunes. Humor and sensitivity.

Must-hear track: "In Need"

[image]

Role: DJ, although she's also a solo artist.

Klituation veteran? Yes

Projects: Sarah White Music, photography, and fashion

Specialty: Dancing so freely a crowd can't help joining in.

Must-hear track: It's unreleased elsewhere, but "Alone Together (Darksiders)" — which she performed at the Palace Theatre — shows off her magnetic stage presence.

[image]

Role: Performer

Klituation veteran? No, although she has performed at the Klituation's predecessor, the Lituation.

Specialty: Relentless rhymes.

Must-hear track: "Women Of The Ghetto (feat. The Lioness)"

[image]

Role: Performer

Klituation veteran? Yes

Projects: Film, theater, Villa Rosa, solo music

Specialty: High-energy percussion.

Must-hear track: "Can't Keep Up (feat. Tek)"

[image]

Role: Performer

Klituation veteran? Yes

Projects: VANDAAM, Malamanya, Lady Midnight x Afrokeys

Specialty: Musical healing. Slow, gentle grooves.

Must-hear track: "Room In Here (feat. Maria Isa)"

[image]

Role: Performer

Klituation veteran? Yes

Projects: Forthcoming collaboration with producer Bionik. Formerly, GRRRL PRTY and Tha Clerb.

Specialty: Binding strength and tenderness together, lyrically and personally.

Must-hear track: Most of Manchita's solo music is unreleased, which means live performances are a rare chance to hear her work. But she's at the top of her game in GRRRL PRTY's "GRRRL Anthem."

Role: Performer

Klituation veteran? Yes

Specialty: She and the community go way back. Since growing up in North Minneapolis, she's made a career working with students, community organizations and other musicians to make her world better.

Must-hear track: "Growing Pains"

[image]

Role: Performer

Klituation veteran? No. Based out of Milwaukee, she's bulking up her Twin Cities fanbase with the Klituation and recent performances at Icehouse and Radio K.

Specialty: Intense, lo-fi hip-hop. The tachycardia kind.

Must-hear track: "Scary Spice"

[image]

Role: Performer

Klituation veteran? Yes and no. Nite didn't perform at the first Klituation, but she did make it to First Avenue to support her fellow artists.

Specialty: Inventing braless music. Just take a listen.

Must-hear track: "Yes"

[image]

Mica May Grimm

Role: Host

Klituation veteran? Yes

Specialty: Leading and organizing large crowds

[image]

Role: Host

Klituation veteran? No

Projects: Spoken word, TruArtSpeaks (non-profit arts organization), education, emcee

Specialty: Discernment — knowing when to be gentle and when to stand up.

Must-hear poem: "Tracks," her life story in verse.

[image]

Role: Founder

Klituation veteran? Yes

Projects: Blossoming DJ career, work in education

Specialty: '90s music, funk, and R&B; loyalty to women in music.

Check out a recap of the original Klituation and music by this installment's artists below.

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.