The Black City Blog: South by Southwest Music Conference

So, if you follow me on twitter you probably recognize all of the #sxsw hashtags, but didn't really know what the abbreviation stood for ... well, South by Southwest is one of the largest conferences centered on Technology, Music and Film in the country. Its hosted every year in Austin, TX and this year I decided to make my out there.

Now being

from Detroit, I have been to my share of techno fests and winter-blasts ... but nothing could have prepared me for this. There had to be an extra 100,000 people in the small city, that reminded me a lot of Ann Arbor (home of my alma mater ...Go Blue), only with cactus. The houses, the hippie cultural, bicyclists and pedestrians took me back to a collegiate mindset ... I was ready to hit the streets, find some cool venues and experience the music.

The main way to find out what hot and whats the best thing to do at SXSW, is to literally talk to strangers ... something I do best. I had a great chat with this group of Battle Ready Black Chicks...very informative group of divas ...

I struck up a conversation with some awesome people this past weekend and these ladies gave me the one up on the good Bohemian concerts and who Youtube sensation DeStorm is ...

Thats the thing about being Black in the City, I can talk to just about anyone ... and get the information that I am looking for and then more.

It's all about being connected. Mostly because I am more about making a connection.

From left to right I saw people meeting, laughing and basically enjoying each other. There had to have been 100 bars on 6th Street's two-mile stretch, and every where we went, there was a welcoming atmosphere, great music, cheap drinks and good people ... once you get passed the bouncers.

On the second day...I strolled up on a few conversations with some very chill people ... including one of my (and my lil bro's)

favorite rappers, Black Milk. Look for that conversation tomorrow.

And I can't leave without telling you about the awesome food in Austin, everything wasn't tacos and free beer... I found one of the largest burgers in the city, at a fast food pace, for about $8, add a Miller High Life Tall Boy (what other beverage helps wash down a 3/4 lb. cheeser) and I had a $10 blissful lunch, with free wifi.

Now, as a dinner recommendation, I have to go Black on yall...since I been in Texas I have been trying to find a suita

ble soul food restaurant ... I mean, we ARE still in the south, right?

I came up on a small cafe called Carrob's ...and when I looked at the menu I noticed two very similar heart warming meal ingredients, chicken fried steak and mac n' cheese. I had done it, I had hit a quick lick...a soul food restaurant, right off 6th street, in the heart of Austin, this restaurant was obviously a student favorite, complete with outside seating and 15 minute wait for food. It's owners, Carol and Robert ...get it CARol and ROBert --> CARROB'S, were active, with just as much sweat on them as their barista, bus boy, and cashier combined. The couple describe their cafe more like neo-soul food restaurant, because of the vegetarian options.

Oh..and you know I had some fun...check me out ...#