On August 19th, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers also known as ASCAP kicked off their annual “On the Come Up” showcase series at SOB’s in New York City.
The event featured artists on the rise Maliibu Mitch, IV Jay, Souly Had and NBDY. The event was hosted by Justina Valentine from MTV’s Wild ‘N Out and kept the energy high through the night.
Souly Had who’s a recent signee to Island Records opened the show with songs from his recent EP B.L.I.S.S. He performed “Overrated” and “Crush” which are two of his more popular tracks off his project. The combination of him rapping and singing was able to keep the crowd engaged and was able to show how talented he is to the people that weren’t familiar with his music. The next artist to perform was NBDY, an Arista Records artist that came out with high energy and instantly was able to gain the crowd’s attention. He fully embraced his inner rock star by singing and showing his passion into his music. He performed “Used To” as well as other songs from his recent R&B EP Admissions. NBDY made sure to let us know that he’s been writing for ASCAP since 2014, and that he’s excited that his musical career is reaching new heights. The next performer who is signed to Atlantic Records was IV Jay. She came out with her guitarist and performed some slower songs that highlighted her great singing voice. Performing an acoustic version of her recent single “Care” was able to show how well IV Jay can sing live which is a skill in it’s own. The final performer of the night was stylish Bronx native Maliibu Mitch who was able to captivate the audience with her energy and style. She performed some songs like “Gwapamole” and “Celine” and had the crowd dancing and rapping the hooks of her songs. She finished out her performance by bringing up two fans to the stage to have a mini twerk contest and perform with her. All four artists were able to perform at a high level and kept the crowd engaged throughout the night.
The “On the Come Up” showcase is able to give rising artists a great opportunity to introduce their talents to more people and also gives the audience a chance to get to know these new faces and voices.