Words by 119’s Jackson Duncan (@119Chicago)
From the suburbs of northwest Philadelphia, born and raised, this is a story where Uncle Phil and Beverly Hills are replaced by the adopted city of Chicago and its current incarnation of a budding hip-hop scene. Making heads turn at every show with his unique style and explosive on stage presence, it’s clear when you first see “dude-ass” (as he lovingly refers to himself), do his thing that you’re about to have your mind blown. Netherfriends is the anti-Fresh Prince, and he plays no games.
Punk and Hip-Hop have been strange bedfellows since the beginning. The Clash’s Magnificent 7, The Beastie Boys whole aesthetic, and the DIY nature of Hip-Hop as a genre all serve as proof. Netherfriends (the one man band of Shawn Rosenblatt) hadn’t really paid attention or had his mind altered by any hip-hop artist until hearing Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot in 2010 while doing homework on who he was going to share the bill with at Pitchfork. Since then, it’s been a journey not even Netherfriends himself could have predicted he’d be on.
“I hadn’t lived in one place for longer than 3 months, maybe less than that, haven’t been in one place for very long. I don’t make very much money off of anything but music or Netherfriends. Touring is the only way I make a living.” He’s found a home base however in Chicago’s hip-hop scene. In large part because of his unique sound, but also due to the wealth of great, albeit hard to schedule, collaborators, though it’s taken a while for people to catch on to the man in the straw hat and paisley.
Arriving in Chicago in 2006 to attend Columbia College, Rosenblatt was already forming bands, playing gigs around the city, gaining recognition with rotating band members until he himself took the mantle of Netherfriends on his own. Taking on the jobs of multiple band members is part of the magic of Netherfriends. He combines live drum tracks, uses loop pedals, guitar, and his own vocals to do amazing things on stage. While his native Philadelphia has birthed arguably some of the greatest hip hop acts in history, they seemed to fly past his radar, with his main influence is D.C. punk band Fugazi. “Aside from their music, they could play wherever they want, pack the place, and make the audience go nuts.” And their influence is evident. For the past five years since his Pitchfork debut, he’s been on ‘Tour4ever” — Rosenblatt’s own pilgrimage that he embarks on every Chicago winter, touring around the United States (the warmer states usually) to showcase his magic for different audiences and build up a fan base.
Netherfriends is savvy though, as he sees touring and its impact as only a minor element of what he might need to survive in the music game. Since 2010, his music acumen has grown considerably, particularly in terms of hip-hop. He often wonders what it will take for him to gain something akin to Jay-Z’s mogul status, but his own version of that. For a dude who is a something of a connoisseur of great Mexican food that fits his vegetarian diet, having one of his tours sponsored by a coconut water brand is certainly a benchmark – that is until someone like Tesla or another Hybrid car mogul gives him the co-sign. In a perfect world, he’d love to do everything for free.