It was the first week of March, 2012, and I was on spring break. The Boys had assembled, as if having no other choice, to trek up to Richmond for a Neon Indian show. The opener, a duo called Purity Ring, left a much stronger impression.

Mobo Joe is a rapper and entrepreneur from Harvey, Louisiana. He’s best known as the founder of Mobo Records, as well as for his work, alongside Ace Nitty, in Lower Level Organization.

Max Minelli is a rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He’s best known for some twenty years’ worth of solo albums, mixtapes, and singles (including “Louisiana Sky, an all-timer), as well as for his work with C-Loc’s Concentration Camp collective. Earlier this year, he announced his retirement from rapping.

Dr. Holly Hobbs is a cultural researcher based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She’s best known as the founder of the NOLA Hip-Hop and Bounce Archive, and currently works as a corporate developement specialist for the University of New Orleans’s NPR affiliate WWNO.

J-Dawg is a rapper from Hollygrove, New Orleans. He’s best known as a member of Black Menace (along with Threat and DJ Jaz), as well as for his 1997 solo records The Dawg House and Smokin’ & Rollin’.

Lil Ya is a rapper from Third Ward, New Orleans. He’s best known as a member of U.N.L.V. (along with Tec-9 and Yella Boy), as well as for his 2000 solo record Another Massacre.

Young Bleed is a rapper and producer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He’s best known for “How Ya Do Dat, from his debut My Balls and My Word, as well as his earlier work with C-Loc’s Concentration Camp clique and later run of independent releases via his labels Da'Tention Home and Trap Door Entertainment.

HTRK is a band from Melbourne, Australia, comprised of Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang. They’re best known for 2014’s Psychic 9-5 Club, which was followed up with Venus in Leo this past August.

Ray Barney is an entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois. He's best known as the founder of Dance Mania Records, and currently runs New Life Health Foods.

DJ Slugo is a ghetto house producer and DJ from Chicago, Illinois. He’s best known for his prolific output and close involvement with Dance Mania, as well as the genre-defining “Wouldn't You Like To Be A Hoe Too.