SXSW Highlight: Uffie
By Seraphina L.
After a set by Leslie and The Badgers at Trailer Fire Records’ party, I quickly hopped over to the The Hype Machine’s day party (which went on every day from 12 pm to 2 am – talk about commitment!) over at the dance club, VICE. After seeing Fenech-Soler the night before (See Day 2), I was curious to see if there were any new fun bands I could discover. I walked in because I saw New Zealand’s Bachelorette on the set list and had always been meaning to catch one of her shows. However, I was utterly disappointed when I walked in and saw press photos of Uffie projected onto the walls. I look over and sure enough, rapper-singer, Uffie was hyping up the crowd.
Similar to my experience with The xx, this was not an actual highlight for me. There is simply a need to put a spotlight on what also didn’t go well at SXSW.
If you know who Uffie is, you know that Ke$ha has been compared to her a lot lately because of the similar conversational tones in their songs. Even though I’m not sure if Uffie really raps or sings (much like M.I.A.), I knew that her vocals were already much better than Ke$ha’s. Uffie had a new DJ and the crowd was going crazy for her. She started her career at an early age when she teamed up with label mates, Justice, on a song and I had a feeling I may have been able to get into her as an artist, but Ke$ha’s existence may have just ruined her for me. The association did not dissolve for me. I managed to (unfortunately) catch her entire set only because I was meeting a friend who was helping out with the party. I also discovered that she was on instead of Bachelorette because Uffie was missing earlier in the day. So when she showed up, I suppose they have her priority in the lineup.
