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In case you are not following 2012's underground artist to watch Jay-Z on twitter, the music festival and industry orgy designated with the letters SXSW officially kicked off last night. The next few days will be a madhouse of emerging talent and powerhouse names trying to get that new-car smell again. If you are attending you probably got your boots on the ground by now and are just about ready to lay out your battle plan for the real gauntlet of flavor--which starts tomorrow and will truly heat up as we head towards the weekend. To help you navigate the rapids, Okayplayer has put together a Top 10 list of the events and artist line-ups we are most amped about, listed in rufff-ly chronological order and focusing on the sideshows, parties and smaller events around Austin rather than the main stages and official SXSW schedule. Let's go. Time to mess with Texas.
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Thursday 3/15 8pm - Turntable FM Music Event:This is where our benevolent afro-lord Questlove drives his pick into the ground and declares the weekend officially jumped off (and hopefully some oil bubbles up). He'll be joined by heavyweights A- Trak, Diplo, and AraabMuzik (sorry y'all, you missed FlyLo at the interactive event Sunday). RSVP and get event details here.
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Thursday 3/15, 7pm-1am - Decon/Mass Appeal Showcase (Just Added!) : Mass Appeal and Decon records just dropped a bomb on us with the bill of their SXSW showcase, co-curated by Mick Boogie and featuring Mobb Deep, Raekwon, Curren$y, Nneka, Gangrene (The Alchemist & Oh No),Bad Rabbits, Ninjasonik, Hudson Mohawke (and more) and hosted by Jasmine Solano. The madness happens at Kung Fu Saloon at 510 Rio Grande Street in Austin, no badge required but RSVP to RSVP@MassAppeal.com.
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Thursday 3/15, 8pm - Audible Treats Showcase:Talib Kweli, Georgia Anne Muldrow, OKP First Look candidates (watch for an interview soon!) THEESatisfaction, Souls of Mischief & more, brought to you by the homegirl at Audible Treats. Get more directions and details here.
Thursday 3/15, 8pm - All-Africa Showcase: Put together by Society HAE and Spinlet, the All-Africa showcase features Seun Kuti, Spoek Mathambo, Just A Band, Baloji, DJ Chief Boima and a few more of Okayafrica's favorite artists of all time. This is where Tx gets Africa-hot and space is limited so maybe RSVP quick. Watch the promo video above, get set times and directions here and go to OKA for their full Guide to African music at SXSW 2012 (including audio).
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Friday, 3/16, 8pm - Duck Down Blacksmith Showcase: You already knew. Okayplayer is pleased to join with Duck Down and Blacksmith to bring you this incredible line-up, including Talib Kweli (with full live band), Pharoahe Monch, Jean Grae, Buckshot, Smif N Wessun, Mr. MFN eXquire, Bad Rabbits, Iron Solomon and damn that's a good line-up. This amazing event will happen to you at 8pm, Friday, March 16th at La Zona Rosa (612 West 4th Street) and you can get the details from us.
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Friday 3/16, 7pm-2am - Move Forward Music & Shameless Present: Ab-Soul, Pac Div and J*Davey are just a few of the highlights/headliners rushing the stage at this rampacked showcase, which also features group-to-watch Flatbush Zombies and OKP homegirl Jasmine Solano amongst a whoooole heap of others. See flyer above and get the full-monty roll call at Move Forward Music.
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Friday 3/16, 8pm - Wax Poetics Party at Barbarella Patio: Our friends at Wax Po put together a great gathering of talent, including Quantic and Alice Russell, Adrian Younge Presents Venice Dawn (with William Hart of The Delfonics!), Oddisee, Jonti & more. Get directions and details from their facebook event page.
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Friday 3/16, 1pm-6pm - Waterloo Records In-store/Out-store: Waterloo Records is one of Austin's biggest and best known record stores and their in-store (actually two stages, one inside and one outside the store) is a fairly big draw and a chance to get out of the industry bubble of Southby and mix it up with the locals. If you play hooky from the main stage on Friday afternoon, you can catch Kweli and roots reggae icon/LargeUp heroJimmy Cliff back to back and then presidential blues hopeful Gary Clark, Jr. shortly afterward. While you're there by some records--support physical objects! See flyer above and get set-times from their calendar.
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Saturday 3/17, 12-6pm - MOG at The Mohawk: This is where it gets good. The Legendary Roots crew will be headlining an eclectic riot of dope performers including Gary Clark, Jr., G-Side, The War on Drugs and Blitzen Trapper among several others. Get more details here and don't worry--we'll remind you!
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Saturday 3/17, 1pm - Fuse Frequency: The reliably dope Fusicology and Move Forward Music team up to bring us this event featuring Idle Warship (Res + Talib Kweli), J*Davey, 9th Wonder + Terrace Martin, Black Hippy member Schoolboy Q and more. See flyer above and get full details via Move Forward Music.
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Honorable Mention:
Saturday 3/17, 7pm-2am - Red Bull Thre3style Evening: This event at 8th & Trinity promises to be an okaylayer's ball, featuring Erykah Badu + The Cannibanoids, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Z-Trip (and a special "surprise guest") as well as Dan the Automator and Crystal Method. Could have given Beenie Man and Future Fambo a run but hey, that's a pretty serious line-up already. Get more details here.
