History · World tour year
Rolling Loud, then three countries.
In March, Something Dope hosted Rolling Loud's first ever open mic stage, all three days of the Los Angeles festival, in front of a 70,000 person crowd. The same month the brand produced Reason Studios' 30th anniversary at The Village Studios.
In June the tour crossed the Atlantic: London at Omeara on June 11, then Palermo, Italy on June 14, where 1,240 people filled Averna Spazio Open. August brought the first King of the Aux competition, and September marked five years.
The moments that mattered
Ranked against the rest of 2024, so the founding era competes on its own terms instead of against the years that came after.
Soma Ziwa sprinted to a secret address to win an SDFTP performance giveaway, and the clip of her violin performance led exec Adrian Miller to book her. She ended up playing violin on Jimmy Kimmel alongside October London and Snoop Dogg. One footrace changed her career.
@soma.ziwa, @adrian_miller, @octobertheking
5 photosDamnboy won the first ever King of the Aux, the head to head battle where artists play 60 seconds of a song and the room votes. Raised on Oahu, he had already debuted at 96 on Billboard and hit number one on Hawaii radio, and the crown launched SDFTP's signature competition.
@damnboymusic
5 photosAt the first Seattle open mic with Fremont Fridays, Emily Riehl had no idea she would perform, then got on stage and shut it down. Mid song, Matt from Fremont Fridays unexpectedly joined her on drums and the whole room got goosebumps.
@emilyriehlmusic, @thehospitality206
9 photosAda found out about the event the day before and was unsure whether to even enter. She blew away a field of more than 40 artists and became the first Queen of the Aux, winning studio time and a performance slot.
@ada.di.adaora
7 photosD Lobs traveled 3,000 miles from Rhode Island to the Hollywood open mic and shut it down, with the whole crowd reciting the hook of his song back to him. He told the team afterward what that moment felt like.
@dlobs_
The full year
52 moments in total, every one verified against the post it came from.
January 4 · open mic
On Instagram ↗The Peppermint Club open mic sold out in five days. One artist waited 15 hours in line to win the first in line competition and told the team he had tears in his eyes from the passion he saw put into the event.
January 6 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Multi platinum producer Rob Stovall pulled up to the OKC Pass The Aux, loved his time, and left Oklahoma artists with one word of advice: consistency, because somebody in the room is going to blow.
@robstovall, @the_oaka
January 8 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Emmy winning Oklahoma legend Jabee joined Pass The Aux at Castle Row Studios to listen to artists and give feedback. He later shared that even with opportunities from Chuck D, Havoc and Run the Jewels he once came close to quitting, a story that hit home for every artist in the room.
@mynameisjabee, @the_oaka
January 9 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Southern hip hop legend Gorilla Zoe made a surprise appearance at the Pass The Aux in Oklahoma City and said he heard so much fire music. A platinum artist walking into a room of unsigned Oklahoma talent, unannounced.
@Gorilla Zoe, @the_oaka
January 13 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Pass The Aux moved into The Fallout Shelter, a Hollywood studio owned by platinum producer and Dash Radio cofounder John SkeeTV. John gave away a four hour session to Hxvik On The Beat, a new follower picked at random from the event.
@john_skeetv, @hxvikonthebeat
January 19 · for the ladies
On Instagram ↗Exactly four years after the first Ladies event, the team throws another Ladies night and salutes Flyana Boss, whose early performance on that first lineup became brand lore. The post celebrates how far the duo has come.
@Flyana Boss
January 20 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗The talent at the OKC Pass The Aux ran so deep that SDFTP picked 15 artists from the night and put their songs in daily rotation on Dash Radio. One studio night turned into radio airplay for fifteen Oklahoma artists.
@the_oaka
January 26 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Tara T from Power 103.5 attended Pass The Aux OKC, and after hearing Metra she said the talent in the state was endless. Local radio met the local underground in one room.
@taratlive, @itsjustmetra
January 29 · open mic
On Instagram ↗The Las Vegas open mic with Last Friday turned into a nearly 20 minute cypher. It was the third Vegas collaboration and cemented the city as a regular stop.
January 30 · open mic
On Instagram ↗Mar traveled from Los Angeles to the SDFTP open mic in Las Vegas and performed the hit song he is featured on. The whole crowd knew the lyrics and went crazy.
@itsmarofficial
January 31 · grammy week
On Instagram ↗During the 2024 Grammy week run of four events, Vincent Berry, who won a Grammy with Beyonce for writing Sandcastles, attends and stays for hours listening to artists and giving feedback. He loves it so much he says the event needs to go to Detroit.
@Vincent Berry
February 1 · euro stop
On Instagram ↗Something Dope announces a world tour to discover dope independent artists and bring them resources, opportunities, and community. By late April the tour has already hit 8 cities across 6 states.
February 6 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Two producers with Diamond plaques at home, TankGod and Drumma Boy, met for the first time at a Pass The Aux event. The room literally brought the industry to the people that night.
@tankgod, @drummaboyfresh
March 1 · open mic
On Instagram ↗SDFTP pulled up to Bakersfield on about one week's notice for a first open mic with Big Chop Management and Scene City, and the city brought full energy. Local artist Vinny Schuetz had the crowd going crazy mid show.
@vinnyschuetz
March 9 · milestone
On Instagram ↗Reason Studios taps Something Dope to host its 30th anniversary celebration at The Village Studios, where Dr. Dre and Lady Gaga made hit records. Every attendee receives a free year of Reason production software.
March 15 · milestone
On Instagram ↗After nearly 200 events for independent artists, Something Dope is invited to host Rolling Loud's first ever open mic stage for all three days of the Los Angeles festival, in front of a 70,000 person crowd. The team opens the first night with a freestyle cypher.
March 16 · open mic
On Instagram ↗Solodolo posted on Twitter in 2023 that he wanted to be at Rolling Loud. A year later he performed at the festival on day one of the SDFTP open mic stage. Manifestation, documented.
@iam.solodolo
March 21 · open mic
On Instagram ↗SDFTP celebrated its 200th event with an open mic at Los Globos in March 2024, nearly five years after starting. Two hundred grassroots events for independent artists, built one Wednesday at a time.
April 4 · open mic
On Instagram ↗SDFTP hosted its first east coast open mic in New York with Starchasers, a collaborator from the earliest days of the LA open mics. Artists pulled up through the rain, and the team called it the beginning of the New York chapter.
@wearestarchasers
April 8 · open mic
On Instagram ↗Young Momo, who had shut down the SDFTP stage many times in Los Angeles, traveled across the country to perform at the first Charlotte open mic with DOAP Events. LA and Charlotte, bridged by one artist.
@its.youngmomo
April 26 · alumni
On Instagram ↗Myles Smith performed at a Something Dope open mic in 2023 to a crowd that did not know him, borrowed a stranger's guitar, and earned an encore, which never happens. He went on to win a BRIT Award, tour with Ed Sheeran, and pass half a billion streams.
@Myles Smith
April 27 · open mic
On Instagram ↗SDFTP's first Denver open mic with Wolf Wednesdays at Your Mom's House was called the biggest and most unforgettable open mic the series had seen. Wolf Wednesdays told Denver artists that Something Dope will welcome them with open arms in LA.
April 30 · open mic
On Instagram ↗At the first San Diego open mic in Pacific Beach, host Maiwand heard an artist perform and said on the spot that the song needed to be on the radio. The SDFTP radio pipeline reached a new city on night one.
@maiwandsworld
May 1 · open mic
On Instagram ↗At the Denver open mic an artist reached into the raffle bucket and pulled their own name, and the cameras caught the whole thing. The room lost it at the odds.
May 3 · open mic
On Instagram ↗Lil Man J previewed a song at the SDFTP open mic in Charlotte two weeks before it went viral with more than 3 million views in a single day. The open mic crowd heard it first.
@Lil Man J
May 3 · open mic
On Instagram ↗Country artist Willie Jones, fresh off performing at Stagecoach, pulled up to the open mic to show love to independent artists. He spoke on Beyonce breaking doors down for Black country artists while he was in the building.
@litpapi0fficial
May 10 · euro stop
On Instagram ↗The first European date lands: June 14, 2024 at Averna Spazio Open in Palermo, organized with MIND House Palermo and About Music Exp. The bill promises freestyle rap, dance, and original music contests with a deep roster of local partners.
May 20 · open mic
On Instagram ↗SDFTP hosted its first Chicago open mic at Reggie's Rock Club with the Real Ones Show, on the same stage that has held Mac Miller, Ty Dolla Sign and Bun B. The first collaboration went so well both sides committed to running it back.
May 23 · open mic
On Instagram ↗An artist showed up three hours early for the first Chicago open mic, so the team made sure she hit the stage. She shut it down.
June 10 · open mic
On Instagram ↗SDFTP spent a weekend in Toronto with Beat Cave's Camp X, running its own studio room inside the writing camp, then closed the trip with an open mic afterparty at Junction Underground. The first Canadian stop on the 2024 world tour.
June 11 · open mic
On Instagram ↗SDFTP flew from Los Angeles to London and hosted an open mic at Omeara. The full circle: an artist once flew from London to attend the LA open mic, so the team brought the stage to her city.
June 14 · euro stop
On Instagram ↗Palermo delivers an epic first Euro Stop with the freestyle competition, the dance competition, and the original music competition all in one day. MIND House Palermo's Stephan Daniel Perez, who reached out almost exactly one year earlier, gets the major shoutout, and one artist earns a trip back to Hollywood.
June 18 · euro stop
On Instagram ↗The official thank you post counts 1240 attendees at the first Euro Stop. Recap films from Palermo creatives keep the moment alive for weeks after.
July 6 · milestone
On Instagram ↗Before the five year mark, the count stands at over 200 events and more than 40,000 tickets. The brand has expanded into 14 plus cities while keeping Los Angeles home base.
August 8 · groovy
On Instagram ↗The newest brand extension debuts inside Chance Vintage, the same vintage clothing store the crew shouted out back in 2019. Groovy live music, vintage clothes, and dope vibes complete a full circle moment.
August 9 · euro stop
On Instagram ↗One original music contestant travels from Germany to Palermo just to compete at Euro Stop. The story becomes proof of how far artists will go for a Something Dope stage.
August 10 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Spitty from Brampton attended a Pass The Aux in Los Angeles and shut it down with his song Not For Me. The team stayed in touch, and when the Toronto event was confirmed they brought him out to perform in his home region while his songs were going viral.
@spitty95
August 12 · pass the aux
On Instagram ↗Proof of the level of talent quietly sharing songs in those studio rooms. [Chris Brown claim retracted by Jordan, do not use]
@jesseleprotti
September 9 · open mic
On Instagram ↗The first Seattle open mic was full of surprises, including an artist who showed up in full cosplay and performed his song in character. The crowd crowned him an instant legend of the night.
@cosplaysbyshinobi
September 26 · alumni
On Instagram ↗Lekan stepped into a 2022 Pass The Aux and shut the room down so hard that the CEO of Def Jam got a text on the spot. He shut down the Peppermint Club open mic next, and two years later he was named a Spotify R&B artist to watch and joined Tems on tour.
@Lekan
September 28 · milestone
On Instagram ↗The five year anniversary post tells the origin story in one breath: 100 people on Hollywood Blvd in 2019, now 250 events, 40,000 plus tickets, a world tour, and collaborations with huge companies. The celebration lands at Create Music Studios in Hollywood, opening a new home venue era.
October 2 · euro stop
On Instagram ↗A dance contest winner uses her Euro Stop prize to produce her own choreography video for Still Hot. The award turns directly into new work, exactly what the contest promised.
October 9 · king of the aux
On Instagram ↗Ada won King of the Aux back to back, taking the five year anniversary battle at Create Music that drew over 60 artists after winning the previous month against 40 plus. The song she won with was unreleased. She took home a $1,300 Arturia package.
@ada.di.adaora, @yahushakalev, @khi.infinite
October 10 · alumni
On Instagram ↗Flare found Something Dope through two community ambassadors, volunteered at his first open mic, and then hit stages in London, Toronto, Italy, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and Rolling Loud during the 2024 world tour. One open mic decision changed everything.
@Flare
October 10 · open mic
On Instagram ↗Myles Smith performed a cover on a stranger's guitar at the SDFTP open mic when almost nobody in the room knew his name, and he earned an encore, something that basically never happens there. He told the room that if you can win over 50 people you are ready for stadiums. Within a year Stargazing was near 500 million streams and he announced a tour with Ed Sheeran.
@mylessmithuk, @manageking
October 17 · open mic
On Instagram ↗The energy outside the open mic matched the energy inside when Marty Rocks brought a full mobile beat making setup to the sidewalk. Artists freestyled outside the venue until almost 2am.
@martyyrocks
The archive keeps growing