4SQUARE is back! The Hip-Hop/Variety concert series is running through the summer at Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art for 4 total shows, everything kicking off on Friday May 10th from 6pm-11pm. But what is 4SQUARE? 

4 performances, 4 visual artists, 4 vendors, 4 games to play, 4 menu items, 4 other activities and it's all 4 YOU! 

4SQUARE is about community. Bringing the local arts, music, and crafts scenes together for a day filled to the brim with fun, 4SQUARE has sugar, spice, everything nice but first and foremost, love. For the May 10th show, 4square presents Buffalo Hip-Hop proudly. 

To name names for the May 10th show, our headlining artists are Buffalo grown performers Big Flowers, Ba$kEY, Turnup and Neftali. 

Big Flowers’ impact in the Buffalo and NYC music and art scenes shouldn't be understated. As a visual artist, his bulbous shading-form based collage work has appeared across a multitude of project covers across the state, and it's likely he also has production credits or a feature on these projects too. His deeply sample encrusted debut project “Big Smile” is an introduction to years of his hard work in becoming the creative entity he is today while showcasing loads of collaborations with his creative confidants. With his knowledge of language and writing, It's an understatement to say his pen is unlike any other.

Ba$kEY. Ba$kEY’s project “PROCEED WITH CAUTION” has him going over often glitched trap metal production that you melt into more with each 808 hit. More than an ear for great production, his punchlines are amongst the most impactful in Buffalo. Consistently using beat breaks to pull you in closely, Ba$kEY gets his point across through seemingly effortless nonstop rapping. From experience, Ba$kEY gives 1000% energy every time he hits the stage no matter the situation, and he looks good doing it too, having a love for fashion. He also plays a huge part of the “TRIPLE THREAT EP” with frequent collaborators Lil Beast and Adithri. 

Listening to Turnup is going to make you want to blow your speakers out, really, his chosen name is no lie. Showcasing his roots and blending with modern sounds, Turnup is a product of religious listening to 90s grunge, hip hop and hardcore. Stories of his childhood, his current family situations, women, and life around him in Buffalo come up frequently in his music. Grimey, hungry, and animated, the crowd loses themselves when he hits the front stage. Bar for bar Turnup can spit with anybody on the scene at the moment with unfiltered raw confidence. He is also a member of Buffalo’s rising hardcore rap group Spacebound along with GRXZZ and Mitch Fine$$e.  

Neftali is a mainstay in the Buffalo music scene, whether it be his current work with his hardcore band JEWELTONE, his recent experimental collaborative effort “The Dramatic” with Free Music Party member Luno J, his previous work in FREAK THE MIIGHTY with blametheviceroy, or in his solo career. Like all others listed, Nef is a true veteran to the scene. Genre sprawling, he's able to hop between different tracks that involve elements of hyperpop, hardcore, classic hiphop, and more. He’s appeared to master the art of the moshpit and performance energy while continuing to weave his songwriting knowledge and stories into the ebbs and flows of each track.

BICA School student and local treasure Jazzie Jay will emcee the event, provide vibes, and perform intermittently throughout. Jazzie’s energy is a blessing, easily the greatest hype woman in Buffalo at the moment. She dominates the mic when it's her time, as she lives for the spotlight, but it’s equally true this is who you want pulling the mirror out to shine light onto others. It's easy to see the love she has for the people in her community through the events she puts together. It's all in the details, from decoration, to organization, to giving each event themes to work with, Jazzie helps put a timestamp on a period of time. Not to mention, the freestyling crown might just be hers. 

Fellow BICA School student Nick Mass, founder and curator of 4SQUARE, will assume the role of chef. 12 years in the food industry and coming from a large Italian family, Nick learned to love through food. For the May show, he will be bringing back his taco stand from last year with Tacos, Burritos, Nachos, and Tacos in a bag with a choice of slow roasted pork, grilled chicken, impossible beef, or black beans with a full selection of other toppings. His love for all things creative, weather it be cooking, comedy, photography, video work, music, painting, or so on inspired him to create 4SQUARE, wanting to bring the many scenes he participates in together himself being a self described “Rapper, Painter, Creative, dude.” 

Another member of BICA School, Silas Rubeck, will continue their run at the forefront of live visual installations for Buffalo’s independent music scene. On top of being an amazing photographer, videographer and music video producer, Silas is simply a genius when it comes to analog technology. For 4SQUARE, they will contribute live analog glitch work processed through bent circuit boards and a collection of visual pedals and knobs running into a stack of CRT tvs and live projections. These visuals are done in the moment, often including a mix of feedback loops, VHS tape samples, continually refractured images, stop motion animation and audio reactive effects.

BICA School this, BICA School that, what the heck is BICA School? BICA School is a free art school, an alternative model of secondary art education — created in response to a crisis of arts education nationally. Our cohort meets regularly for a curriculum of critiques, reading groups, exercises, and experiences designed in collaboration with BICA exhibiting artists, curators, scholars, local artists, and more.

As mentioned before, 4SQUARE will also feature games (including a 4 square area, Uno, board games, chess, cards, and others) and other activities (collaborative live painting, raffles, secrets!) on top of visual art installations. 

The DJs, vendors, photographers and exhibiting artists contributing to May’s 4SQUARE can be found tagged on BICA School’s instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/bica_school/