SF1

Y’know, sometimes artists just gotta stay out of their own music videos. As is the case with SF1’s new video for “RIDE” — he’s got all of about a fifteen second cameo towards the middle and end peaks, allowing the actress/dancers and its overall bouncy vibe do the work for him.

"RIDE" is a solid treat — if only for the fact that we bet each person living and breathing in America right now can relate to its nuanced sub-story. Cheer up, we all have bad days.

Feeling down? Just dance. Having a bad day? Just dance. Creepy dance apparitions — possibly cathartic ghosts existing within another realm — following your every move and crowding your conscious? Just … dance. - Brian Frederick

If you think you know Denver emcee and vocalist SF1 then you probably don’t. He’s an act that’s often labeled one thing, runs with it, and then flips it entirely to keep the masses guessing. Recently SF1 dropped his new single “I Know” on the world which adds to his library a captivating fusion of punk, alternative, hip hop and soul. The song also features words by New York vocalist Daj and local emcee The KandyMan Himself.

‘I Know’ is a song that pertains to a sense of change in ones relationship. It is a yearning of something new. Essentially, ‘I Know’ is a song about a cheater that gets caught! With an alternative rock arrangement meeting the explosive lyrics of two emcees, ‘I Know’ will make any listener remember what is done in the dark, always comes to the light.

- See more at: http://www.therooster.com/blog/sf1-drops-i-know-ode-cheaters-world#sthash.UoH2tp7b.dpuf - Brian Frederick

I’ve never been huge on hip-hop. This might ruffle a few feathers, but I’ve long felt it is a genre that is submerged in lazy, quick production and often times it comes across monotonous. It takes someone truly original to snag my attention to the genre. And sadly, for every original “artist,” there are there are 300 impersonators. I say “artist” because even under that moniker, the only “talent” many exude is the ability to rhyme while speaking very quickly.

Like I said, it takes a rather stand-out sound to pique my interest. Coming in the form of Denver based, all-around entertainer, SF1 (aka Shane Franklin) my interest just got hit with a giant bitch-slap of originality. You see, SF1 isn’t hip-hop. No, you’re wrong, he’s not. He is an eclectically powered, true artist who just happens to rhyme in a fast, almost spoken style.

SF1’s Inamorata encapsulates all that can be good with hip-hop. The thirteen track album incorporates harmonies with worldly sounds and then spins it on its head with electronic beats and club vibes then tosses in native drums to spice things up. Not only is this some of the most tolerable hip-hop I’ve heard in some time, it is easily some of the most impressive. The spectacular array of sound comes to a pinnacle with “Rhapsody.” The track, featuring the talented Cleveland Jones, is a stand-up and stand-out song that will spin round and round within your inner musical soul. The record features the talents of Betsy Ruckard, Daj, Chrissie and the beautifully voiced Jenna Moll Reye, but SF1 doesn’t fall into the hellish hole that can be the “featuring:” insignia. It is his talent that soars. When most would lean to the obnoxious, SF1 shines in precision. Inamorata is thirteen surprises lined up nicely one after the other. With an approach like this and the knowhow that is constantly demonstrated within the record, Franklin has a very bright future.

Go ahead, be upset that I think hip-hop is a shallow kiddy-pool where nobody has room to move as they continue to sit in the repetitive stench begging for a massive break. Anyone can make an album, but few will make a second. SF1 deserves an invitation to the deep end of the pool where he can swim with unrestrained artistic freedom and continue to produce his sound. His ability to prove that he earns the title of “All-Around Entertainer” beams through the clouded genre in the form of Inamorata. - Greg

I am about to utter six of the most pretentious words of the new digital age: I was listening to a podcast the other day called “Roderick on the Line.” It’s great. On it, Roderick himself was discussing the moment in life he refers to as “finding your duck.” The context being that a well-behaved dog who has been living its ho-hum dog life can be thrust into a higher sense of purpose after instinct kicks in when it discovers a duck. Humans spend their lives trying to find their duck. You know that person who always knew they wanted to be a doctor? They found their duck at an early age.

Denver, you have a resident who found his duck. Shane “SF1” Franklin is a born entertainer and rhyming, poetic machine. He has released his sophomore album Inamorata and it is way ahead of his 23 years of age in terms of emotional clarity. It is one thing to find someone who has worked hard and developed talent to record a tight album; it is something else altogether to come across a natural. When that natural works their ass off to put out a great hip-hop album… man, there is nothing like it.

Produced by Cesar Gonzalez, Inamorata is a concept album about the most abstract of concepts: love. The thirteen songs track a relationship from meeting on the title track, sexual “Tension”, the highest of highs on “Rhapsody,” the emotional wrenching of breaking up on “Raw” and “Madman” to reconciling on the outro: “Permanent.” SF1 employs his staccato rhymes and powerful similes and metaphors (from being a pilot or riding a magic carpet on “Fly Away” or sexual tension “swarming me like many bees and stinging me”) against a blend of hip-hop, Cuban, Middle Eastern, and pop. Each song has hook layered upon hook and incredibly even; I had a hard time finding tracks that I wanted to skip over.

As a concept album, I love it. There are some third act problems as the “rollercoaster of love” goes from pain in “Raw” and “Madman” to redemption in “Permanent” a little quickly, but SF1 captures the emotion of each relationship stage with deftness. This album is so addictive on so many levels.

Love hip-hop? Love Inamorata. It is the fruits of the labor of a born entertainer, one with the ability to capture the attention of the most critical of us. When one of us finds our duck, it is a beautiful thing.

Note: as of the date of this review – November 28th – There are 8 days left on SF1’s Kickstarter page to develop a video for “Rhapsody.” The song is awesome and deserves a video to match. He also has some creative donation gifts (Tap dance lessons? Hell yeah). - Clay

There have been quite a few songs in the last few years that try to describe the recent phenomenon of sexual and technological intersection. "Digital Girl" does it as well, if not better, than any of them. Besides the aesthetic, built with wistful yet emotionally removed production from Cesar Gonzales and catchy, robotic vocals from Betsy Ruckard, SF1 whisks through an array of very clever turn-of-phrase puns meant to turn you on, technologically and sexually. There is a little bit of cheese here, but it works. After all, there's nothing particularly deep about these OKCupid, Missed Connection, sexting relationships. They're fun and fleeting, like this song. - Noah Hubbell

SF1
7 p.m. Lost Lake
SF1 sounds like a Danger Mouse experiment: an MC with exquisite technique spouting sensitive rhymes over pounding drums and guitars. This band has the urgency of a hardcore band with the swagger of the best hip-hop group you know. It's a hybrid that transcends its parts, and the perfect way to start the festival on Friday. - Isa Jones

“One of the most talented. Amazing amazing. If you haven't seen SF1 perform.. you NEED to. Great energy & passion & Shane is just pure talent.” - Malissa Raj

SF1

Genre: Alternative hip-hop

From: Denver

Sounds like: The type of music you'd want to hear in "da club" (that's right…your local TV station is hip too)

Next local show: Check out their Facebook page for details

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1DVJEcK - Allison Sylte

“Stylistically, SF1 is dramatic and lively. The influences of Outkast and Tech N9ne are evident in his style, which is a combination of whimsy and verbal assault.” - Demi Ford

After months of planning and lead-up, the twentieth Westword Music Showcase arrived promptly at noon on Saturday. I started my day watching SF1 both tap dance and absolutely nail down a cover of "Bombs Over Baghdad," and the next ten hours passed in a blur of sweaty singers and silly string and familiar faces. In addition to the coverage you can find elsewhere on the Westword website this morning, we'll have a final round of observations for you first thing tomorrow. - KIERNAN MALETSKY

The founders of Next Big Sound believe the Boulder-based tech company can use online chatter to uncover the next big breakout bands. To test their system, we asked them to track down the most buzzed-about Colorado acts. And here are the results: the top 24 bands listing Colorado on their profile pages that are scoring increasing amounts of online activity. (Keep in mind that this breakdown is based on recent increases in fans, plays and what-have-you, not total amount of online attention, which is why local superstars such as the Flobots and the Fray don't make the cut.)

1. 3OH!3

2. Breathe Carolina

3. Pretty Lights

4. Michael Gungor Band

5. The Autumn Film

6. Tyler Ward

7. SKYFOX

8. Gauntlet Hair

9. Fear Before

10. The Epilogues

11. Tickle Me Pink

12. Savoy

13. Cephalic Carnage

14. Pictureplane

15. The Apples in Stereo

16. The String Cheese Incident

17. SF1

18. Kill Paradise

19. Honor the Fallen

20. VibeSquaD

21. David Henderson

22. Air Dubai

23. The Way Low Down

24. Jeremy Ashida - Joel Warner