The St. Louis Underground Music Festival (SLUM FEST) was back this weekend after a 6-year hiatus to honor the up-and-coming artists who continue to hold stake in the St. Louis community. Held at Atomic by Jamo, this premiere artist event was attended by musicians and media specialists. They were all there simply to uplift one another. The awards show gave artists a chance to connect and gain a deeper appreciation for St. Louis music.
“Rap is something you do, hip hop is something that you live,” host So’n’So said in his address to the hungry artists in the crowd. He was joined on stage by Robert “Rob Boo” Ford and DJ Speed – who made the award show feel like a party.
The evening consisted of award presentations and several performances. One of the first to take the stage was Larry Sheppard, better known as “The Original Godfather.” The East St. Louis native has been in the industry for 50 years. He performed a hip-hop history freestyle recounting his musical origins over an instrumental of Kendric Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which was one of the highlights of the night.
There were also R&B performances, one by Aide Ade – who won the 2025 SLUM Fest “Best R&B Soul” award. She performed “Cartoons on Saturday” with soulful runs. Though shy, she came to life when singing her music. She could have captivated the audience for the entire night.
“2025 SLUM Fest Best New Artist” winner Thr3e Caliph also hit the stage. He brought a mix of School Boy Q and Bryson Tiller to his performance of “Yamaha” before receiving his award. Though most were unfamiliar, he intrigued us with his animated performance – and gained a room of new fans.
Bo Dean was a three-time 2025 SLUM Fest award winner. He won the categories of “Best Male Rap,” “Best Music Album” and “Artist of the Year.” He blessed the crowd with “Champagne Showers,” which had a strong Swizz Beats feel. He finished with “Goats Don’t Choke.” The cypher-turned-single is also featured on his “Game Over” EP.
He won Best Album for “Memento Mori.”
, “I didn’t even want to put the album out, I was real personal with this album,” Dean said. “I didn’t think people would [like it] like that, but I’m glad this album touched a lot of people’s souls.”
He also echoed the spirit of collaboration and community that SLUM Fest is known for
“I want to work with everyone that has been nominated, let’s build, let’s work,” Dean said.
Artist and event producer Khiro Kano – who is currently curating artists for an event also coming to Atomic on April 19th – agreed with Dean’s call for joining forces to strengthen the platform for St. Louis music.
The performances showcased the diversity within the music scene.
They included hip-hop rocker Retro Champ; K Money the Poet, who recited self- love affirmations in both English and Spanish; Stringz EMB, who could be the hip hop Anthony Hamilton; Jai Davis; Track Vandals, whose sound was a blend of old school New York style rap over a Houston chopped and screwed beat. Rap groups Treevilla and Rent Due also took the stage.
Between these performances were award presentations by the SLUM Fest Advisory Board. The group was made up of distinguished creatives like pop artist and radio personality Greze Gutta and award-winning photographer Joe “JLR” Richardson. The awards of the night covered an array of creative and media fields.
Town favorite KV The Writer took home two awards. She won “Best Female Hip Hop Artist” and “People’s Choice Song of the Year” for “Figure Out the Rest.”
The song has been remixed twice – by Mai Lee and Reggie Son – and is even getting plays in London.
“You don’t win something like this without a team, I got this because of the people around me,” KV The Writer said. “You make it this far because you have people around you that believe in you.”
The St. Louis Underground Music Festival has been awarding creative talent for 15 years starting in 2010. Returning post COVID was difficult for the festival – as most venues closed their doors and never reopened. Despite these shifts the brand continues to thrive, as proven by the return of their annual awards show.
Additional SLUM Fest 2025 awards categories and winners were as follows:
Best Podcast – Connect the Dots
Best Poet – Lou Conphliction
Best Photography – Nyara
Best Visual Artist – Dormir
Best Rap Group – ROTN, prod. Adrians Beats
Best Video – Critical for American
Best Producer – Miistro Freeyo
Best DJ – Nico Marie
Best Dancer – Richy G
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
