2011 SXSW Guide: Theophilus London?s Favorite Acts

Theophilus London is not your average MC from Brooklyn. An adept rapper who has a penchant for skinny pants and nerd-rock glasses, fans (and detractors) might not categorize his music as hip-hop at all. This makes sense considering his non-mixtape debut, Lovers Holiday, features guest appearances by indie-rock luminaries like Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio) Sara Quin (Tegan�& Sara) and Glasser. Theophilus raps on all of his songs, but this EP feels less inspired by hip-hop than Prince’s eclectic mix of R&B, pop, rock and New Wave.

After the jump, find out which SXSW acts this mixed bag MC is excited to see.

New Look:

“Very future pop if u wanna live in 2080.”
Tyler, the Creator:

“Very RAW and carefree but boasting with talent.”
There are a whopping 2,000 or so acts performing at South By Southwest in Austin this year. A few are household names (Duran Duran, Erykah Badu, The Strokes), some are respected indie veterans (Low, Hieroglyphics) and others feel like they’re about to be the next big thing. We’ve asked a diverse group of 2011 SXSW artists to name acts in the lineup they’d love to see. We’re hoping this ongoing series will serve as not just a guide to the fest, but also an interesting snapshot of today’s music scene.
Thanks to Chrysler and Samsung for sponsoring our SXSW coverage.

Christina Aguilera Sienna Miller Lorenzo Lamas Jennifer Love Hewitt