St. Louis City SC has picked local rapper Mvstermind to select music by local musicians that the club will play at matches and events.
As the soccer club's director of musical experience, Mvstermind will curate the music from fan suggestions during the club's inaugural season. Fans will use an online form to select the local artists and songs they’d like to hear played at games.
The effort will give exposure to emerging St. Louis talent, he said.
“This allows us to build the actual platform that this city needs for artists, for our budding talent, to be able to display this not just to only our city but to the world,” Mvstermind said. “This is the type of energy that's going to be necessary in allowing St. Louis to get back to its title being the gateway.”
The partnership will include a workshop led by Mvstermind and St. Louis City SC this summer that will give fans the opportunity to contribute to the team’s sound and image, though more details will be provided later. He said it’s essential that the region rallies behind artists to continue to build up the local music scene.
“Someone can be doing some amazing things and at the end of the day, you might not even know that it's happening,” Mvstermind said. “So [I] really want to utilize this form and moments for people to submit, for us to become fully aware of the arsenal that St. Louis has.”
St. Louis City SC leaders worked to create an interactive fan experience over the past two years. Music was always going to be a significant part of the team’s game day experience, said Matt Sebek, St. Louis City SC’s chief experience officer.
“At a broad level, this entire project is about showing off the renaissance that's happening in St. Louis,” Sebek said. “We want that stadium to be a reflection of all the brilliance going on from the local makers and doers in the community.”
Mvstermind said the partnership will shine a light especially on the region's hip-hop artists.
“Hip-hop is one of those genres that is actually fully inclusive and immersive of all of the other genres,” Mvstermind said. “That's always been my philosophy. I've been an individual who's been inspired by every single thing. And so my mission is to allow that to unfold so that we can be able to see the full sounds that make the heartbeat of St. Louis.”
The collaboration is the St. Louis rapper’s latest endeavor. Mvstermind released the EP “Great” last year, the second of three interconnected EPs. He also collaborated with St. Louis-based startup Maven to produce livestreamed performances that drew on augmented reality.
St. Louis City SC will begin play next year. The team announced earlier this year that its home field will be called Centene Stadium, after the Clayton-based health organization signed a deal for the naming rights for the 22,500-seat stadium.
In January, the team named Bradley Carnell, a former South African soccer player and former assistant coach for the New York Red Bulls, head coach.
Follow Chad on Twitter: @iamcdavis
