HOTRADIO16.COM SHOW AT SONAR----OCT. 13TH

DJ BLACK WIZARD FROM HOT16RADIO.COM WAS THE DJ FOR THE KING HELL BASTARD SHOW AT SONAR ON OCTOBER 13TH.  UNFORTUNATELY, THE HEADLINER FOR THE SHOW, DUBBED THE "TWO WEEK TOUR",  HAD TO RETURN TO MILWAUKEE DUE TO AN EMERGENCY SITUATION.  HOWEVER, THE SHOW OBVIOUSLY HAS TO GO ON.  IN THE HOUSE WERE LOCAL LUMINARIES SUCH AS CVEG CEO LEW WILLIAMS, AHMED THE LAST BORN CHILD, MZ UNDASTOOD FROM DA BEAT 1650AM, AND DJ TNT.  MZ UNDASTOOD ALSO SERVED AS HOST FOR THE HIP HOP EVENT, ALLOWING THE SHOW TO FLOW FROM BEGINNING TO END.

HIP HOP STAPLES LIKE "HOW I COULD JUST KILL A MAN", "TIME 4 SUM AKSHUN", "SCENARIO", AND "OH MY GOD" WERE SPUN BY DJ BLACK WIZARD, SETTING THE STAGE FOR AN EVENING OF GRITTY, UNDERGROUND HIP HOP.  WITH DJ BLACK WIZARD ON THE WHEELS OF STEEL, THE FIRST ACT OF THE EVENING WAS DC EMCEE TARICA JUNE.  BRINGING A POSITIVE, FEMININE FLAIR TO THE FESTIVITIES, THE ONLY FEMALE SPITTER ON THE BILL WAS ABLE TO KEEP THE SONAR CROWD CAPTIVATED.  SHE PERFORMED JOINTS FROM HER MIXTAPE MOONLIGHT REVOLUTION SUCH AS "CRAZY GIRLS", A SONG SHOWING POSSIBLE MALE SUITORS THAT SHE IS FAR REMOVED FROM THE SONG TITLE, AS WELL AS "SLOW DOWN", A COOL SONG UTILIZING A POPULAR TRACY CHAPMAN SAMPLE FROM "FAST CAR".  HER VIBE AND PERSONA WERE A WELCOME DEPARTURE FROM THE NORMAL HIP HOP FARE ONE CAN COME TO EXPECT FROM A TYPICAL GRITTY UNDERGROUND EXPERIENCE.  I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE FROM THIS DYNAMIC EMCEE.  BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR REVIEW AND INTERVIEW FORTHCOMING WITH TARICA JUNE.

AFTER A BRIEF INTERLUDE, THE NEXT ARTIST TO PERFORM WAS JAEYU.  THIS OVER 6 FEET TALL MICROPHONE CONTROLLER BLESSED THE CROWD WITH SWAGGER AND SKILLS TO MATCH.  HIS RUGGED BARITONE MATCHED WELL WITH HIS BRAGGADOCIO METAPHORS.  HE PERFORMED A FEW SONGS FROM A RECENT PROJECT, AND ENDED HIS SET WITH AN ACAPELLA FREESTYLE TO SHOWCASE HIS LYRICAL GRIT AND TALENT.  I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SPEAKING WITH HIM AFTER HIS ENERGIZED SET, AND WE WERE SUPPOSED TO SIT DOWN FOR A BRIEF INTERVIEW, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE ARTIST WAS NOT ABLE TO STAY AFTERWARDS.  HOPEFULLY I , WILL GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHOP IT UP WITH JAEYU IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

BLACKSTAFF WAS THE NEXT HIP HOP CONGLOMERATE TO HIT THE SONAR STAGE, AND THEY BROUGHT ENERGY AND A 2010 SWAGGER TO THE HIP HOP AFFAIR.  THIS FIVE-MAN CREW COMMENCED TO RHYME OVER "BEAMER BENZ OR BENTLEY" JOINT, REPPING HARM CITY, AS WELL AS DROPPING DIRTY, HARDCORE LYRICS OVER "LEMONADE", THE SONG MADE FAMOUS BY GUCCI MANE.  THEIR FIFTEEN MINUTE OR SO SET WAS COOL OVERALL, AND THEY MANAGED TO GARNER SUPPORT FROM THE HIP HOP CONTINGENT WITHIN SONAR'S WALLS.

FORTUNATELY FOR THE AUDIENCE, MZ. UNDASTOOD WAS ABLE TO KEEP THE FESTIVITIES FLOWING WITH HER ARTIST INTRODUCTIONS.  COMING FROM THE DC METRO AREA, YOU CAN CATCH MZ UNDASTOOD ON DA BEAT 1650-AM ON "KONSIDER DIS SHOW" WITH DJ TNT, TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS FROM 7-10 PM.  SHE SPOTLIGHTS LOCAL TALENT NOT ONLY IN THE DC METROPOLITAN REGION, BUT ARTISTS FROM HARM CITY SUCH AS NEPHEW, AHMED THE LAST BORN CHILD, SLAY, E.N.V.I.E., AND COUNTLESS OTHERS.

COMING FROM THE DC REGION WAS AN EMCEE KNOWN AS SLEEP.  THIS EMCEE REPPED FOR THE DMV, RHYMING OVER THE INSTRUMENTAL FOR THE RICK ROSS JOINT "B.M.F. (BLOWING MONEY FAST)".  I WASN'T ABLE TO GET HIS SET LIST FOR THE SONGS PERFORMED, BUT THIS DC-BASED ARTIST DID WELL WITH THE MOSTLY B-MORE AUDIENCE. 

UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE CREW SHAME, THERE WERE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH THEIR MUSIC THAT PREVENTED THEM FROM PERFORMING THEIR SET.  BEING THE REAL HIP HOP ARTISTS THEY ASPIRE TO BE, THEY DROPPED AN IMPROMPTU FREESTYLE TO LET THE LISTENERS KNOW THEY CAME, THEY SAW, AND THEY ATTEMPTED TO CONQUER.

NEXT ON THE BILL WAS DIRT PLATOON, A RUGGED CREW REMINISCENT OF M.O.P.  THEY BROUGHT AN ENERGETIC SET TO THE STAGE, PERFORMING SONGS SUCH AS "PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE" AND OTHERS OFF OF THEIR RELEASE DEEPER THAN DIRT.  FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THIS TWO-MAN CREW HAS BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS ALONG THE EAST COAST PROMOTING THIS ALBUM, AND FOR GOOD REASON.  DIRT PLATOON BRINGS A VINTAGE B-MORE HIP HOP AESTHETIC TO THE MASSES.

CONSISTING OF THREE EMCEES (REAP, EVEL EYE, P), THE NEXT SET OF ARTISTS BROUGHT A SOMEWHAT UNIQUE AND OLD SCHOOL APPROACH TO THE STAGE.  WEARING T-SHIRTS PROMOTING THEIR "LIFELINE" MIXTAPE, P, REAP, AND EVEL EYE BLESSED THE CROWD WITH SONGS SUCH AS "BEST KEPT SECRET" AND "GIMME A BEAT".  THE TRIO, WHO PERFORM UNDER THE PNREAP ENTERTAINMENT UMBRELLA, WERE ABLE TO KEEP THE CROWD MOTIVATED AND CAPTIVATED WITH THEIR LYRICAL WIT AND SKILL.

JAY MCGRAW, CEO OF M.A.M. RECORDS, HIT THE STAGE TO PROMOTE AND PERFORM CUTS FROM HIS NEWEST MIXTAPE GRAND OPENING.  THE TITLE CUT PUT THE CROWD IN A B-MORE STATE OF MIND, AS MCGRAW USED THE STAGE AS HIS HIP HOP PLAYGROUND.  HE WASN'T PLAYING AROUND, HOWEVER, WHEN SPITTING VENOMOUS LYRICS ABOUT REALITY-BASED EXPERIENCES.  THE SET FOR JAY MCGRAW ALSO INCLUDED A SPIRITED DANCE ROUTINE THAT SHOWCASED BALTIMORE'S VAUNTED CLUB DANCING.  HIS SET ENDED WITH AN ACAPELLA JOINT, PUTTING A NICE EXCLAMATION POINT AND PREPARING US FOR HIS "GRAND OPENING".

CLOSING OUT THE EVENING, THE UNCONVICTED FELONZ CREW HIT THE STAGE.  CHUK DIESEL, ONE LIFE, ONE OF 1, AND FRENCHY HIT THE SONAR CROWD WITH RELENTLESS VIGOR, SHOWCASING THEIR PENCHANT FOR GRITTY AND RUGGED SOUNDS.  UFC, AS THIS CREW IS REFERRED TO, PERFORMED VARIOUS SONGS FROM THEIR MULTITUDE OF PROJECTS.  I ENJOYED SEEING THIS COLLECTIVE PERFORM AFTER CONDUCTING A BRIEF INTERVIEW WITH THEM BEFORE THE START OF THE SHOW, AND I WILL CONTINUE TO SEE HOW THIS GROUP OF LIKE-MINDED EMCEES WILL GROW, AND ULTIMATELY, EXPAND THEIR HORIZONS WITHIN THE HIP HOP SPRECTRUM.

OVERALL, THE SONAR EXPERIENCE WAS A POSITIVE SIGN THAT TRUE HIP HOP IS ALIVE AND GROWING IN BALTIMORE.  FROM A SPONTANEOUS RHYME CYPHER IN THE HALLS OF SONAR, TO THE COMARDERIE SHOWN AMONGST THE CROWD, IT WAS VERY EVIDENT THAT BALTIMORE IS INDEED A HIP HOP CITY.  I HOPE THAT ALL THE PARTICIPANTS TAKE NOTE THAT BANDING TOGETHER IS FOR THE COMMON CAUSE OF EXPANDING BALTIMORE'S HIP HOP BRAND OUTSIDE OUR CITY LIMITS, AND INTO THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT.  IT WILL TAKE A COLLECTIVE EFFORT, BUT OUR CITY IS POISED TO TAKE ITS PLACE ON THE HIP HOP LANDSCAPE.

ONE LOVE!

WISDOM