I walked in a few minutes late (CP time in full effect!) and was greeted by a young cat going by the moniker of Rockstar Gunna on stage. I chopped it up with him a little bit after the show but I didn’t get his Twitter or FB handle. I’ll keep y’all updated on his identity because he definitely deserves a listen. I was disappointed in the small crowd size because his lyrics and energy were on fire. However, it was barely nine o’clock in the pm so what can you do, right?
The ONLY problem I had with Gunna’s set was his entourage. The dreaded entourage. This cat had enough energy and stamina for four dudes (*pause*) but he had three peeps on stage with him when I walked in the door. Normally no problem, right? However, one tall ass dude was hovering stage left awkwardly nodding his head in the shadows, another cat was stage right with a mic and another cat was drunkenly misstepping around Gunna. Stage Right man was the hype man, I thought. Nothing wrong there. Drunken Misstep Man was another hype man. Problem. He was constantly in the way and Gunna had to tell him numerous times to get off the stage after a couple songs. I actually felt bad for RSG because some members in the audience were wondering why this clown couldn’t take a hint. Eventually RSG took the mic from him and pointed off stage. I knew what that meant. My boys knew what that meant. Hero the Artist, as nice as he is, knew what that meant. Why didn’t Drunken Misstep Man know? Embarrassing and no way to support your dude. It was definitely distracting. Especially after RSG had to literally *wave* goodbye to this dude for him to get the hint.
Despite that, Rockstar Gunna continued to kill the remainder of his set, even spitting a few bars laid down by who he told me was his sister, who wasn’t able to get to the show on time due to “some shit happening.” Hey, shit happens, right? He still represented over her vocals, which were clear, tight and skilled. I’d love to see her live. Over all, RSG acted and performed like a star: his songs were polished and his flow was tight. He needs better hype men, though. Or just stick with Stage Right Man; he was cool.
I didn’t even get the name of the cat that performed after RSG. I didn’t need to, either. Number two shoulda been number one to me *in my Biggie voice* because this guy was garbage. I don’t fault anyone for having the courage to step up on stage and try to rock the mic, but this guy was a bad attempt at elementary hip-hop. He was brave enough to step to the mic…but he left his skills at home. Or maybe he never had them because two and a half songs in he made the statement “I am not a rapper.” Clearly. Then he went on to spit bad poetry. Moving on…
Three dudes stepped up, going by the name of HaBits. Well, two of them were HaBits and another was a close friend and hype man. These guys? Wow. They stepped up and instantly went into a five minute a cappella freestyle that was bananas! The energy was insane, the skill was outstanding and their flow was undeniable. I swear I thought I was at a Camp Lo concert, it was *that* real. They then went on to another track lamenting the lameness of hip hop (must have been inspired by the guy before them) and I was hooked. They brought their hype man, B Right, center stage and had him give us a little intermission with his song “Smokers Break.” I don’t smoke but even I could feel the lazy level of relaxation that was pumping through the area. It was smooth, laid back and chill. After that we got right back into it. These guys have a promising future. Follow them on Twitter at @allgoodHaBitS.
Mr Yeah of Rated R Radio, the host for the evening, announced a small “praise break” by Ya Boi Tiz, the events DJ. Tiz took it back to the mid and late 90s and early 00s with the hits he played before bringing it to modern day rap for the Livest Fan contest. I don’t think it should be any surprise to anyone that yours truly won the prize: a brand new “www.HipHopMadeMeCool.com” t-shirt courtesy of So Proper Ent. Yea, I gets it in. Tiz was definitely going in. That brother is skilled.
That of course led us to the star of the show: Ms Proper and the So Proper Ent collective. Conci$e played hype man for the evening along with So !LLa and they shut it down! Prop went through a force of hits that had the crowd straight rocking. By this time, the club was full of folk who came to see Ms Proper tear the roof off and she did not disappoint. After performing with the global Doe The Paperboy, Prop called Kléos Jansport to the stage for the fiery anthem “VA Shit,” which saw Prop whip the crowd into a frenzy with the hit off her #NoDaysOff mixtape. Hero The Artist performed and smacked us all silly with his undeniable lyrical mania. The crazy thing about Hero is that he doesn’t look, talk or act like your stereotypical rapper. He’s the nicest guy in the world. You give him a mic, however, and he’ll rip your head off…and you’ll like it. After the tsunami that is Hero, Prop went and stuck her foot in it, blowing the fans away with a fierce performance of her iTunes single “Get It Started.”
Ms Proper paused at one point to talk about a recent interview she had with a local magazine. Apparently they posed the question “Where do you stand in the local hip hop scene?” Her answer was definitive, precise and true. “I’m the queen.” Ms Proper put on one hell of a show like she always does and showed the fans, new and old, why she stands atop the city and is building such a huge fan base up and down the east coast. Hail to the queen.
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