In all facets of my life, I've always tried to keep my finger on the political pulse of sh!t in order to better not play part. In High School it was basketball. I was always concerned with potential, skill, & proven ability (proof vs spoof)... That being said; I never concerned myself with all'a that bs rap riff raff that makes the opportunistic world go 'round.... I'm also my biggest critic... This past year I've gotten some choice show situations pop off, but I've also had my share of right now reality checks (according to people's popular opinion, of coarse, not self assertive assessment)... Either or, IF? positivity must prevail I got "a" shot to open for an artist I currently pay close attention to.... Current. I consider "good" Hip Hop music. I get the opportunity to watch first hand how said artist gets down by way of having attempted to add onto said show's overall entertainment value earlier. IF? I look at it through my own eyes, good sh!t. Not great, but good sh!t though....
So this cat here was the house DJ. He introduced himself to we as Phil, so I will refer to him here as simply, Phil. Phil was nice enough to let us rock his tables and mixer. I was scheduled to "rock" at 10:30, but seeing the acoustic affair prior was running a tad late, I was asked to be ready for 10:45... By the time the prior peoples completed cleaning up their gear, it was damn near 10:20/10:30 or so.... Kinda sensed the science about to be bestowed upon we, cats took that stroll off grounds to get our minds right via NY Diesel Sour style.... As soon as we stepped back in and began the technology switch said DJ pictured below bounced off stage as did the evening's host leaving me and DJ CEV2 (who blessed the John Paxon for ya man, turntable style, great looks!!!) on stage for like 8 minutes of absolute silence while we connected and reconfigured the set. Encouraging....
So after my go-1st-at-36-years-old-and-over-10-years-of-contribution-in-Rhode-Island-rap ass is done displaying myself as such on stage (in regard to my actual performance) and that one bead of sweat fell from my brow unto my right glasses lens; I sit down and get greeted by beer from brethren. I then notice familiar face after familiar face pass by to make their way outdoors to pollute the air with 2nd hand.... I step out and see the following faces shown below... I then realise that over 50% of that 25 - 35 person crowd was composed of people I actually know and have hung out with here and there along the way...
The Brownsville resident in Rhode Island head lining hit the stage roughly around midnight, give or take 10 minutes or so before or after.... Cats missed the 1st few songs cause we needed some "air" right quick before peeping Mr MFN Exquire's musical meandering live....
I was told he needed an hour and being there was 2 other acts on the bill (one having been on the last 3 consecutive Fete bills and the other sporting a jean vest with capri pants and basketball socks. LeBron 9s, maybe? I forgot... Side note: only Cuddy and Dirty Hank's kicks caught my eye all night. Weak sauce for the rest of yall....) Yeah, ya man Exquire rocked for 30 minutes, maybe 15 minutes of song and 15 minutes of free style. Who can blame him, 35 people doesn't warrant an all out Michael Jackson "This Is It" performance....
So lemme review.
Myself and a few heads I connected with hit the show of an artist we currently listen to.
In doing so, we got to perform.
Hadda go on 1st regardless of whatever, whatever, but still got to rock at a show I would have wanted to peep &/or rock at.
Performed in accordance to said disposition and composition of crowd (In regard to enthusiasm and approach).
The headliner I wanted to see rocked for 30 minutes, 1/2 free stee, 1/2 song.
Where's the f*cking negative?
IF? I look through mine own eyes, there isn't one honestly...
Either that or the extremely good tree we were enjoying all evening is indeed THAT good and cats were all mentally challenged as a result. As shown below, this may be the answer, cause aside from rocking right fast applicably, talking with those not seen often, drinking, and peeping Exquire's set; this is all we were doing. As you can see (literally & figuratively), there is no negative. And I'm just testing how long I can keep sh!t in that context. Been over 10 years now. BTW, I quit basketball my senior year of High School before the season even got that far, fam. Longevity transcends political present positions any day of the decade, dukes... Given the fact that 10 years, still rockin', no matter how good or bad the inclusive opportunity may seem, it's still naturally connected inclusion. Big ups to DJ CEV2, Wise for all the dropped wisdom (the irony) & Neil's "mustache.. like Burt Reynolds!!!"
BTW, we were the only act that rocked over ALL original or originally (re)composed beats.
We were also the only act that didn't rock over joints with vocals already on the tracks......
Peace...