We took this video quite a while ago at Church Street Pub, when the Last Saturdays hip-hop extravaganza was in full effect. And because we are holding a Block Party featuring this guy on Saturday night at the 200 East Art Haus … well, what better time than now to share it again? There’s going to be a lot of stuff. We’ll outline it later today. So … see you there, right?
It’s supposed to be a chilly weekend (and you could have heard about that this morning when we were on Bob Miller’s morning show on WFMD, talking about entertainment this weekend – cough, cough), but that doesn’t mean the area is lacking in suitable choices to close out April. Tonight, the Weinberg will host a sold-out crowd for buzzy neo-classical act 2Cellos and if you have a ticket, you ought to consider yourself lucky. On Sunday, Seaknuckle and Chainsaws will take over Cafe Nola and even though it isn’t listed here, you should most certainly make plans for that. Elsewhere, the Last Saturdays hip-hop series continues at the Church Street Pub on Saturday and if you have an extra five bucks, you really ought to think a little about checking that out. If not, and you happen to live closer to West Virginia, The Hello Strangers will be at The Opera House, and we all know by now how much we love us some Hello Strangers. There’s a super-packed bill at Cafe 611 on Saturday night, too, with The Averist, subject of a Q&A with us before, leading the way. And then our good friends in Heavy Lights (above) will be at Cafe Nola Saturday night with a pair of other great out-of-towners. There’s Operation: Death. There’s Starcrush. There’s Ghost Pepper. There’s Ted Garber. There’s Rew Smith. There’s Gary Brown. There’s DisFunkShun. There’s The Milestones. There’s The Paperbacks. And then, of course, there is S’Wild, not to be confused with Wild ‘N Out. On MTV. With Nick Cannon. Yeah. Anyway, we’ll be back next week with some goodies (hopefully), and we encourage you all to pick up next week’s 72 Hours, which will look different, feel different and have its own entire Frederick Playlist section. Exciting. We know. Have a Happy St. George’s Day, you hear. Stay warm, friends.
THURSDAY
Who: Open Mic
Where: The Blue Sky Bar And Grill
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Open Mic
Where: Bushwallers
When: Sign-up begins at 9 p.m.; play begins at 10 p.m.
Who: Monocacy Jazz Quartet
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Mitch Morrill
Where: Isabella’s Tavern
When: 8 p.m.
Who: 2Cellos
Where: The Weinberg Center For The Arts
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Bluegrass
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Who: Rhyne McCormick
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Shooting Star Band
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: DisFunkShun
Where: The Blue Sky Bar And Grill
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Rew Smith Band
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: S’Wild
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 10 p.m.
Who: DJ Two Teks
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Front Royal, The Milestones, Go On Red
Where: Cafe 611
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Gary Brown
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: The Yardslippers
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Who: Liz Springer
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: The PaperBacks
Where: The Blue Sky Bar And Grill
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Ghost Pepper
Where: Olde Towne Tavern
When: 10 p.m.
Who: The Few
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Starcrush
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Last Saturdays hip-hop featuring Kaimbr, Sean Born, J-Berd, Scott Free and more
Where: Church Street Pub
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Iris Lune, Eureka Birds, Heavy Lights
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Seventh Seal, Luminosity, The Averist, Vitality, Operation: Death, Trihexyn
Where: Cafe 611
When: 5 p.m.
Who: The Hello Strangers, Savannah Valentino
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown
When: 9 p.m.
Who: The Dan McGuire Band
Where: JoJo’s Tap House
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Ted Garber
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Wine & House
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Willie And The Chaperones
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
You know what Saturday is, right? It’s another installment of the Last Saturdays hip-hop night at the Church Street Pub! That’s why we thought we’d offer up this video we took a couple Last Saturdays ago of the indomitable J Berd, hippin’ and hoppin’ his way through the crowd. Doesn’t it just make you want to stand up and start spittin’? Wait. We get bonus points for the use of “spittin,'” right? Anyway, check this out and give your plans for Saturday a second thought. Unless you were already going. Because in that case … well, you get it.
OK, OK. So, we know the photo isn’t all that great. But when you head out to the Church Street Pub on a Saturday night in January to take in the sights and sounds of the Makeshift Deluxe crew’s Last Saturdays hip-hop night series … well, you need remind the people of the world how imperative it is that they get hip, and they get hip now. Thus, this photo. We’ll be back in a few hours with a brand new Frederick Playlist Presents … session featuring one of the bands who will be taking the Weinberg Center stage on February 19. Who says Mondays can’t be fabulous?! That’s what we thought.
It’s Super Bowl weekend! It’s Super Bowl weekend! So, there’s that. If Katy Perry isn’t your thing and Sunday isn’t your day … well, hell, we’ve got you covered. Within the next three days, we will say goodbye to January (Yay!) and wave hello to February (Yippee!). As usual, there are some great things going down in and around the fine metropolis of Frederick, Maryland, and, of course, these are things you most definitely will not want to miss. Among them? Well, let’s see. There’s the Local Yokel Vocal. Say that five times fast and we’ll throw a free T-shirt your way. There appears to be a band actually called Carroll Creek, and whomever that is will be at The Lodge. Subjects of our Video Of The Week, Moogatu and the Rew Smith Band, will be at Cafe 611 and Bushwallers, respectively. The always-fantastic Last Saturdays hip-hop series is still going strong and it is slated to take over the Church Street Pub (sadly, we will not be there because, sadly, we have nothing to give away at the current moment; though we send our love!). Ted Garber (above) will be acoustic-rockin’ The Cellar Door. Trey Frey is releasing a CD in Shepherdstown. Basswood is steppin’ on up at Cafe Nola. And, last but certainly not least, the Amish Outlaws are coming back to town and holy cow, those guys are a lot of fun. We know you’re going to reserve a lot of your social activity for Sunday night, but if you say to yourself, “Man. I’d really like to get out tonight” … well, we can promise you won’t be disappointed. Hopefully. Maybe. You get it. Anyway, we’ll be back next week with a brand new Frederick Playlist Presents … session and it will feature one of the bands set to take the Weinberg stage at our Frederick Music Showcase, which is three weeks from this very night. Are you excited yet? We certainly are. Stay warm, friends. Stay warm.
THURSDAY
Who: Open Mic
Where: The Blue Sky Bar And Grill
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Open Mic
Where: Bushwallers
When: Sign-up begins at 9 p.m.; play begins at 10 p.m.
Who: Craig Cummings
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Stephen Lee
Where: The Devonshire, Shepherdstown
When: 8 p.m.
FRIDAY
Who: Dave Wiener with Bob Kaas
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Local Yokel Vocal (formerly RNC)
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Rhyne McCormick
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Carroll Creek
Where: The Lodge
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Lynn Routzahn
Where: The Main Cup
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: Rew Smith Band
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Sticktime
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 10 p.m.
Who: DJ Two Teks
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Cutting Agency, Moogatu
Where: Cafe 611
When: 9 p.m.
Who: The Hillbilly Gypsies
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown
When: 9 p.m.
SATURDAY
Who: Last Saturdays Hip-Hop Series, featuring Minlus & McCracken, Ak iLL, LJ Heiss, DJ Carl Ice, DJ Blaze Daily, J Scienide and host Raidawreck
Where: Church St. Pub
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Moon Music
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Ken Glasser with Angelin & Barry
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Todd C. Walker
Where: Red Shedman Farm Brewery
When: 4 p.m.
Who: Blues Vultures
Where: Cactus Flats
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: The Nightcrawlers
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Jason Perry
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Amish Outlaws
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Stalefish & Full Circle
Where: Olde Towne Tavern
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Basswood, The Henry Millers
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Ted Garber
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Trey Frey
Where: The Blue Moon, Shepherdstown
When: 8 p.m.
Hey, just in case you forgot: There’s life after Thanksgiving. And, in case your memory really went kaput, there’s something in town called Last Saturdays, which features local(ish) hip-hop talent performing on the final Saturday of each month. This month, the event will move to That Cuban Place and it will feature Davon, from the Philly area, headlining, along with Scott Free, Knowledge, Stitch Early (heads-up: we’ll be reviewing his latest set next week) and a few others.
We recently had the chance to catch up with Davon in anticipation of the show and below is what we learned. Among the things we touch on are Frederick’s hip-hop scene, which hip-hop artists we should be paying attention to in the Philadelphia area, and, of course, what we can expect from this month’s Last Saturdays concert. Everything is set to go down at 9 p.m. Saturday. And as always, don’t be square, friends; be there.
Will this be your first time performing in Frederick?
Yes, this will be my first time. I travel here often, though, and really love the historical integrity of the city overall.
Do you think Frederick is ready to be a destination for original hip-hop? If yes, why? If not, why not?
It has potential seeing that there is some really amazing talent out of Maryland. However, realistically, you’d probably find a larger city to house original hip-hop. Much more diversity going on in the metropolitan areas.
Speaking of being a destination for hip-hop, how is your rap scene in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area? Who are some artists we should be listening to in Frederick that we might not already know about?
The rap scene around my area is pretty cluttered. There’s a lot of great artists who are just looking to be heard. This is where doing your best to be original with your craft comes into play. A lot of people can rap really well, but I think you need much more than just that element to be discovered nowadays. I don’t know many artists directly from Frederick, but I’m a huge fan of the local DMV scene, including artists like yU, Kev Brown, Minus Nine, Oddisee, just to name a few, though I’m sure everyone is already aware of them. (If not, you can find most of them on my upcoming LP, “Donnie Darko”). As far as from around Philadelphia/South Jersey, I’d say keep a look out for Mic Stew, The Bul Bey, Ground Up, Skrewtape, and of course, our local legends like Reef, The Lost Cauze and Freeway.
How did you get involved with the Last Saturdays and hip-hop night here in Frederick? Were you seeking out places to play in Frederick or did someone approach you?
My manager, Jennifer Alyse Herman, is from Frederick, and actually thought to reach out and have me be a part of this night, which I’m truly grateful and excited for. It’s always great to get out of your area and be able to spread your music and a positive message.
Who are your five most influential MCs and why?
Nas, Black Thought, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Asher Roth are my top five at the moment. Though that’s subject to change with the way music is released nowadays. Specifically, I enjoy them because they’re all so incredibly different from one another while still keeping the real element of hip-hop alive, which is the lyrical aspect of it. Each one of them has the ability to paint such a vivid image through their words to the point where I can actually visualize it, which is something I really strive for when I write.
What are some ways you think a young, upcoming hip-hop scene can help grow and flourish?
By helping each other out. Everyone is so focused on their own grind that we forget to look around and motivate each other to be better in a positive way. We need each other in order to excel in this industry, so I’d love to see MCs coming together more in an attempt to make a difference rather than just be the best.
What advice would you give guys who are trying to build a hip-hop scene in this area?
Keep striving and ensure that everything that stands for your area is undeniably great. If you want a scene to flourish, everything must be properly nurtured and maintained. And that goes not only for the artists, but promoters and venues as well.
What can we expect from your performance here in Frederick?
Passion and excitement. It’s a blessing to be able to do this, so I treat every performance like I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. It’s going to be a good time, and hopefully inspire people to want to continue their journey.
Quick: It’s the last full weekend in October and how is your fantasy football team doing?! Yeah, we know. Yikes. Anyway, the month is going out with a bang as perhaps the best slate of live music to come to town in October is ready to rock and roll all the way through the next three days. As we’re sure you’re all sick of hearing by now, Karen Jonas, she of playlist-to-the-right fame, is bringing a guitar player and presumably some tunes to Cafe Nola this evening. Not only is it during Cafe Nola’s anniversary week, meaning there is no cover charge, but it is also The Event Some Of Us Have Been Looking Forward To All Week. As in, someone in a tie will be there. Drinking. Alone. Moving on, elsewhere, we have banjo icon Bela Fleck coming to town on Saturday, and yes, there is still time to enter our ticket giveaway (we’ll be in touch tomorrow morning if you’re the lucky winner). Mary Black is saying goodbye to a decorated and impressive career on her last-call tour that hits the Weinberg tonight. Southern Culture On The Skids will be eating some of Larry’s delicious gumbo over in Shepherdstown (and as someone who has shared said gumbo with said band, you might want to head over to West Virginia before making it back to check out Ms. Jonas this evening). Prophets Of The Abstract Truth will bring a nice helping of jazz to Ayse on Friday. Shane Gamble returns to Champion. Phil Kominski, one of the nicest, greatest guys around, will be taking The Cellar Door stage on Saturday night, which also happens to be the same night the third Last Saturdays hip-hop event will go down at Church Street Pub. And then, of course, there is a band called Bag Of Humans. We’ll be virtually impossible to miss around town through the next three days, so if you’re rocking and rolling your way through Frederick, come on up and say hello. We might always look angry, but that’s only true … let’s say … 89 percent of the time. Promise. And to all a good night.
THURSDAY
Who: Clearspring
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Rick Windon, Rick Ricker
Where: The Hill Chapel
When: 7:30 p.m.
Who: Jazz Jam
Where: Jekyll & Hyde Restaurant & Tavern
When: 7:30 p.m.
Who: Open Mic
Where: Blue Sky Bar And Grill
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Open Mic
Where: Bushwallers
When: Sign-up begins at 9 p.m., play begins at 10 p.m.
Who: Karen Jonas
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Mary Black
Where: The Weinberg Center
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Southern Culture On The Skids, Atomic Mosquitos
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Bluegrass Jam
Where: The Reunion
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Mitch Morril
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 6 p.m.
FRIDAY
Who: DAPP
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Inner County Crank
Where: Cafe 611
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Vienna Boys Choir
Where: The Weinberg Center
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Sam Biskin & Friends
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Cumberland Valley Duo with Fran Tucker
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Prophets Of The Abstract Truth
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Craig Donovan, Mike Lewis
Where: The Reunion
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Secondhand Ramblers
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Donnie Wood
Where: JR’s Sports Bar
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Andy Carignan
Where: The Main Cup
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: John Zahn Band
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Southern Charm
Where: Blue Sky Bar And Grill
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Rise
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 9 p.m.
SATURDAY
Who: The Tonehounds
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Cyrenic, Marzy Maddox, Hejira, Bag Of Humans
Where: Cafe 611
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Secondhand Ramblers
Where: JoJo’s Tap House
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Phil Kominski
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn
Where: The Weinberg Center
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Halloween Bash with West By God, Ruckus Revival
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Maxx Honn and Friends
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Girl On Top Band
Where: Jekyll & Hyde Restaurant & Tavern
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: Blues Vultures
Where: Cactus Flats
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: C-9
Where: The Main Cup
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: Apex Rex
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Due Process
Where: Blue Sky Bar And Grill
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Shane Gamble
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Jack Z & The Meteors
Where: Olde Towne Tavern
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Dan McGuire Group
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Last Saturdays Hip-Hop Night featuring Sean Toure, Jay Berd, Upgrade, CM Lugo, DJ Blaze Daily and Artistry Music Group
Where: The Church Street Pub
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Pete Looney
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Craig Rosendale
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Frank Davis and Bobby Flurie
Where: The Reunion
When: 8 p.m.
Today’s video comes from Baltimore hip-hop artist Sean Toure. Why? Because he will be at the third installment of the Last Saturdays hip-hop series this Saturday at the Church Street Pub. You know who else will be there? Us. And that’s all you really need to know, right? Right. So, check him out, rearrange your Saturday night accordingly, and come say hello as we hip and hop all night long.
Check out today’s photo, which features Cameron “Telepathy” Ross performing at the first installment of the Last Saturdays hip-hop series all the way back in August. The third go-around is set for this Saturday at Church Street Pub, with Sean Toure headlining. Also on the bill? Jay Berd, Upgrade, CM Lugo, DJ Blaze Daily, Artistry Music Group and a ton of others who you won’t want to miss. It all kicks off at 9 p.m., right about the time Bela Fleck finishes up at the Weinberg. Oh, which reminds us: You know we’re giving away tickets, right? Photo by Graham Cullen. You can follow him on Twitter here.
Last month, J Berd and his Makeshift Deluxe imprint kicked off the Last Saturdays hip-hop series at the Church Street Pub. Held on the last Saturday of each month, the series plans to profile different underground hip-hop artists with a show featuring a smorgasbord of talent from near and far.
In August, Baltimore rapper UllNevaNo headlined the event and on Saturday, Maurice Daniel will lead a lineup set to feature LJ Heiss, Bushido Brown, Benjo and The Higher Class, among others.
We recently sat down with four of the series’ organizers, Jay Keating (J Berd), Che Coffin, Ray Wade and Jonathon Saulten to talk about the current state of local hip-hop, what we can expect from the series through the rest of the year, and which unknown rappers we should be checking out.
So whose idea was it to start Last Saturdays?
Jay Keating: Basically, we had a monthly event in Hagerstown that we used to do and we brought in all these different groups, so that’s how we connected with a lot of the groups that we book. We used to do a lot of shows in D.C. and Baltimore, but then a lot of spots just started shutting down. We were without a place to play, so we created our own spots and events so we could still do shows. We did a tour last summer. We went to Pittsburgh, Philly, New York, New Jersey, and we just wanted to keep performing. Makeshift Deluxe is more of a collective than a group. We perform together, do songs together.
Che Coffin: It’s like a support group, like a family.
Ray Wade: I’ve never met a bunch of guys who have been this true to the game. These three gentlemen are loyal dudes. They’re brothers to me.
Where do you think hip-hop exists within the Frederick music community? Do you think it has a shot at thriving?
Jonathon Saulten: It’s tough because the younger people listen to a different brand of hip-hop than what we do. We’re really on the Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul influence. The Golden Age stuff. Keating: There’s no trap to this. It’s just guys who are artists doing music.
Coffin: It’s not tough-guy talk, it’s not a bunch of jargon. It’s hip-hop culture. It’s not rap music, it’s hip-hop.
Keating: As far as Frederick, when I used to go to Baltimore or D.C. or Philly, they would say, ‘Where are you from?’ And I would tell them Frederick. Finally, I think people are starting to be proud of Frederick or people are starting to be proud of being from Frederick. Those are the ones we’re gearing it more towards.
Coffin: I think with the shows I’ve done with Jay and Makeshift, there was a lot of non-believers before they heard a line come out of any of our mouths. But as soon as as they saw us live, there was no more talking. And that goes for everybody that was on the tour. We walked in New York and they looked at us sideways. By the time we left New York, it’s three o’clock in the morning and promoters are chasing us down the street. We always try to improve on what we do because we’re serious about it and we love it.
Wade: Everybody here isn’t just MCs or DJs — we are all the essence of hip-hip. I’m a graf-writer, he’s a graf-writer. We all have touched other essences of hip-hop. It’s not like we were sitting around one day and said, ‘You know what? I’m just going to start rappin’. Literally, hip-hop has changed my life in so many ways and it went in so many different angles that every time I got older, I just evolved into something else.
The live hip-hop thing is tricky. Because even in the mainstream, Kanye West or Jay-Z or Lil’ Wayne or Drake can tour. But when you talk about underground or backpack rappers, or socially conscious rappers, the audience for that isn’t that large. So it’s hard to create that pocket of a scene in any music community anywhere. How do you guys deal with that? How do you guys get people to come out?
Coffin: If you got three people at the show, you rock it like you got 300. You do it the same. That’s a respect thing for your audience, too. Wade: Everybody who we deal with has great personalities. Everybody in this room will go out and talk to anybody in the crowd. Literally, if you want to talk to me, and so on and so forth, let’s talk. It’s all about hip-hop. Everybody is friendly. We try to make people we’ve never met family. Like, guess what? We hope to see you next time. We try to remember your name. Welcome to the family.
Keating: It becomes a communal thing. That’s the hope. The reality of it is that if you even know what backpack rap is, you’re of a certain age. So it is harder to get a younger generation. But we got a kid playing this week, Benjo, he’s in high school. I look at this kid and I’m like, ‘I probably know your parents.’ But he played with us at The Cuban Place and I was amazed. Amazed not only because he’s talented, but to know that this is going to continue on. Maybe a younger kid comes to our show and that inspires him to start doing it. I want to keep the quality of the events without sacrificing that for somebody who could sell a bunch of tickets. That’s how it worked when we were coming up — if you could sell a lot of tickets, you would be put on as an opening act for a major artist. With that, you might sit through a couple groups who make you want to leave before you see Rakim or somebody like that. If we hear someone and we like them, we’ll reach out to them. We want to get fine younger artists and help them and let them learn from the old-heads.
What are some of your goals with this series? What things would you like to achieve?
Keating: The short-term goal is to have a one-year anniversary show. That would be great. The other thing we’d like to spin off of this, is if it can get big enough, we move it to another venue, but keep it in Frederick, and bring in bigger acts. Maybe like a Action Bronson or someone like that. That’s what we would like to do, but we have to build that support group first.
Coffin: There is a shift with fans, too. Underground fans will always be loyal and they’re always going to dig just a little bit harder than what they’re hearing on the radio and TV. So, they have more interest in it already than, say, somebody who just listens to what’s thrown at them. A lot of our shows, I think we get those kind of people, people who hear about us from somebody and they really want to come check it out and then they come and check it out and they keep coming back. I’ve never seen somebody come to a show and not have a good time.
Wade: What I dig about it is networking. Literally because of one person performing or one person that came, Ill Logic hit me up and asked about the show, saying he’d love to come spin for us one time. I love the fact that my team has enough good stuff going on that we have outside people asking us to come holler at us. That’s awesome. I literally see promoters beg artists to come and it’s cool when you’re sitting at home on Facebook and you get a click up and it’s like, ‘Hey, look. Is there any way I can get on?’
Keating: The other part of the goal is that we want to increase our fan base. We want to kind of build something like Stone’s Throw Records, where the label and the shows help each thing. It goes hand in hand. They ignore the rules and they don’t worry about what else is going on. But they are into a lot of different things and that’s admirable.
Give us somebody we should be listening to, who we don’t know about.
Keating: I’m going to say 1 Ton. He’s totally underrated. His wordplay is ridiculous. If you’re really into MC’in, he’s got the voice, he’s got the wordplay. He’s got the patters.
Coffin: If you think you’re a rapper and you hear that dude, you’re going to shut up real quick if you really listen to what he’s saying. I’d say Jay Berd (Keating). He’s one of the most lyrical dudes I’ve ever heard. His albums are straight classic. He’s a great representative of what the culture was built off of and now what it is nowadays. When I hear Jay’s music, it’s above and beyond most of the stuff coming out of the area or anywhere.
Wade: Mine would be a kid I took under my wing, Maurice Daniel. He’s from Hagerstown. We were tight for years and he disappeared and he came back and his lyrical foreplay was on a total new level. I felt dumbfounded. I remember we were sitting around and out of nowhere, we were in the studio and I was like, ‘Stop. What just happened?’ He’s definitely come a long way, and he’s a kid I could see signed to a major label in a heartbeat.
Saulten: I’m going to give you Che (Coffin). Because Che is a veteran, like Berd, and this guy stays true to his style. Wade: This dude is so real that if you take his tongue out of his mouth and you copped it up, it literally would form hip-hop. The letters would form out of his tongue. Saulten: This guy is the essence of hip-hop. I’m also going to say Universe City Press. And UllNevaNo. He just got booked to do five shows in L.A. He’s all over the place.
In five words or less, give me what should we expect from Saturday’s show.
Wade: The realest show you’ll ever see.
Coffin: Hip-hop will live.
Keating: Original rap.
Saulten: The best show you’ll see all week.
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