Check out this shot of local hip-hop artist J Berd performing at August’s Last Saturdays hip-hop night at Church Street Pub. We’ll be posting a long Q&A with him and his crew later today, but for now, just know that the next installment is this Saturday. The words start floating through the air around 9 p.m. and if you aren’t there, you’ll be square. Photo courtesy of Graham Cullen. You can follow him on Twitter here.
Baltimore hip-hop artist UllNevaNo performs at the Church Street Pub’s first Last Saturdays Hip-Hop night … well, last Saturday (that’s a confusing sentence, isn’t it?). The next installment, which surprisingly enough will go down on … well, the last Saturday of this month (Sept. 27) will feature Benjo, LJ Heiss, The Higher Class, Bushido Brown, Maurice Daniel, DJ Carl Ice & Dj BlazeDaily, and it will be hosted by RaidaWreck. Yes. We’ll have more on that as the month progresses. Photo by Graham Cullen. You can follow him on Twitter @FNP_Cullen.
Where to begin? Where to begin? It’s the last weekend of the summer (unofficially) and most of you probably won’t have to go to work on Monday. So, why not fill the weekend with music? Again: WHY NOT FILL THE WEEKEND WITH MUSIC? Over the next few days, we have the beginning of a very cool series coming to the Church Street Pub here in Frederick: Last Saturdays Hip-Hop. It all kicks off this Saturday (surprise!) with headliner UllNevaNo and as we’ve already said a billion times this week, we’ll be there (for the record, we also plan on being at the rest of the events through at least the end of the year). Elsewhere, The Get Right Band is about to Get Right down along Carroll Creek as part of this week’s Alive @ Five (and better yet, it’s going to be their CD release party!). As if that’s not enough, there’s also a great event going down at the Bentz Street Raw Bar all day Saturday that benefits Autism awareness and acceptance. There’s our good buddy Todd C. Walker providing some beautiful sounds tonight at Isabella’s. There are the Secondhand Ramblers pulling double duty through the weekend. There are the High Tops at Cafe Nola, which sounds like it’s going to be AMAZING. And, of course, a band called The House Band. Also, don’t forget: You still have until Monday to get those Maryland Music Award nominations in, so be sure to represent Frederick adequately! Happy Labor Day, friends – we’ve got a LOT to talk about once fall gets here, so stay tuned!
THURSDAY
Who: Alive @ Five Featuring The Get Right Band
Where: Carroll Creek
When: 5 p.m.
Who: Secondhand Ramblers
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Clearspring
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Jazz Jam
Where: Jekyll & Hyde Restaurant & Tavern
When: 7:30 p.m.
Who: Open Mic
Where: Bushwallers
When: Sign-up begins at 9 p.m.; play begins at 10 p.m.
Who: Todd C. Walker
Where: Isabella’s
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Devin Tuel and Stephen Harms
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Reid Schoenfelder
Where: JoJo’s Tap House
When: 8 p.m.
Who: The Brummy Brothers
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Jennie Williams, Adrienne Smith and Ashli Chesire
Where: The Church Street Pub
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Freddie Long
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 8 p.m.
FRIDAY
Who: Freddie Long, Dan McGuire
Where: The Bentz Street Raw Bar
When: Long – 6 p.m.; McGuire – 9 p.m.
Who: Bang Bang
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Secret Panda Society, Slim Glesh, J Louie and more
Where: Cafe 611
When: 7:30 p.m.
Who: Caitlin Anselmo and Carousel Rogues
Where: Beans In the Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: The Secondhand Ramblers
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Bushmaster
Where: Brewer’s Alley
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Lark Rize
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: Safe Harbor
Where: Elk Run Winery
When: 6 p.m.
Who: Mitch Morrill
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Mike McManus
Where: Cactus Flats
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: Andy Carignan
Where: The Main Cup
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: Paul Ivey Band
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Cazhmiere
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Lenny Burridge Trio
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
SATURDAY
Who: Last Saturdays Hip-Hop Series, featuring UllNevaNo, Telepathy, Up and Rone
Where: The Church Street Pub
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Music Rocks Autism Featuring Despite Charm, Cops and Robbers, Not Dead Yet and more
Where: The Bentz Street Raw Bar
When: Noon
Who: High Tops
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Muskrat Sally
Where: JoJo’s Tap House
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Holy Ghost Tent Revival
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Kabob-o-Taj
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Will Barry And The Chaperones
Where: Brewer’s Alley
When: 8 p.m.
Who: The House Band
Where: The Frederick Coffee Company
When: 8 p.m.
Who: The Windtalker
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Dave Weiner
Where: Elk Run Vineyard
When: 3 p.m.
Who: John Durant
Where: Ayse Meze Lounge
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Lost Highway Band
Where: Jekyll & Hyde Restaurant & Tavern
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: Eric Avey
Where: The Main Cup
When: 8:30 p.m.
Who: The Few
Where: Hard Times Cafe
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Platform Soul
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Audio Whiplash
Where: Olde Towne Tavern
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Sucker Punch
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Baltimore hip-hop artist UllNevaNo (pronounced “You’ll Never Know”) is set to kick off the Church Street Pub’s Last Saturdays series this weekend when he takes the Church Street stage. The emcee was selected for DJ J Hart’s “East Coast Draft” mixtape this year and he’s also a past winner of the Speaker Boxin freestyle battle in Baltimore. In addition to all that, he’s shared stages with everyone from Eminem protege Royce da 5’9’ to Detroit producer Black Milk. We recently caught up with him via email about his upcoming performance here in town and in case you were wondering: Yes. Frederick Playlist will be there, handing out goodies. So come say hi!
Will this be your first time performing in Frederick? If not, what’s your overall impression of the city?
This will not be the first time I’ve performed in Frederick. I’ve performed all over the city since 2009 and I can genuinely say that the city supports good hip-hop music. Whenever I’m out in Frederick, the people always show an extreme amount of love. It’s definitely overwhelming whenever I perform, and the feedback that I receive is awesome.
Do you think Frederick is ready to be a destination for original hip-hop? If yes, why? If not, why not?
I believe that Frederick is ready to be a destination in original hip-hop because there’s so much raw talent in this small city. As long as there’s functions and events going on that allows the local talent to showcase their skills, I think Frederick will be a destination for hip-hop sooner or later.
Speaking of being a destination for hip-hop, how is Baltimore’s rap scene? Who are some artists we should be listening to that we might not already know about?
Baltimore’s rap scene tends to fluctuate. Being that I’m raised from California, it’s different. You have the hardcore battle scene, then you have this new-wave trend going on, like trap/EDM music going on. It has changed over the years. I think people are still trying to find their identity, but there are cats such as myself that stick to the format of boom-bap, traditional hip-hop. Y’all should check out Sean Toure, Kane Mayfield, Tislam The Great, Eze Jackson, 7th Floor Villains, Exo Sskeleton, Y1 and Lyrical Leviathan. There are so many emcees out here in Baltimore.
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?
I got involved with Last Saturdays and hip-hop in Frederick through a mutual relationship with Makeshift Deluxe (J-Berd, DJ Blaze Daily). Those are like my brothers. We’ve done tons of music together, been on tour together, etc., and they approached me to headline the first show. So, I’m humbled and grateful. Anything those guys need, it’s a no-brainer to get involved because I know they’re for the culture of hip-hop music and they stick to the roots of this.
Who are your five most influential emcees and why?
My five influences they tend to change daily … but at the moment it’s Big L, Elzhi, Phonte, Homeboy Sandman, and Black Thought of the Roots, and if I could possibly slide Jean Grae in there, yeah, her, too … but all of these emcees just can rhyme and whenever I listen to them they make me step my game up and the focus on the complex of rhyming such as patterns, wordplay and schemes so I can appreciate that I want to hopefully be mentioned in the same breath as these individuals one day.
What are some ways both Frederick and Baltimore might be able to improve their hip-hop scenes? There appears to be some great talent around, but there has yet to be a breakout star.
The ways that Frederick and Baltimore can help improve the hip-hop scenes is to have more functions and unite and help each other out. I had a conversation with a close friend of mine the other day and we both agreed that hip-hop and people who are involved are snobs — their egos are so up in the clouds that they forget that they used to be the emcee on the come-up, grinding and trying to get people to listen to their demos or mixtapes. I feel like instead of bringing each other down, we need to uplift and support, regardless if it’s wack or not, and we need to start putting together our own events instead of relying on these venues for shows where we open up for a major artist and don’t see a dime from ticket sales. We just have to learn how to help people and stick together.
I see you studied mass communications at Kansas State University. What brought you to this area?
Yeah, I studied there for two years, from 2004 and 2005. What brought me here was music, trying to pursue hip-hop and getting closer to NYC. It was a journey that I was on and I learned a lot. I made a lot of connections and a few serious moves throughout the years of being in Baltimore, but it’s only getting better. I would love to write for XXL Magazine or Complex Magazine — that falls into my mass communications/journalism major.
And finally, what can we expect from your performance here in Frederick on the final Saturday in August?
First, I just wanna shout out Magnetik Moments and producer Logic Marselis. What you can expect from the performance is a lot of energy and a good time. Whenever I perform, I try to give as much energy as I can regardless of if it’s five, 10 or even 100 people. I still gotta rock because at the end of the day, I emcee.
You can catch UllNevaNo at Church Street Pub on Saturday. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the music is set to begin around 10. The cost to get in will be $5.
We’ll have a Q&A with the rapper this afternoon, but for now, check out the Baltimore emcee’s official video for “Can’t Complain.” He’ll be headlining the Church Street Pub’s first installment of its Last Saturdays hip-hop series this Saturday and yes, in case if you were wondering, we’ll be at each of those events, too (can’t stop, won’t stop). But more on that later. For now, just sit back, revel in the fact that it’s Thursday, and get your mind right for the first of what promises to be a great hip-hop series here in town.
