What It Sound Like?
It’s been a dramatic start for my year. As soon as I think I’m gaining control, something else slows me down. I don’t like to stay away from the All Nighter’s for so long. On a positive note, I was able to attend one of the coolest concerts I’ve ever been to. Oh yea, I was also a part of it.
An ideal location in Ft Laucderdale, FL hosts a combination of perfection. The location of Next Door C&I is surrounded by food, independent business, and tagging to add that Hip Hop element. The inside is comforting. Your choice of drinks, whether you want tea, coffee, or something from the full bar. Along the walls are rows of books to keep the readers entertained. One of those book sections is an incognito doorway to the performance room. It looks like the secret passage from the old Batman show.
Beyond this wall is where the action took place. Unsigned artists took stage to heating things up. I got the chance to meet one, Crescendo. He drove down from Orlando to rock. Of course, I ran into Grone Da Radikal and Whatamess, two of my comrades. I was also building with my cousin and other friends in the spot, so the vibe was already nice. After Grone got the crowd going, my performance was next. For music they never heard, the audience showed love!
As I stepped outside for fresh air, the man of the night appeared. Long story short, I was able to converse with Wordsworth shortly before his set. Actually, him and Skam shared a lot wisdom with me. Grone also came through briefly for the gathering. The level of experience between the two vets is beyond motivational. Skam has been traveling overseas for a couple years. Words recorded a banging album from the home studio. Something the independent artists find themselves doing.
A key moment happened that don’t to leave out. It brought everything full circle. A fan came up to get a flick. He brought vinyls as a classy fan would. Just before he showed up, Words mentioned a transition he made in his music to draw the listener in closer. The first song he executed this ended up on one of the records the gentleman brought with him. Not only that, Skam did the covers to most of the records this guy had with him.
After the priceless gems, Wordsworth went inside to perform. He incorporated songs from albums, plus freestyles on the spot. The clever emcee grabbed the attention of a distracted woman by rhyming about proposing to her. Talk about controlling the show… A decent amount of songs were from Our World Today and Champion Sounds. Which, I was very pleased to hear. I had a feeling he would do a few of those.
The Connect was organized by some great dudes, Ben Phrases and Khris Audio. Khris kept the sounds pumping for the emcees, including playing true Hip Hop flavor between the performances. Ben broke the ice with several freestyles. At the very end, it was him, Skam Wordsworth, and myself going the cipher.
Salutes to the other artists that I didn’t get to see, plus any names left out. Shout to Starr Statuzz Mixology for helping with the flow of things. Thanks to the team at Next Door C&I for having us. Thanks to everybody who bought tickets to support. Praises to the Almighty for making this safe, successful event possible!
