That made up/distorted word basically describes my weekend and is a quote from super-producer 9th Wonder that he made to me after “Hip Hop Love” on Saturday night. When I say “weekend” I really mean, Wednesday September 16th until Sunday September 20th, that was my crazy 5 day adventure!
Day 1 – Weds Sept 16th: This was the day that started it all and surprisingly it was actually one of the more relaxing, which featured a night at the movies with “The Freshest Kids” and “Bomb It”. In the spirit of community, I told myself that I would make it out to every day of the Manifesto’s 5-day run to shake hands & kiss babies etc. After arriving a bit late with the Real Good team, we got there just in time for the beginning of “The Freshest Kids”, a documentary on the evolution of breakdancing/bboys/bgirls/poppin etc.
Did any of yall make it on time for the red carpet? I wonder how those pics turned out, I will keep checking back periodically and post some up when they are available.
I have always been intrigued by the BBoy/BGirl and independant cinema is always a good look, so partaking in this evening was almost a no-brainer. The most important part of this film (for me) was the fact that it included the originiators and trailblazers that created the style(s), moves and element that we still recognize to this day. I’m talking about “Rock Steady Crew” and “New York City Breakers”, amongst others, who really started dancing as a way to express their style & emotion(s), much like rappers, dj’s and graf writers do.
I didn’t know that “Flashdance” featured RSC (Rock Steady Crew) and the New York City Breakers danced for the Olympics/President in 1984. That’s pretty epic! Considering that Hip Hop (as a culture) was still very primitive and merely a shell of what it is today.
Also, movie gave a great insight on the emergence of “Poppin” & “Lockin” on the West Coast and how Breakin’ made it’s way out there in the early 80’s as well.
I was initially going to lead into my “Bomb It” review with a terrorist reference, but I found it to be in bad taste, so here I am.. This is kinda awkward, so let’s just get right into it.
“Bomb It” details the widespread acceptance and continous practice of “Bombing” and “Graf Writing”, it shows the mass appeal of a culture that is still outlawed in many countries and is still somewhat “underground”. I enjoyed seeing the different styles of writing from writers in different countries/continents. For example, writers from New York/Philadelphia tend to blend their letters with pictures and other visuals, so their pieces look very unique and sometimes hard to read. Meanwhile, writers from Paris & Europe in general, tend to focus mainly on their lettering and did not initially incorporate other designs/visuals with their pieces. I always preferred the harder to read, more elaborate writing that was done originally in the USA, but the “letters only” pieces from Europe are dope as well!
Day 2 – Thurs Sept 17th: I never actually ended up going to this! Oops! Sorry BBoys & BGirls! I had full intentions of attending this and watching some of the best breakers in the world get busy, but I think we were still feeling a little fatigue from the previous night and current day, so things didn’t pan out as planned. I ended up checking out DJ Mensa do his thing at Octapus for “Social Experiement” with mans like DJ Royale and gyal like Citrus & Jillicious. The night ended up being pretty cool, as I answered 2 of 3 Kid Cudi trivia questions correctly to win a copy of his debut album! Nonetheless, I heard the BBoy Championship was a success and I’m definitely happy for all the participants & organizers for putting on another strong Manifesto event and pushing forward with this thing we call “Hip Hop”.
Day 3 – Fri Sept 18th: Friday was definitely one of the longest days and possibly one of the most tiring as well! It began with Surreal Sound, Sha Jo Mo & Myself heading downtown at around 10:45am to begin preparing last minute Festival guide’s and flyers for the weekend at the Manifesto HQ. It’s hard to describe what 10 hours of stop & go driving is like, but it’s pretty easy to describe your feeling(s) after it: TIRED!
I want to take the time to shout out the homie Jesse O. from The Academy/Manifesto for indirectly showing me the kind of dedication necessary when it comes to flyering and doing around the way promotion. We went from Downtown to Uptown to Downtown and many areas in between! Dropping off festival guides and flyers to any & everybody who was willing to accept them.
Other than a quick 30 minute break for some delicious eats at BBQ Express on Queen St. W, we didn’t really stop until things were pretty much taken care of at around 8pm. I dropped Jesse off and we headed back home to get ready, after all, we had to be back downtown within a couple hours for the 3-Floor Art Show! Unfortunately, we missed DJ Mensa’s set, but we were still able to get in, check out 3 floors of incredible art and Jason Palma throwing down some craziness on the 2nd floor alongside a couple dudes gettin’ busy on the MPCs! Pause
On a more egotistical note, I was informed that the “Hip Hop Love: 9th Wonder” video (which I posted up on here a few days ago) was being shown on the side of a building, drive-in movie style for hundreds of people (in line and passing by) to see. Unfortunately, I was kinda slow with the pics, so I actually missed the shot of myself up there but I did manage to catch the text!
Coooool!
3 Days down, only 2 to go! But, Day 4 was the most important day personally, so it had the most pressure.
Day 4 – Sat Sept 19th: This was definitely one of the biggest nights of my career thus far, however, I wasn’t feeling pressured or stressed at all. I just woke up and started my day off regularly, without letting things build up or get to me. I believe it was around 12:45pm when I was sitting in my car at the YMCA parking lot when I got a call from Surreal Sound. He wanted to know if I was interested in picking up 9th Wonder from the airport. lol C’mon now! That conversation lasted less than a minute and I entered the gym with a really positive attitude, I mean, I was about to head to the airport to pick up one of the best producers of the past decade.
I don’t know how all of my fellow artists/DJs/MCs feel, but I love working out the day of my event, it just makes me feel better about everything, it’s a hard feeling to describe I guess. So, after a nice workout, I headed home and threw together a couple duffle bags before I headed to the hotel to meet up with the gang then head to the airport. Even though I live only 30 minutes from the venue, I decided to get a hotel for the evening, because I figured that it would be beneficial for me to be closer to all the action. It worked out perfectly because Surreal was staying in the same hotel and it was only 15 minutes away from the venue.
Around 4pm we met up with True School Corp’s DJ Cuzzin B & Jay Clipp to grab some food before we headed to the airport to pick up the special guest of the evening, 9th Wonder. It was kinda trippy looking into my rearview and seeing 9th’s head, it kinda reminded me of the “God’s Stepson” album cover (where his head is just pasted on Nasir’s body)
“Hip Hop Love” was a slow start, but once it got going it’s safe to say that everyone at Premium Rhythm Bar was having a great time and it was obvious with all the drinks flowing & people tearing up the dancefloor! A special surprise of the night came very early, as I was greeted with a pound by none other than Brooklyn’s own Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, Jeru Da Damaja! He was in town since the day before and actually requested to check out this party, it was definitely amazing to have him in the building and being able to interact with an MC I look up to is always special.
I had a really incredible time this weekend and the party I was most concerned with, went off nicely and I want to extended a huge shout to Vince, 9th, Cuzzin B & Jay Clipp for doing their thing and definitely playing a major role in the success of the night. Also, to the Manifesto staff for working so diligently in promoting the event and for their efforts in covering every magical moment, through photography and videography. Last but certainly not least, the Real Good family (Surreal & Marc Genius) for allowing me to do my thing and including me in this big party as always. It’s always “business 2nd” with us, because I feel like I’m working with family everytime, you know!
After it was all said and done, the entire team of artists enjoyed the night and we all left the venue with good vibes as the next stop would be the traditional late night meal. But, not before I turned into a man-fan and asked 9th to sign my Jay-Z “The Black Album” CD insert booklet, right on the “Threat” page. Sweeeeet! As soon as I tag the pic, I will decide if I want to post it or not. lol
Day 5 – Sun Sept 20th: Wow. 5 days of madness was almost over at this point, but I can definitely admit that my body was tired and although I was looking forward to all the artists that took the stage that day, I was also anticipating the end of it all when I could just sleep!
In terms of Canadian artists, I want to big up Solitair for putting on an amazing show, which included Ro Dolla for a guest appearance during “Easy 2 Slip”. That was definitely the highlight & surprise of all the local artists, hearing that song just made me remember how dope it was and it gave me a new appreciation for it. Tona & Lyve were really ill as well, they are one of the few cats that are staying true to that “Boom Bap” style of Hip Hop music and you can’t be mad at that! Ayah & Saukrates as special guests doesn’t hurt either! Colin Munroe is a really talented dude, but I was somewhat disappointed that the majority of his set (all but 1 song) were rock/grunge sounding tracks. Is that what his mixtape sounds like?! I dunno, but closing his set with “Flashing Lights” was incredible, that is definitely my favourite C. Munroe track and it’s not even his song technically! I kinda wished he performed “Piano Lessons”, but oh well, maybe next time! Saidah Baba Talibah had a live band backing her and although I felt that her set dragged a little bit, I definitely want to commend her for a great selection of music and her voice is really strong. I can see a lot of people who haven’t heard of her, turning into fans after this performance, her stage presence was great, voice stood out and the energy of her crew was dope!
Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek aka Reflection Eternal were the headliners and they really killed it! Our True School homies, 9th Wonder and Jay Clipp, took the stage to introduce the closing act as all of our anticipating and waiting had finally paid off. With Jeru quietly taking pictures near the side of the stage, Kweli & Hi-Tek took the stage to perform songs off their critically acclaimed “Train of Thought” LP, as well as new material and various Kweli solo joints. “The Blast”, “Round & Round”, “Get By”, “Eternalists” and “Down For The Count” were definitely the standout tracks for me! This was my 2nd time seeing Kweli live and he did not disappoint this time around either.
Overall, year 3 of Manifesto was amazing for me and I know there are many others that feel the same way.
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