Thursday, June 30, 2011

Heineken GOOD Music Volume 2 @ Santos Party House, June 28, 2011




Sometimes I even amaze myself. The funny thing about this particular show is I’m not exactly sure when I signed up for it, and I definitely didn’t remember at the time so it came as a surprise that I had to cancel a couple things I was going to do that night and do this Heineken GOOD Music show instead. I’m thinking now that the way I got tickets was by voting for someone to win the Heineken VIP passes to a show in their particular area. When you vote, you’re entered for a chance to win passes to the upcoming show. I wasn’t really expecting to win so I voted, filled it out, and didn’t really think about it until I received notice that not only did I gain access, that the show was to be held at Santos Party House, a place I was at less than a week prior for Ray-Ban’s Never Hide show. Not the mention the fact that they even gave me a +1, something I definitely didn’t have for the Heineken Kanye show in Brooklyn. Cool! So I called up my boy and we headed down.

Heineken had like 5 people checking people in, and by the time I got there, there was a pretty long line (not as long as the Ray-Ban event though) but I didn’t sweat it because this was a private event where you could really only win tickets, so I knew they wouldn’t overbook it.  I took a sample of people this time around and everyone I spoke to said they won tickets, which is a bit different from the Kanye event where basically everyone was a friend of someone working the event. I checked in and walked right in. they had the green lights up and on, meaning the Heineken was flowing all night. This show was scheduled to start and 7pm and be done by 11pm. It was a much smaller show than the Kanye one, with only two GOOD Music artists scheduled to perform: Pusha T and Cyhi da Prynce.

DJ Camilo was on the tables mixing things up getting people in the party mood but I didn’t really think he could mix that well, or atleast not that night! He was playing some decent tracks but all the best songs he was playing he would cut off before they start so he could play some stupid Rick Ross song or something. It was really annoying at times but I guess not the worst DJ performance I’ve experienced. He was just OK for me.

The first artist to appear was Cyhi da Prynce when it was finally showtime. Now I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the following: he’s probably the most lyrical rapper to come out of the south since T.I., with Yelawolf I would say. This guy is a lyrical genius, with nothing but upside. I didn’t really get to give him a chance at the Kanye show because I didn’t now any of his songs and the crappy acoustics made it difficult for me to hear anything anyway. Santos has great sound, and despite the fact that there were some technical problems with the DJ Camilo set all the artists performing went off without a hitch. As you can guess Cyhi did his verse from “So Appalled,” but also some tracks I was very new to. He did a track called “Bulletproof,” which features fellow downsouth lyricist Yelawolf.

He has his own rap version of “Cold As Ice,” originally done by the band Foreigner but has been sampled before by M.O.P. He did his big track  “Emotional,” “Woopty Doo,” and even managed to fit in an acapella version of his verse in the song “Thousand Pounds,” which features rapper Pill and fellow GOOD Music member Pusha T. This guys is really talented and I’m starting to like where I see rap music is going as of late. Thereis been an influx of guys trying to break into the business that actually have talent, and lyrical prowess. It’s a nice and welcomed changed.

After Cyhi exited there was a quick DJ set from Pusha’s DJ, who started playing a Pusha track and he immediately bumrushed the stage and began performing, along with his hypeman. If you’ve been reading my blog then you would know that this is the third time I’ve seen him in less than a month! You’d think I would be tired of him and you know I would be forced to agree with you if it was somebody else. I’m really becoming a Pusha fan though. This guy has (cocaine) lyrics for days, and all of his songs have really awesome beats and basslines. “Open Your Eyes,” featuring a sample from “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, is a song I could listen to on repeat all day. But it’s not just his songs I like, this guy is an awesome performer. It seems like he has the things in place to become a true star in this business, and I’d love to see this happen for the Pusha. I’m really enjoying what Kanye is doing with the GOOD Music label and linking up with Heineken was pure genius. It’s a great way for him to showcase his new talent and for them to show different audiences their work. They had a show last night in Philly and tonight they will be rocking Washington, DC. If you’re in the area and you got some tickets this is a not miss show, but if you’re in NYC lookout for August because Heineken will be having yet ANOTHER show. Who knows who this could be….?

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