I’ve been in Jackson for almost 4 months now, and last night was really the first Hip-Hop show I have attended. Considering it has ruled my life for the past 10 years or so this is quite odd for me. It was hard to resist seeing J-Live so much to Young Venom (Pronounced Ve-Nom, think Phenom but with a V), Cornbread and Earl’s dismay I decided I’d stop procrastinating and get my butt down to Suite 106. Considering it’s like 8 minutes from my house I’m a complete jerk for not going before now. I’m probably a complete jerk for going, who knows. To be honest, I was not at all sure what to expect from the evening. J-Live I’ve seen years ago in Boulder and he was really dope, so I knew that part would be good, but everything else was a crap shoot for me. Venom told me that Skipp Coon and Coke Bumaye, the 2 opening acts were two of Jackson’s brightest stars in the Hip-Hop game. With that being said, I knew this was potentially going to be the tipping point for what I wanted to do with my free time here in Mississippi. Would I get myself involved in another scene or become a full time hermit? Well, here goes

The event was hosted by another emcee that Venom, my ambassador to Jackson, has been telling me about Py Infamous. Can I just say he goes in, if you don’t believe me check out his site PyInfamous Dot Com. You’ll want to look for the Exhibit C Freestyle he has up there. I’ll included it at the bottom of the page too just in case you non-interwebs using people need help.

Next up was Coke Bumaye, an emcee who was described by Py Infamous, as merging the streets with real Hip Hop. For me, this is almost always the death blow for an artist. I’m not a fan of that tag, because Hip-Hop was started in the streets. So I figure to be a dope emcee you should be able to combine your elements with real lyrics. Well this time, it couldn’t have been a more dead on description. The rhymes were dope, the delivery was fresh and the lyrics were on point with more than enough street edge to hold the attention of the average C-Bo fan….ok google that name…..I’ll wait…..welcome back…did you like what you heard? Feel better about things now? Want to smack your mama? You should that’s the effect C-Bo has on 98.65% of America. Anyway, back to Coke Bumaye, If you’re familiar with Will Smith’s Muhammad Ali character, you might remember Bumaye means “Kill Them” in Congoles…..his set did just that, it set the tone for the entire evening for me. Grabbing my attention and holding it until I left for the crib some 2 hours later. I highly suggest you head over to his Band Camp page and pick up Translation 2 and then download everything else you can get your hands on.

Skipp Coon………in a night full of great performances this was the pinnacle for me. Maybe it was the fact he opened his set with “Winter In America” by Gil Scott-Heron or that he followed that up with Goodie Mob’s “Free” off the Soul Food record. As far as I’m concerned he could have ended his set right there and got an A from me. Messed up I know but who are you to judge me? I like what I like, and there isn’t anything you can do about it. Skipp’s set was filled with a well rounded showcase of skills from wordsmanship to song writing to stage presence. His set is heartfelt, Skipp screams almost like the lyrics have brought him to the edge of tears. It make every word that much more genuine and that much more powerful. If you don’t believe me head over to his Band Camp Page and take a listen to his project with Mister Nick Sophomore Slump : Volume 1 – Independents Day. Leave some money and fill your Ipod with some good stuff…..

And just when you thought it was time for some J-Live, we got a couple surprise guests. Oddy Gato, who I hadn’t heard anything from before aside from a couple J-Live collaborations but best believe I’m doing my home work. His set was fun and the punchlines were hilarious.

After Oddy, was another up and coming rapper YC The Cynic. YC recently dropped projected called Fall Forward you might have heard about it and if not click here and pick it up. If you need a taste of what you;ll be getting check out the track “Suicide” with Homeboy Sandman and Niles below.

Finally, J-Live takes the stage and like expected rips his set from beginning to end. The highlight of the show is when, with the help of Human Mic Stand, DJ Trumastr, J-Live steps behind the wheels and showcases his DJ skills as well as dropping lyrical darts. Definitely an awesome show, shout out to Garrad, Venom, my partner in crime, Kyanna and everyone else who came out and support a REAL hip-hop event. You made an impression on me last night and I’m looking forward to getting involved with the Hip Hop scene hear in Mississippi and doing whatever it is I’m here to do. I got some plans in mind and once I launch them the world’s gonna take notice…….. I apologize in advance for not being some sort of writer and I’m sure this thing jumps around like crazy and at some points makes no sense……I promise not to write like this often…..until the next time when I discuss the Hip Hop Hippies vs Hipsters……I’m going to lose friends, I promise….

BTW http://www.KEYB2LOCK.com coming really soon…..you’ve been warned….

DOWNLOAD : PY INFAMOUS – EXHIBIT C FREESTYLE

DOWNLOAD : COKE BUMAYE – POWER FREESTYLE

DOWNLOAD : YC THE CYNIC – SUICIDE [FEAT HOMEBOY SANDMAN & NILES]

RETRACTIONS – DJ Young Venom would like it to be known that his name is actually Young Venom, like the Marvel character. He would also like to be known as Phillip Michael Thomas from this day forward.