Even though I was very fatigued on Wednesday I took my tired ass to SOB’s to support the homie Mickey Factz at his headlining gig. Overall it was a great night, nice crowd and nice vibe. Theophilus London was the first to perform, and I think he might just be my new favorite artist - dope! I’ve got to find out if he has Jamaican in his blood, his dancing makes me…suspicious, lol. This Charming mixtape drops today, I anticipate eargasms.
Next up was Curtains. I’m still trying to make heads or tails of this performance. I really respect Curtains as an artist (as evidenced by the thousands of posts I’ve made), but I just could not get into this performance. It’s not that it was bad or lacked fervor, it was just….confusing. There were numerous costume changes and such, but I struggled to find the common denominator among the various elements. Guys, am I artistically constipated? I could use the insight on this.
Lastly, was the XXL cover boy Mr. Factz, complete with a 4 (maybe 5) piece band. Mickey should be nicknamed the Hip Hop Elvis, his energy is INSANE! I loved his performance, he’s live! I got a little too excited during “Automatic” Sorry, to the dude behind me (I elbowed him, lol). Shouts to everyone in the house - Cudi, Esso, Wordspit, Vashtie and those I’m forgetting, haha! Good times.
Hit the jump for a few more pics courtesy of Mel D Cole at VillageSlum
Last night, I once again found myself outerborough (Brooklyn) for another Charles Hamilton event. I truly believe that Brooklyn and its girls really do love them some Sonic. The venue was beyond packed, seriously. It was like the Middle Passage up in there, but that didn’t stop people from pushing and shoving their way to the bar to get the free American Ale beer that was flowing all night. (It’s not just Black people y’all, everybody loves them some free shit in this recession, smh). When it came time for the live entertainment aka Charles, I had to stand on a chair, lol! The performance was good though, I had an awesome time.
After doing some of his most popular songs (Brooklyn Girls and Windows Media Player), he capped it off with some unreleased material and proceeded to play his pink Hello Kitty guitar aka Darling Nikki, haha! He also took the time to clear up some of the misconceptions about the whole Soulja Boy situation. With some time to kill, he invited anyone on stage to chop it up with him….I’m not kidding, lol! Anyway, go cop that new issue which features Charles Hamilton and the UK’s Little Boots (just checked her out, she’s dope too). I’m hoping DECENT footage of the performance surfaces, till then hit the jump for some pics.
“So if you want somebody’s reality, put into a perspective to help everyone’s reality, that’s me” - Charles Hamilton (November 2008).
I’m officially exhausted, but in a good way. (Get your minds out of the gutter people!) I just walked in from the Charles Hamilton Listening Party at the RedBull Space downtown. It was a great evening - lots of good people came out to celebrate a considerable achievement by Mr. Hamilton, the release of his new album NOT mixtape, The Pink Lavalamp.
First up was the premiere of Hamilton’s new video for “Brooklyn Girls.” Then, as DJ Enuff played the album, Charles gave a detailed (and I do mean detailed) description of each track. It is clear that this is a deeply personal body of work for the 21 year-old Harlem native, chronicling the trials and triumphs of a complex existence that seems almost too learned for such a young age.
It was lovely to see members of his family, particulary his mother in attendance and watched as he poured out his love and thanked her for everything. Noticeably absent was Hcho, Hamilton’s “big brother,” who we were assured was there in spirit. As for the album itself? DOPE! I loved it. If you are a CH fan, then you will love the The Pink Lavalamp, I guarantee it.
I believe I mentioned in the Goines Freestyle post that last Monday I had attended Puma’s “I AM 60″ event in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where there were performances by The Knux, Chester French and Charles Hamilton.
I’ll admit, I didn’t get a chance to stick around for The Knux’s performance, but I heard they delivered. Shouts to Dart Parker! I was there for Charles and Chester French however, and they rocked it out.
Three dope artists, one dope night. I’m happy video has finally landed so that I can share the night with my LooseNeckers. Enjoy
I just got home from All Hip Hop’s Breeding Ground Showcase at SOB’s, and I am EXHAUSTED. One word to describe this event: long! It’s not that it was a bad show. In fact, it had a wonderful line-up of promising young acts. The problem was that there were too many, and their sets were too long.
It didn’t help that it was freakin’ Antartica outside either! Those who had to wait in line were cold and agitated as the show, already 45 minutes behind schedule, got off to a sluggish start. The majority of the opening acts did what they could to peak the interests of a restless audience, but to little avail. Since there are too many artists to mention individually, I will only refer to those who delivered notable performances.
Headliners: Grafh, Joel Ortiz and Red Cafe each delivered a satisfactory set. However, my favorite act of the night was Blitz the Ambassador. Accompanied b a 4-piece band (that was amazing I might add), he gave a dynamic performance (I’m feeelin’ this artist). Then, there was who everyone really came to see, Charles Hamilton. He jumped into a lively and well-received freestyle with Craig G, and then went into his own set where he displayed his exceptional piano skills. This kid is very talented, and he’s about to grace the cover of Fader Mag. Sigh….the dopeness!
To see Charles on the keyboard and to check out the freestyle, click on the videos below. Shouts to Hcho, good lookin’ homie!
Also, check out the homie Esso doing his thing! Shouts to Tory!!!
