I had seen him do his thang thang at Paid Dues in San Bernardino, but I didn’t have a fulfilled concert expercience…crowd was kind of whack. This was my chance to make up for that.
Got there around 6:30; I was first in line. I’m only 4’11”
and if I don’t get to shows early, I won’t have a good view & won’t get my
money’s worth. We were standing outside for HELLA long & it was starting to
get really cold. The people in line were getting restless and had high hopes
that the show would start ASAP. We finally got in around 8:30 (even though the
website said it was to start at 7:30). Half hour wait & first act came up!!
First act was a duo + their DJ named the Brothers Amor, straight out of Oakland. 
I really dug their mellow, old skools early 90s hip hop
feel. First two songs they performed had a Pharcyde feel to them. Being the
first act is tough, but the audience responded pretty well. They were well received
& had flow for sure. Good lyrics as well.
After the Brother Amor was a rap group that go by the name of Swim Team, who came through from L.A.
When I heard that name, I turned to my
sister & said, “OMG! They were at Paid Dues [2011] when we went!!” I wanted
to see them, too, cuz from what the FaceBook Paid Dues site posted on them, I
really liked. I didn’t get to see them, but fortunately I got to make up for
the missed opportunity. They had maaad energy!! They knew know to hype up the
crowd with their blue light bulb lamp, their videographer’s Stacy Adams, &
yellow Nintendo 64 control LOL!! I loved them. LOVED them. The way that I fell
in love with Overdoz when I saw them this year at Paid Dues; the two groups actually
have a very similar vibe & musical style, too. They definitely had the
audience set for Ab-Soul.
(Rglnd's crew's dope kicks)
With the immense energy that the Swim Team brought, who knew that a little dude by the name of Rglnd (pronounced Ragland) could top them? Well this Oakland rapper did just that. He shitted on all the previous acts like HE was the main act. Every single person in that audience felt what he was bringing. Take a look for yourself:
With the immense energy that the Swim Team brought, who knew that a little dude by the name of Rglnd (pronounced Ragland) could top them? Well this Oakland rapper did just that. He shitted on all the previous acts like HE was the main act. Every single person in that audience felt what he was bringing. Take a look for yourself:
THEEEEN Rglnd brought out Duckworth. MAN! They performed “Hoverboard” and it was just INSANE! Mad, mad energy.
Rglnd. Definitely worth keeping an eye out on. I for sho became a fan that
night.
With that said…Shark Sinatra
This guy. I’m sorry, but after Brothers Amor, Swim Team, & Rglnd, Shark Sinatra was just not up to par. Someone made the announcement saying he was from San Jose, & he just kept saying, “I fucks with San Jose, but I ain’t from there. My name is Shark Sinatra cuz I’m Samoan & Italian.”
He put more effort on making his claims
than on his performance. He would do a half assed rap & then be like, “ayte,
change the beat. Next track.” He wasn’t feeling what he was doing, & in
return, neither was the audience. I was trying to get a vibe off of what he was
saying, but if he wasn’t feeling it, then I wasn’t either. We the audience gave
him the chance because the previous acts brought it & we hoped Shark would
too, but after a while, we grew restless & were over his performance. Don’t
act too cool for school, it always backfires. Towards the end when he realized
he was losing the audience, he did a nice flow, but by then it was too late…everyone
was talking over him & unfortunately, not lending their ears.
Waiting, waiting, waiting, we get the announcement that Ab-Soul
would be coming through the audience. The word was delivered; he came through the
audience & performed Real Thinkers & Soulo Ho3:
Song after song, everyone was just full of energy. But MAN!
Once Terrorist Threats hit, place went BANANAS:
he was going so hard, his shoes kept getting untied LoL. Soulo kept asking me to tie his shoes, so I was pretty much the official shoe tier if the night.
I was hoping Soul would do "Book of Soul" to have that emotional moment. At one point, I thought he was. We had a moment of silence for Alori Joh. He performend Illuminate.
Soon after the mood lightened, Soul kept the energy going.
At one point, he lightened the mood at my expense. He was talking about how he has many nick names, the audience yelling out, "BLACK LIP BASTAAAARD!!" He started saying, "You know, these blogs talk a lot of shit, saying I'm ashy & that my lips are crusty. You, you right there...touch my lips." Soul was in my face asking me to touch his lips LOL!! I gentley padded them for 2 seconds. He was like, "No, it's okay, you can touch them a little more. Get a good feel." I press my fingers for a bit longer on his lips, & he asks me, "How do they feel?" I was puzzled & responded softly, "Sss...Soft.""Wait, say it louder, what did you say?" "They feel soft." "There you go, they feel soft. No more shit talking." With that, he broke into "Black Lip Bastard". Let me tell you...Ab-Soul definitely takes care of his lips & gets his Carmex diiid. They felt like soft, fleshy clouds. Safe to say they were softer than mine, & I take good care of mine LoL.
Somewhere in there, Soul performed "Gone Insane," testing to see who had been the long time Soul fans. I knew the words, and at one point he points at my camear & raps the line, "she's such a doll, does that make me Chucky?" LoL.
it seems as a bit of flirtation was going on, but I didn't fully realize it until the day after. Doesn't matter, I got love & respect for Soul, though.
Out of nowhere, Soul started talking about how he was getting interviewed in New York & how the interviewer got him on some local Bay Area rappers named the Jealous Guys. I yell out, AYINDE & CASAAAA!!" and soon after yelling that, THEY HIT THE FUCKIN' STAGE!!
Me & my sister had our JAWS dropped on the floor. She had been bumpin' "Love & Other Drugs" like crazy, & there they were! They performed "Brainwashed by London" & Soul was hella into it; he was vibing off me & my sis cuz we knew the words & were going crazy with excitement. It was pretty damn amazing.
The night was coming to an end, and Soul ended the night with some"Pineal Gland":
I was a little sad he didn't do Moscato, that is my JAAAAM! Just love that intro line, "She a mean giiirl, I'm a nice guy!" Regardless, I got way more than my money's worth. Usually opening acts are a drag, but everyone was so damn good!! I mean Shark Sinatra needed some help, but he wasn't bad, he just needs to be more open & down with his audience.
With that said, I CANNOT wait to see the whole BlackHippy crew at Rock the Bells in August!! Keep an eye (or three) out for that.
Shark Sinatra Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/shark_sinatra
The Jealous Guys Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/THEJEALOUSGUYS
https://twitter.com/#!/shark_sinatra
The Jealous Guys Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/THEJEALOUSGUYS
