Road to Paid Dues: San Francisco

A week after the A-1 show that was straight madness, I happened to find myself, once again, at Slim's. This time it was for Murs' “Road to Paid Dues” tour, which showcases some of the talent that is to perform &/or host during Paid Dues. As my friend & I were waiting outside in line, we observe as fans are talking to & taking photos with Prof & Murs. I didn't know who Prof was at that moment, & I was kind of too shy to bother Murs. Both were dope, Murs was outside hanging out like a normal ass person, which is something I highly respect.

People are slowly coming in, starting off with a small audience. Then the overhead projector went up, & as the show was starting, more & more people started coming in. First Act: Black Cloud Music!!

  

During the first song, my friend & I were just mesmerized! We are big Curtiss King fans, having only seen him on YouTube videos & communicating with him through social media. It was so odd having him right there in front of us, but it was great, because as a performer, he did not disappoint. None of the Black Cloud crew did, they did the damn thang. My friend & I were so happy when Curtiss busted out with “Ratchets Still Jocking.”

Performances by Faimkills, Noa James, Curtiss King, David May, & Phantom Thrett kept the audience going as DJ Kid Disko kicked the beats.

Noa James is on the spotlight & reveals to us that he has accomplished a 200 lb. weight loss goal for living healthier. Very big props to the man. 

 

After that, he blessed the mic with this inspiring track.

After asking the ladies to make their ass clap for some lyricism, the crowd was engergized. And out with a crazy entrance, we were introduced to Prof!

 

It was as if gas bombs were thrown at unprepared masses. BOOM! We were attacked by an intense energy we weren't ready for, but quickly got adapted to!

Crazy antic after crazy antic, he kept the energy high. He then asked if there were any people who had never heard of this Minnesota boy; I was one of many who raised their hand. He made many, many new fans that night. He then announced that Ant of Atmopshere was in the house! After that, he blessed up with a blues track (about whisky & women) he did, which was produced by Ant.

Prof then decides to get the know the audience a little better. He picks out a little lady by the name of Latifa & serenades her to the intro of R.Kelly's “Bump n' Grind” lol.

 

After all those shenanigans were done with, Prof ends his set with much love & success.

Next up was little Santiago aka Fashawn.

he definitely helped the audience mellow down from all the hyper energy. He brought Cali reality to the stage with his music.

 

I got so happy when I heard the intro to “Life as a Shorty” :-) one of my Fashawn favorites.

He ended his set with a slow bang, leaving the stage to Murs.

Murs is so unapologetically himself onstage, I love it!

He runs up & down the stage, left & right, does air splits alla David Lee Roth...the man just has a magnificent stage presence. After a few songs, he slowed things down for a little ghetto poetry time...

Such a dope tribute the the Nate D-O- double G! REGULATOOOORS!

Soon after, he took us on a road trip.

Props to the lighting engineer for the perfect use of flashing red & blue stage lights.

Murs just kept performing classic after classic, it was nuts! He had the crowd going wild as they were singing along (& since Ant of Atmosphere was in the audience, he even did some Felt material!!).

After all that, Murs announced that for the moment he wanted to step away from rap & do a little bit of the dance music thing for a moment. Electronic dance music spewed out of the speakers, then madness hit the stage!

The opening acts, DJs, &nsome of the road crew members all hit the stage & had a mini dance party up there for a good 3 minutes. Noa James was weeeerkin it though! Major props.

Murs then got back to serious mode & brought Fashawn out.

 

Those two are dynamic duo, the vibe is so great.

   

They were making me feel like I was in L.A., doing the cholo lean & doing the “Uncle Snoop” dance, it was great. They even went back & did something a little classic, something that kids who grew up on gangsta rap could definitely relate to.

And just like that, the show was over. Murs' set felt so short, but it was enjoyable. Honestly, out of all the Paid Dues, Rock the Bells, & Smokeout Fest shows I've been to, I only got to check Murs do his thing during Smokeout Fest '11 when he hit the stage with the Living Legends; I was highly impressed. Even as a solo act, the man is very impressive.

Soon after, my friend & I got to meet Curtiss King & his lovely & wonderful girlfriend LaMesha; they are hands down one of my favorite couples that I have met.

Noa James had my friend & I crack up, telling us that Murs has fake legs, which he takes off when he's not touring haha! And that Murs is known as Lieutenant Dan. You could tell there was a friendly capping rivalry between the two.

The night was nearing to an end, but I couldn't leave without thanking Murs for making Paid Dues what it is. I even got to meet Fashawn.

Frisco Party: A-1, Dregs One, Nate, & Sayknowledge

Frisco party: That was the official theme of the night. Slim's was surrounded mainly by the SF locals, & other Bay Area residers that were there to support one (if not all) of the acts that were to hit the stage. It started off slow with a small crowd. Up first was Sayknowledge.

I wish I would've looked his music up before the show, I personally couldn't get too into the performance because I wasn't too familiar with his material. Also, the sound at Slim's wasn't the greatest that night, so it wasn't the easiest to understand what he was saying, & from what I read, Sayknowledge “lyrically highbrow.” He did have a posse onstage to bring up the energy, which always helps. Sayknowledge did his thing.

Up next was Nate!

 

 

I am a fan of Nate's, & he has solid material. When I saw him at his first headlining show at Brick & Mortar, I was highly impressed & was looking forward to his performance. He went on, & as always, accompanied by The Kid Rated R & Ms. Rebecca the voice. He didn't have his band like he did at the Brick & Mortar show, but he still put the audience in awe.

 

 

He had everyone singing along during “COTC” parts 1 & 2, kept it going with “Blessing & A Beauty.”

 

Then he brought out Fego & you knew it was on. There's always a party when it's time to do “Them Days.” It was NUTS!

 

 

 

Nate had the audience ready for Dregs One to hit the stage.

 

 

He has the audience yelling for A-1, keeping the momentum going. He started off hard, his boys dancing on the stage as Dregs took off his glasses & threw his hat into the audience. He then got into a song with a nice little beat with a Doug sample.

 

 

Dreg's time frame was a bit short, but the audience was READY, A-1 was in demand!

 

 

Every. Single. Person. Knew the words to “Double Dose”! And let me tell you, the ladies were  yearning to get their hands on Adam.

 

 

He started the show off on a party mode. He brings out Davin Gruesome, who apparently was feeling “sick,” so as compensation, he brought his nephew Darvin to party with us.

 

 

A-1 then gets into some “Hey Now.”

 

 

Just when you thought things couldn't get any more hyphy, we get thrown with some “Winning”!!

 

 

Such a dope, energy filled performance, he had the audience going NUTS!

 

 

(this is like “Where's Waldo,” where's A-1? Lol)

 

After that, it was time for his to slow things down. He brought out the lovely Xiomara to help him out with “Retinas.”

 

 

Next he brought out his boy Ryan Maxwell, which A-1 revealed that the first rap group he was in was one he formed along with Ryan. They hit us with some “Rewind.”
 

After that, A-1 was trying to persuade the ladies to show Ryan some love, informing them on his single status. But then A-1 busted a LL Cool J on MTV Unplugged & took his shirt off, claiming, “this isn't for y'all, it's just hot as fuck up here” lol.

The show then switch to a lightweight revolutionary, real-thinkers type tip. Backed by his band, he was bringing the spirit to Slim's. He then brought all the opening acts out & dedicated the show to the young Frisco talents on the rise.

After that, the show was over, but the party wasn't. The DJ started playing songs from the middle school days & had all of us hyped up. Even I was caught up in the party spirit, dancing as if no one was watching. It was a great & amazing night. Had a quick chat with A-1, giving him is props & letting him know that the girl from the Los Rakas show who told him he was whack was straight TRIPPIN'!

 

The show was a success & definitely one of the funnest I've been to.