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.