Paid in Full 3: the Hella Fresh Fest

Thats right yall, back again for the love of Bay Hip Hop...came Paid in Full 3, the Hella Fresh Fest! First of all, we'd like to thank all the fans, heads, and supporters that came thru to kick it with the family. Yall made it another memorable year, helping us to sell out the legendary Fillmore! Much love for being present and being in the house. The idea behind the Paid in Full festival is to showcase the diverse talent in the Bay, and to give new crews the opportunity to rock large crowds.
This year was alittle different, in that we had two shows instead of one. The first show jumped off on November 10th at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. From the gate, we were up against some adversity because of the persistent drone of rain throughout the night. But, the fans prevailed, packing the house regardless of the sloppy weather outside. Berkeley natives, The Cataracs started off the show to a luke warm reception. It seemed that the weather did have some effect on the restless crowd. Next up were Ashkon and Sayre, a local Santa Cruz clique that held it down with multisyllabic flows and wordplay. San Jose rep Traxamillion then got on and jump started the party with symphonic beats, and a ruckus of stage show. Triple Threat DJ's educated the young crowd with varied hits which stretched throughout hip hop's diaspora. At the highpoint of their turntable wizardry, they were joined by Kafani, and Jern Eye who rallied behind the trio with verses from "Fast" and "Burnin'". To round it out, we hit the stage to an eager, but obviously fatigued audience. They rocked with us, but the constant rain had taken its toll on the overall hype of the night. The show was dope, just alittle bit soggy.
The next night would return to the original birthplace of the festival, the historic Fillmore in San Francisco. From the jump I could tell that the energy was different than the previous night. People seemed lighter on their toes, quicker to smile and breeze forward. Nice. I immediately noticed how young and enthusiastic the folks filling in the floor were. Once again the Cataracs set off the evening's ritual. This time however, their offbeat antics excited the crowd. The best part was when they pulled out two fake spliffs the size of baseball bats and started smoking onstage. What was even funnier was the way the throng of people clawed at the sinking bat as it was gobbled by their hands.
The Bayliens would come next, dropping heat despite technical difficulties. Z Man stormed the stage with his quirky bop and "eeerrrrrreeeeeeyys" intact. A foggy cloud of haze rose above the dimly lit club, the night was just beginning. Traxamillion came in clean, once again with his barrage of slaptastic production. San Quinn, Big Rich, and the Jacka bolstered his already solid stage presence. After this performance, the bar was surely set for the rest of the night. Go hard or go home.
Triple Threat DJ's came thru with some suprises of their own. Once again they brought out Kafani, and Jern Eye, but when special guest Mistah Fab hit the stage with "New Oakland", the crowd went nuts. Clyde Carson backed by Mayne Mannish got busy with his signature brand of radio slumps. I saw a gang of jaws moving in unison as he slid thru his arsenal.
Finally, Zion I shut it down with a multimedia show! It was our first time incorporating visuals synched to the show, and it was ill. The visuals definitely add depth and perspective to the presentation. My favorite parts were: 1. when we dropped into the Heroes set, and Grouch came out, 2. watchin' the crowd go dummy to "Lose Ya Head", 3. Amp's freestyle, mixing into C Holiday and Joy's improvisations.
All in all, it was a truly great night for Hip Hop. One more shout out to all those who helped to make it happen: Live Up Records Staff (thank you!), Cleezy's production class at SFSU, all the artists, Aebl Dee for the tables, OnPoint Productions for the visuals, Myx TV, Traxxpad, and all the fans!!! One love for coming, and see yall next year at "the Hella Fresh Fest"!

Zion I & Redman: Live from Hamburg, Germany

As I write this, bear in mind that I'm off of about 6 hours of sleep for the last 72 hours. Its been a long night to say the least. In fact, its been an extended past 3 days. Here, let me back up and explain.
It all started off on Halloween in Calgary, Canada. It was a brisk night on the windy plains of the oil rich city. Lean towers of glass and metal leaned to and fro as we weaved thru the streets. An anxious crowd awaited us as we pulled up to the spot. It seemed that the two opening groups had neglected to show up...which resulted in a listless crowd at best. We ( Zion I & the Grouch) rumbled to the stage and shook the dusky cavern to life. By the time we arrived back to the hotel it was 4 AM.
At 9 AM we were rolling back to the airport to fly out to Zurich, Switzerland. After layovers in Montreal, and London it felt like I'd slipped into a wormhole. We left on Thursday afternoon and arrived Friday afternoon. Reflecting on the cranky nature of the turbulence and the plastic seating of the plane, I began to think that there was a conspiracy against my much harassed sleeping patterns.
At the Zurich show, we rocked with a plethora of indie stalwarts. In in the house were OC, Eternia, Reef the Lost Cauze, and Illpoetic, amongst others. The youthful crowd, persuaded by the rivers of beer spilling on the floor, bounced and rocked thru the night. I even met a kid who threw up the thizz sign, and requested a set in honor of Mac Dre. In Switzerland though!! Life is a trip. This time we didn't even get to go to sleep. After the show, I went to the hotel, showered, and hopped in a car stuffed with baggage. As we headed to the airport I looked at the time, 4:30 AM. This is becoming a trend. The wackest thing about it was that we had to drive an hour outside of Zurich, to Basel to catch our flight.
We landed in Hamburg, Germany at 9 AM. As soon as I got to the hotel, I fell out and stayed asleep till 5 PM. By 5:30 we were already gliding to soundcheck. We hit the stage at 10. Coming out thru the haze of artificial smoke and lack of ventilation, we gazed out into the sea of eager heads. Yeah, this shit looked dope. There must of been over 1,000 people crammed into the large hollow of a room. All those expectant faces must have done something, because we gathered strength from the ethers and pushed past exhaustion.
Let me not forget to mention that it was hot in the club. I mean, so extreme that both Deuce and I had bouts with lightheadedness from goin just alil too hard. Yet in still, the enthusiastic crowd roared with approval. Hands swayed and faces reeled as we shocked with every ounce of energy in the tanks. It was easily one of the illest shows we've done in Europe. Germany is one of those places that truly appreciates hip hop as an art. Here, the game is not so saturated, the culture is not sold to you with a side order of fries. It is at once more innocent, and less affected.
After we finished, Redman came through and left the spot obliterated. He bounced thru classic after classic proclaiming between songs "Remember when Hip Hop was good??!?" The audience screamed back, in an attempt to rekindle the fires that first sparked Kool Herc and Bambataa.
In the immortal words of R Kelly, "after the show is the after party." Indeed it twas. A rich assortment of ethnicities grooved inside of the club, right across the street on the world famous Reeperbahn. This spot is any party animals dream, as it is known as the red light district of Germany. Strip clubs, sex shops, and ho houses clutter the lenghty blocks which comprise the area. On this night, it was a veritable free for all as young folks, drank and smoked their way into oblivion in the chill night air.
Inside the spot, Africans, Turks, Arabs, Germans, and Asians bounced to the rugged beats pumping out of the system. I couldn't help but smile at the fact this was nothing like the Germany I had ever imagined. I could have been in LA, or NY by the feel of the club. The only difference was that the dancing mass thrilled in "tru skool" beats just as much as Soljah Boy's "Superman". There was even a point at which the dancefloor broke out in a prolonged scuffle of bottle throwing and cursing. I must admit, it was entertaining.
Once again, at around 4:30 AM, we wound up back at the hotel, only to catch a cab to the airport at 5:15. No sleep till Oakland! It was a live trip in all. But, especially Hamburg. It showed me that its the same worldwide, different toilet, same shit.