Show: Fresh Fest
Date: September 24, 2011
Venue: Nokia Theater
City: Los Angeles, CA
Fresh Fest
Photos by Nicolas Bates
Written by Katie J. Norris
The highly anticipated Fresh Fest show at Nokia Theater sold out (7,200 tickets) two weeks before the event, advertising a lineup of radio station 93.5 KDAY’s rap artists. After opening act, local rapper, Julio G, and 2nd II None, Young Buck took the stage. He definitely hyped up the audience, well, more like ordered them to get up “out their fuckin’ seats.” But hey, it worked. After opening with a recognizable song, he pronounced much love for Pac and slid into another gear, rapping out a tribute and inviting the crowd to “put those 2’s in the air!” For some of his time on stage, Young Buck performed a few of his radio-played tunes, but took a lot of artistic liberties rapping a cappella for a good portion of his set. With his black shirt, black hat, dark sunglasses, and monogrammed necklace, Young Buck seemed almost like an overly confident, tortured artist doing an aggressive poetry slam, barking theatrical rhymes into the mic, more than a typical, mainstream rapper. But it mixed things up, and the rapid-fire, fresh lyrics kept the audience listening
WC (Dub C) was next to grace the stage. He had select guest artists come up and share a few tracks with him throughout. Collectively, they kept it going from introduction to farewell. His posse was the first of the night to completely “decorate the stage” with their bodies. As distracting as it can sometimes be for this element of a rappers’ performance, their head bobs were in an accidentally tight unison, which seemed to encourage the audience to move to the beat as well. WC kept the dj hard at work spinnin’ the tracks while he struck his songs one after the other, occasionally coming up for air. Overall, it felt well rehearsed and didn’t feel rushed or unorganized.
Twista. This is an artist with a strong career who has developed into an incredibly professional performer. Taking the stage with a talented hype/co-rapper, Twista damn near snuck up on stage. As soon as he took the mic, he spit-fired his recognizable, speedy lyrics and rocked it! No half-drunk stage groupies for this guy. His set was smooth and classy. It had an air of confidence and effortlessness that came from a practiced-with-love choreographed stage movement. This was the kind of set that earned respect without asking. He had the dj prime some of his older hits and definitely hit us with some new lyrics, articulate as ever. It was impossible not to get in to this set.
Next to take the stage was Mack 10. This was entertainment in a completely opposite way. His groupies staggered on stage in large clumps all dressed in red and white with 40’s of beer or red solo cups in their hands. Mack 10 and his guest artist were the only two taking anything remotely seriously. And even that was a difficult task with the scene taking place right behind them. He rapped on his tracks as solid as ever, and the crowd was in to it, dancing right along. Yet his set seemed to be a tug-of-war between the enjoyment of music and the live version of some reality-show distraction unfolding two feet behind him.
After Mack 10 came something completely different. E-40. Contrary to the previous artist, E-40 was composed, focused and came off more mature overall. There wasn’t an air of arrogance or a gang of task-less stagehands. This guy was all about the music. He called on the dj to intro some older hits, pulling out some favorites from way back. The audience responded with a huge spike in volume. He blended the past with the current and mixed in some newer tracks. It was an enjoyable set that provided a feeling of satisfaction all around.
Headliner, The Game (now officially “Game”), finally took the stage after a long wait. This was something else. Game had an actual band—all very young-looking musicians filling out the dj-played beats or solely creating them right then and there. This, of course, gave the audience a whole new experience and a real sense of fulfillment making it well worth the wait that was imposed on the audience before the set. Each band member stood out in their own way, in clothing and in playing mannerisms. The only thing uniform was their perfectly choreographed, simple, head movement. They looked tight! Game started out center stage with high energy. It seems a passionate performance had unfolded. Yet, he kept bringing it up to even higher levels, surprising the audience at every step. His beats were fantastically well rounded and his selections of guest artists were all just as talented. Despite the amazing level that each individual brought to the stage, no one overshadowed Game, however. It was professional and appealing to watch, and smooth and energetic to listen to. And, of course, it didn’t hurt his audience appreciation that he kept removing another piece of clothing every two or three songs either. Well, maybe his female audience appreciation, anyway.