Sunday, July 29, 2012

Night of the Wicked in Amarillo review

  With our hopes high and our energy up Wicked Butterfly Entertainment left Friday morning from Clovis, NM headed for Albuquerque and Night of the Wicked.  Black Project, Draztik and I drove the long 4 hours getting into town around 2 pm or so.  Not being due to the venue until 8 we checked into the hotel and chilled out all afternoon.  It was nice for us all to have time to hit the pool and hot tub and just hang out. It is the first time we as a company have had to do that.  Around 7:45 pm we headed out to The Orchid Chamber for the show.

  When we arrived we met up with Dmize, who was promoting the show.  Got our hand stamps put on and then it was time for things to kick off.  Now this review will be different as I will not be going so in depth with the performances as I have in the past. 

First up was a group called HMSM or Horror Movie Style Musick.  The group was 3 people, 2 guys and 1 girl, and they were all quite young.  This was their second time on stage and it showed.  Their live vocals need a lot of work, understandable due to the limited stage time.  The show mix they had needs to have the levels mastered better.  Overall not to bad for a second show.  But their inexperience showed for sure.

The second group of the night was the Karnie Lunaticz.  For those that heard Psychopathic radios Sugar Slam's Demo Jams they won the bootleg catagory and 2 tickets to the Gathering!  Their show was good.  Great vocals, show mix was done right and their stage presense was very impressive.

Next we had Saint Ekkwall.  I do not remember anything about the set so any review of the performance would be inappropriate on my part.  I do remember during this performance the Albuquerque Police/Fire Dept decided that 10 pm was a great time to perform a fire inspection.  This delayed the show for about 30-40 min.

Native Remedies were next up.  It was a decent set but nothing really stood out as outstanding in my opinion.  Had good energy and did well.

Solo hit the stage next.  The only thing that stood out from this performance was the fact the vocals on the show mix were way too loud and the live vocals were not in time.  This made for a very distracting performance.

Loco Chaos was next.  I do not remember anything about this set either so once again I cannot give an honest review.

Next was Cryogenikstyles.  He had a style and sound similar to Eminem or Underrated.  His set was way more than the 15 min we were alloted.  I don't know if it was technical difficulties or not but the distortion on his mic was way to high.  That coupled with the fact he held the mic to close to his mouth made it really difficult to hear the lyrics he was spitting.  His flow sounded good but the lyrics I could not make out.

Draztik the Terrible was next.  He also was featured on Psychopathic radio's demo jams and he also won 2 tickets in the semi-pro catagory.  He has made it a point in recording that his show mix not have the primary vocals on it, this allows for a 100% honest performance, but can also be very painful if there is any equipment issues.  That being said, during his first track the mic kept cutting out, which had him distracted.  Between the first and second track the DJ turned the volume down and announced to the crowd that who ever brought the wireless mics the batteries were dying.  When the show mix was turned back up it was about halfway into the first verse.  This threw Draztik for a loop and he never really recovered.  With the rest of his set having mic issues the set was lost.  He lost his breath several times and really seemed off his game.

Born Wicked was up next.  Their show mix had the vocals on it still and I feel it saved the set from the same downfall Draztik had.  Kano held his mic almost all the way up to his mouth and his vocals were still very muted coming through the speakers.  Corerupt's mic was not pickeing up his vocals for most of the set but it was saved by having the show mix vocals on it.  Their second to last track was a track called "Bounce".  This song was live as hell.  It had the crowd up on their feet which hadn't really happened all night.  I personally feel that should have been the last track for their set because the one that followed brought the crowd down off that high.  All in all a great set even with the technical difficulties.

Nmaniaks hit the stage next.  This group was 2 guys and a girl as well.  One of the guys looked like he came straight off the set of jersey show (track suit and all), the other had a standard rap look and the girl was in massive heels and a nice tight outfit.  Their set was not impressive.  The girls rap skills need a lot of work.  The 2 guys tried to bring a gangster sound to the stage and to me it seemed forced and fake.  Their flow was ok but their show mix needed a lot of work on levels.

Black Projects performance started very rocky.  They chose to use a wired mic due to the issues the wireless were having.  The volume on one mic was minimal and the other was way to high.  Halfway through their first track they stopped to adjust the levels.  Once both mics were the same volume they restarted their set.  About 3/4 way through their set the levels were jacked up again.  They kept going and just traded the mic that was working back and forth.  This set was a huge step down from the previous shows I have seen.  It was however not due to their abilities but the technical issues they had to deal with.

Shovelo was next.  I did not stay for the whole set because I was in a meeting with my guys.  What I did hear didn't blow me away.

Dmize finished the night.  Unfortunately I was unable to see his set because I was giving a few people from the show a ride home at the venues request.  I was told one of the speakers stopped working during his set and they had to stop and restart his set as well.

I had really high hopes for our first trip into Albuqeurque.  Unfortunately I was really disappointed at all of the technical issues everyone had.  I hope all of us will be invited out again for a future show and hope that the tech issues will have been resolved.  I do feel all 3 groups from the West Texas area did the best they could and definitely represented for their cities!  Much love and respect to all the performers and Dmize.

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus

Thursday, July 26, 2012

We invade tomorrow night!



Yes you heard that right Tomorrow night in Albuquerque, NM the entire Wicked Butterfly crew will be performing at The Orchid Chamber!  This is New Mexico's first chance to see the full lineup all in the same night. I am talking Draztik the Terrible, Black Project Productions, and Sikone!  This show promises to be an event for the ages.

  As I said in my last blog this is not just a music event it is a bridging of the divide.  New Mexico and West Texas have a huge amount of talent to share.  This is a great chance for any underground fan in Albuquerque to check out what we have going on out here.  It is also a great chance for us to make new Homies and see what you all are doing over there.  So come on out and enjoy great music and maybe find some new stuff to jam.

  A special thanks must go out to Dmize for inviting us all out there.  If you don't know who he is click the link and check him out!

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Bridging the divide

  At the beginning of the month I signed Black Project Productions and Sikone to Wicked Butterfly Entertainment as you may know, if not check out my other posts for that news!  Anyway a few days after signing them I got a text from Dmize in Albuquerque, NM about a show he was putting on call Night of the Wicked.  He asked if Draztik the Terrible would perform at the show.  As I was answering I got another text from 806 Outlaw asking if I could get them on the show as well.  So once I asked Dmize he said it was all good and all of the artists I had could come do the show!  How does any of this apply to the title of my blog?  Well it is simple, 806 told me he had been trying to get a show in Albuquerque for about 2 years with no success.  As I asked some questions it became clear there had been issues in the past and very few Texas underground rappers had been welcomed into that city.  The war of words had prevented great music from being shared across borders.  It became a feud the likes of the Hatfield's and McCoy's.  Because of petty egos rappers had been shut out of certain markets.  So the title Bridging the divide means just that.  This show on Friday night will be all of our opportunity to leave petty differences aside and enjoy a night of music together.

  I do not care what kind of "beef" someone might have with another performer.  We should all be professionals and adhere to a thing called professional courtesy.  That means we can all be on the same show and not have to hang out or anything.  We can all perform, get some love, and then go our separate ways.  I am asking every artist on the ticket to please treat this night as a celebration of all of our accomplishments, because if we plan to make moves and put the SW on the map we all need to support one another professionally!  I can tell you as the manager of all the artists on Wicked Butterfly we are coming there to blow the roof off the place.  We will make a mark with our performances and nothing else.  We will not be there to start any problems and hope you all will do the same.  We don't have to like each other to co-exist. 

  As I have told my guys Success is the best revenge.  That simply means talk is cheap and if you succeed your enemies can't say anything.  I know we can make this show live as hell.  I know each and every artist on there puts on a show.  I know we can make it a fun night with zero issues.  This is our chance to make people see we are not all wanna be thugs and criminals.

Let's all do the right thing this weekend.

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus


Friday, July 20, 2012

Who is Sikone?

 
  Sikone aka Mickey Mangles has officially signed with Wicked Butterfly Entertainment!  Yes that is two major announcements in two days!  First Black Project Productions and now Sikone.  I have been asked on several occasions who is Sikone?  My answer is always the same; I am still trying to figure it out!

  Known by his trademark Joker style tattoos and verbal skills, Sikone quickly made a name for himself in the West Texas rap community.  In 2005 Sikone started off writing songs for his guitar.  In 2008, the Lubbock, TX legend himself, S.I.N  went out of his way to find Sikone.  He had heard from several different people Sikone could produce bad-ass freestyles in both Spanish & English.  So after listening to several of these freestyles, he asked if Sikone would do a feature for his album.  That combination hit the radio & the streets pretty damn hard.  After that S.I.N. helped Sikone put out his first mix tape "Back from the Dead Again" in 2009.  In 2010 S.I.N.’s Brother Mr. Phil came to Lubbock, TX from Austin, TX & began producing the duo.  This was the beginning of the group Tierrosos.  They dropped their first album the same year but have produced nothing since then.  Sikone was tired of being idle in music and ended up working with a group called The Jokaz in 2011. He signed with them under the alias Mickey Mangles.  The group made the decision to change their name from The Jokaz to S.M.K (Sik Made Killas). To this day it is still unclear how everyone ended up in the group.  S.M.K. really made a name for themselves in both Texas and New Mexico and will be heading out on the National Blackout tour this summer.  In July 2012 Sikone aka Mickey Mangles signed onto Wicked Butterfly Entertainment for his management needs.  Once he returns from the Blackout tour his current Sikone persona will be laid to rest.  In late 2012 we will see the reemergence of Sikone with Wicked Butterfly Entertainment and total devastation is sure to ensue.  You can be sure of one thing and one thing only; there is nothing but world domination on the horizon!

   The next year is going to be huge for Sikone, Black Project Productions, and Draztik.  Look for releases by all 3 in the next 12 months.  Also be on the lookout because these guys will be hitting the road in West Texas/New Mexico.  The next performance you can catch the entire Wicked Butterfly Crew at is "Night of the Wicked" in Albuquerque, NM on July 27, 2012.  Come by the Orchid chamber and check them out!

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus


Congratulations is needed

  This past Tuesday night on Psychopathic radio there was a show called Sugar Slams Demo Jams.  Wicked Butterfly's own Draztik the Terrible had submitted a CD of his music to the show in hopes they would play some of it on air.  He received a call Tuesday they would indeed be playing one of his tracks that night!  Little did he know it was part of a track battle.  As if that wasn't pressure enough it was entered in the Semi-Pro category!  Now for those who don't know Draztik has been writing for just over 2 years but only in the studio recording since January of this year, so this was a huge deal.  His expectations were not to high but none the less he was honored just to be on Psychopathic Radio!  His competitor was a rapper named Dirt, a rapper out of Pennsylvania who has been making music for 7 years, and who released his first CD in 2012.  Both tracks were played and the in studio crew gave their predictions, all but 2 picked Dirt to win.  But the audience around the world had different ideas and Draztik absolutely crushed Dirt!  He won the battle and in the process won himself 2 tickets to this years Gathering of the Juggalos!  So you all can look for Draztik the Terrible and his manager, me Juggalotus, at this years Gathering of the Juggalos!  How is that for huge news this week!!
  All I can say is that last year I never would have imagined doing anything in music, let alone being the manager for Draztik, Black Project Productions, and Sikone.  So congratulations is due to Draztik for his huge win on Tuesday night!  He was the first artist I agreed to manage but definitely not the only!  Much love to my entire crew for their hard work and hustle. 

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Black Project Productions

  So I have been saying for about a month or so that I had some big news for my blog, well here it is, 806 Outlaw and Narkotix otherwise known as Black Project Productions have officially signed onto Wicked Butterfly Entertainment!  That means I am now officially representing them as their manager!  For those who don't know anything about them here is a brief biography:


Black Project Productions is a rap duo based out of Amarillo, TX.  This group is made up of Randy Forester, aka 806 Outlaw, and Cecil Martinez, aka Narkotix.  Let’s take a look at where it all started and how they became the group we know and love today.

 In 2004/2005 Randy was a solo artist named Devian the Outlaw.   Cecil and their Homie Orlando were a group called Diemondaze.  As a group, the three of them entered the Underground Psychos Contest held by ICP, entering their EP, Forest of Dismembered Bodies.  They lost the contest, but that alone set them on the road which would eventually lead to bigger and better things.  Around 2006, they added Guadalupe Rios aka Corerupt and became the Underground Assassins.  They released the first UGA CD “The Next Level”.  It was an EP they produced the beats for, rapped on, mixed and mastered themselves.   In 2008, due to internal issues, the group was disbanded.  Londo Martinez, aka Kano Kiljoy, and Guadalupe dabbled in music while Cecil took a break from making music.  Randy went on to rap for a label called Thug Luv with his Homie DPG.  He was on the label until 2009 and then moved labels to All Legit Records, with two more Homies of his, DJ OD and DJ Baby E, where they started getting recognition.  Shortly after this they hooked up with Rezerect and began getting the Juggalo scene noticed in Amarillo. In 2011, once again due to internal issues, the group broke up.  Randy and Cecil split from All Legit Records and formed Black Project Productions.  They began creating original beats and rhymes.  From this, they performed at countless shows in Amarillo but rarely had a chance to grow out of the city’s borders.  In April of 2012, they were invited to perform at a show in Lubbock, TX.  This would be the beginning of great things to come.  In July 2012, they signed a deal to become the second and third members of the newly founded Wicked ButterflyEntertainment.  While this partnership is in its infant stages, the company has secured them a performance later in July in Albuquerque, NM.  This is a huge step, as most underground Texas rap groups have not been welcomed into New Mexico to perform.  Look out in the future for new projects and performances.

  So there you have it.  Keep tuned into this blog and all the Facebook and Reverb pages for any news and updates to come!  Also be on the lookout for another bio this weekend for the 4th member of Wicked Butterfly Entertainment.

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus


Friday, July 13, 2012

I guess I should apologize....

  I have heard some very good feedback about this blog I have going.  I have heard things like " bout time somebody can be completely honest bout the fucked up business thats goin on in the area" and "Props to this killaz for always speaking his mind. Whoop! Whoop!" I can tell you it is so nice to hear feedback like that.  But of course there is also the other side of the coin.  I have been told that some people are saying the "things he writes are him trying to start beef with everyone" and other statements along those lines.  So this post is in response to those who feel that way.  Here we go!

First I write the blog for me.  Am I happy other people check it out, for sure.  But first and foremost it is my way of keeping track of all the shows I go to, participate in, and help with.  This allows me as a business owner to make better decisions on who I work with in any city.  This allows me to log an artists growth as I see them perform more often.  I have several artists that I have signed to manage based on these methods of doing business.

Second, I make it a point not to call out venues, promoters, bookers, etc by name as to not drag their name through the mud.  I intentionally leave peoples names out of it because those I am referring to know who they are by the show!  If you are in that category and I have offended you I am not going to apologize, there is no need for that.  I write an honest blog based on what I see happening at the shows.  Of course I don't know how much time anyone has put into the promotion and other things but I have not seen any promo being done outside of certain social media sites.  I have also spoken with some people who have told me things in confidence which I don't include in the blog but definitely take into consideration when writing about these things.

Third is to the artists.  I have absolutely no ill will in writing a negative review of your show.  If you didn't do well take the criticism as just that.  Make changes if you want to.  Don't make changes if you don't want to.  All I can do is give my best most honest review of your performance that night.  As some may have seen then past 2 shows, I criticized 2 Skare in the Kisa show review but the show on Wed got a more favorable review based on his choice of changes.  I appreciate the fact he may have made some of those changes based on my blog.  Much respect to him for that.  And yes the artists do get named because it is their stage performance I am critiquing.  I am hoping that by giving the most honest assessment I can it will make people better.  If I give you a negative review it's not because I have beef with you, it is because I think an artist needs to hear honesty!  I critique the artists signed to my company, Wicked Butterfly Entertainment, just as hard if not harder because they are my guys.  They know it's nothing but feedback to make them better.

Lastly for every artist, promoter, booker, etc. I have absolutely no stake in your success or failure unless you have signed on for my management.  Thus I have no reason to start beef with anyone.  I am only trying to give people an accurate view of a show, album, song, whatever so people can take it and make themselves better.  If we all start to top the underground charts we all put the Southwest on the map.  If you don't want my feedback that's cool too, don't read my blog.  I will never apologize for being honest.  I will never apologize because that honesty hurts your ego.  I love each and every one of you guys out here on the grind.  I hope you can see that and give it back.  I will never "beef" online, never put your name out there, and never turn my back on the truth.

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus


Keep it Reel tour in Amarillo review

  I was so excited this week to have the opportunity to attend the Mars/Mastamind Keep it Reel Tour in Amarillo, TX.  Since the T.O.N.E-Z and Mars show back in April I have had a good working relationship with Mars.  My one reservation was how well it was being promoted and if there would be any fans that came out for the show.  Well my fears were realized when we arrived at 6 pm (when the show was supposed to be starting) and no one was there yet.  I contacted the promoter who informed me they were on the way.  Once they arrived they told me the start time had been changed to 7:00 pm.  About 6:55 pm they said they were bumping it til 7:30.  Then 8:00.  And finally 8:15 pm we started.  I had been asked to host the show which I thought was cool.  So here is how the actual performances went down!
  First on the mic was Concrete Connection and Doeh4Sho.  They did about a 15-20 min set.  Nothing to spectacular but definitely not a waste of time.  It was very hip hop and well performed.
After they were finished 2 Skare took the stage.  I was pleasantly surprised by his set due to the fact he changed the set list, removed the song I knocked him for in the last show review, and added some new original material.  He is still very raw and needs to work on his stage presence but we are all a work in progress.  Good work making it fresh.
Then we come to Wicked Butterflies Own Draztik the Terrible.  While his set did not have the same energy it did last week I think it was due to his frustration with how these shows have been promoted.  Of all things I felt motivated to hop on the mic and help him out as his hype man (yeah I wasn’t very good but for a first time with no planning or practice I didn’t expect much).  We had fun and with some work we can make a dope show happen.
The next group was a Texas Hip Hop group, can’t remember their name but they did not impress me at all.  They walked all over each other on the mic and really came across badly.  It was 4 guys and all 4 were rapping at one time a lot of the show.  They tried to sing and failed miserably.
An artist named Hollow was next.  He did well and for his last song he brought a ton of people on stage to record a video for that song.  Show was dope.
Klouded Judgement was up next.  They did a good set.  Not much to say about it other than it wasn’t horrible.
Sikmob did their set, but I was not in the building for it so I have no opinion.
Wicked Wayz went next and absolutely tore it up!  I love watching their show.  They use blacklight paint so when they get on stage you can’t see that they are painted.  Then as the show starts they hit a mix of strobe lights and blacklights.  When those are on the paint appears and makes for a very unique experience.
Now we get to some massive bullshit.  Mars was trying to get his set ready with the sound guy at the venue.  Something wasn’t working right and they had a dispute.  The sound guy was really disrespectful and Mars decided not to perform the set.  That is all I know about what happened and I cannot speculate on anything else.  The bummer was Mars didn’t perform.  But on the block next was Mastamind.
Mastamind took the stage about 11:45 pm.  This sucked because it was an all ages show til midnight and I had my 3 sons with me.  So 15 min into his set I had to leave with my family.  His show was looking very legendary as expected.
Now what I do know is that Black Project ended up having to not perform due to childcare issues as well.  This is crap.  Due to the time issues and other things I was unable once again to see Born Wicked, Sik Made Killas, or the end of the Mastamind set.
The promoter had 14 artists they wanted to perform, way too many!  The schedule was poorly planned.  There was absolutely no promotion other than a Facebook event page and a few posts on Facebook.  I hate to say it but this is the last local show I am going to do with this promoter.  They have failed 3 shows in a row to even get people in the door and all of the shows have been horribly planned and executed.  My artists are scheduled to perform at the Mini-Gathering in Sept and we will still do that show, but only because of the co-promoter for the show, Dmize.  I spoke with him yesterday and he guaranteed me it would not happen then.  I am willing to give him a chance but the other promoter, no way.
I sincerely hope anyone reading my blog appreciates my honest take on these shows.  I would love to get your feedback or suggestions for how I might improve these reviews.

MMFWCL,
Juggalotus


Sunday, July 8, 2012

Mars and Mastamind in Amarillo!

Ok this Wed July 11, 2012 we have a major show going down.  We have the following artists performing at the show:

2Skare
D-Sin
Draztik the Terrible
Mr 806, T Makk, & Dohe4shoDmize
806 Outlaw and Narkotix
Sik Made Killaz
Born Wicked
SikMob
WazteLand Warriorz
Mars
Mastamind

I have had a chance to see most of these artists on more than one occasion and I can tell you this show is worth the $10 or $15 investment!  Please come out and support not only the local artists but the headliners who are constantly on the grind.  I will be back after the show with my review of the performances!

The show is going down here:

12052 Event Center
4901 S Washington St
Amarillo, TX

Come check it out and hang out with your boy Juggalotus and all of the Wicked Butterfly Entertainment Family!

MMFWCL,

Juggalotus

Friday, July 6, 2012

Miss Kisa in Amarillo



 Last night I had an opportunity to drive to Amarillo and see Miss Kisa live in person at the event center.  Let me start off by saying the 12052 Event Center kinda caught me off guard.  For those who follow my blog you will note that the last show there was disappointing due to them not having a stage and poor lights and music production.  Well the first thing I heard last night was that they had put in a stage and hired a pro DJ for sound.  So I went in to check it out and I can say I was blown away.  The place looks incredible!  The stage is super fresh.  The sound system has been upgraded.  And overall it looks so much more like a place to host a good quality show in Amarillo.  So kudos to the team at the event center!

  Now let's get to the show itself.  First off a lot of the openers failed to show up on time if at all.  This put the Booker/promoter in a bad spot of course.  They did the best they could to fill the gaps but the show started almost 2 hours late.  The worse part as a fellow promoter and Booker was the fact that there was no audience in the show again.  We were all performers and/or families or friends of performers.  I felt really bad for them but what could I do.  And then I started to think about how I would have done things different and well lets just say the audience size is definitely proportional to the amount of effort and footwork the promoter is willing to put in.

Now for the performers themselves.  The night started off with 2 Skare.  This guy puts a lot of heart and effort into what he does but I can't help think listening to his set that he is trying to hard to fit into the Psychopathic Records mold of performance.  He directly rips off Twiztid's W.I.C.K.E.D. in a track, which I find unoriginal and predictable based on his appearance.

Next up was Wicked Butterfly Entertainments very own Draztik the Terrible.  Now in his first two performances he started off lackluster and built into a solid performance by the end.  This show was different.  He started off on fire!  He blew the first song out of the water and didn't stop.  I know a lot of people in the audience took notice due to the comments I was hearing.  He still had some issue running out of breathe but that was due to the set list and having certain tracks back to back that need to be seperated.  All in all his best show to date.

We then came to a group of people that go by the name of Concrete Connection.  It is made up of Doh4Sho, JP tha Rippa, Mr. 806, T Makk, and Sir Johnson.  They did 3 separate sets all with various combinations of people.  They were good on the mic and had decent beats.  One of the major flaws was during the first set one of the beats still had the vocal tag from the free site they downloaded from.  For those who don't know the vocal tag is whatever site you got the beats from way of tagging the beat so you cant use it without purchasing it.  It vocalizes the site name over top of the beat and kinda ruins it if you don't pay them to remove it.  Other than that it seemed a lot like anything you would hear on the Hip Hop station which isn't bad but also lacks originality.  They had the standard format of 4 tracks.  Look how great we are, look at our money and riches, we hold our city down, and look at all the bitches we pull with our fame.  Like I said not bad but lacking originality.

The next performer I have debated since his set as to what I wanted to say.  I have said in a past blog that as friends of certain artists you should say something if they are not making good music.  I have also made it a point not to call out people in my blog.  In this case I feel like the best thing would be honesty, because that is what good promoters, friends, Bookers, etc. should do.  So the next performer was a guy from the former group M.P.D. named Baca.  I saw him perform with his former group M.P.D. at the Boondox show in Lubbock and to be honest thought they sucked.  The next day I thought it may have been due to them being extremely intoxicated.  So I went on the Reverb page to listen to their music.  They have it set up so in order to hear any tracks beyond the first one you have to Facebook like the first track.  I did not do this because it is a cheap way to make it seem like people really like you.  The track I listened to once again failed to impress.  Now last night I give him credit because he got up there solo and made an attempt to do well.  His lyrics were lackluster, his stage presence was horrible, and he just cannot and should not be on stage.  I am not trying to be cruel but he needs to stop trying the music thing.  Baca I am telling you, as a concerned fan or all things music,  This is not for you.  Well enough of that.  If i hurt some feelings I apologize but someone had to say it.

After that, one of Wicked Butterfly Entertainments newest artists, Black Project Productions took the stage.  806 Outlaw and Narkotix performed and absolutely killed it.  They were one of my favorite artists of the night.  They did a solid set and even brought Kano Kiljoy up on stage for a flashback track.  Oh that reminds me Fuck Kano!  They definitely made the last performer forgotten.

As if they people in attendance were not blown back enough the next performers were S.M.K. also known as Sik Made Killaz.  Once again they absolutely killed it.  I have seen them 4 times now and each time have been hype as hell at the end of their set.  Good work on the set guys I was very impressed again!

Then due to the time the headliner Miss Kisa took to the stage.  Now I have to preface my review with this.  It takes a lot for a female rapper to win me over.  Miss Kisa is no exception.  Her set was short and nothing really stood out except the fact her hype man seemed to be doing most of the work on stage.  Her rhymes were somewhat predictable and not very well thought out.  Her delivery was lacking maybe due to fatigue.  I was hoping for a performance to remember but was disappointed to say the least.  I know she had a lot of fans at the show last night so I apologize if I didn't see the magic and allure of Miss Kisa.

Last set of the night belonged to Born Wicked.  I was only able to catch the first part of the show due to having to drive back home.  But they were doing well as they usually do. 

So there you have it.  The good, the bad, and the really horrible.  I know feelings might be hurt and for that I don't apologize because sometimes the truth is more important than anything.  I love each and every member of the Juggalo Family.  Look for another blog this next week welcoming the 2 newest members of the Wicked Butterfly family!

MMFWCL,

Juggalotus

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Street Cred and violence

  In rap music there has always been beef.  Weather it was due to a rapper in your city or a rapper from the other side of the country putting out a diss track on you, there has always been beef.  For my generation the most famous beef out there was 2 Pac and Notorious B.I.G. Why is that the one that is most famous?  Because it ended in 2 violent deaths.  The rap world lost 2 great lyricists and rappers because what started as diss tracks escelated into street violence.  Back in the beginning of rap music diss tracks existed too.  The difference being when a rapper put out a diss track it was countered by the other rapper in a diss track.  It was a battle of lyrics not violence.  MC's battled on wax.  That is how arguements and disagreements in rap should be handled.  The idea that jumping someone or even getting more violent to prove you are the better rapper or you hold your city down better is senseless.  Violence stems nothing but more violence.  Going to prison because you commited violent crime trying to "rep" your city does not make you a better lyricist or rapper than anyone else, it makes you a criminal.

  Why am I bringing this up you might be asking?  Well the simple answer is this, here in Amarillo, TX we have 2 groups that have been long time friends and partners for shows and music.  There is a huge 2nd Annual Gathering taking place in the city in Sept.  Last year the same people were involved and it went off great.  Everyone benefited from the show.  This year however things are different.  I have been watching over the past few weeks as these 2 groups devolved from a dispute to a verbal fight to threats of violence.  One side says they got kicked off the show for various reasons the other says they refused to give the group what they wanted and they walked away from the show.  The next thing that happened was the event page was deleted by the side that was no longer involved which caused the verbal battle to happen via Facebook.  Of course a lot of other people on that page started a discussion on the new event page.  Then the side that deleted the first page got on and started throwing verbal blows due to anger.  This led to some people from Albuquerque, NM to start throwing jabs back.  It also led to other folks in Amarillo getting mad and threatening violence.  I don't know how it all ended because I do not live in that city.  But I do know what I was reading and I can tell you  that both sides are wrong.

  The one thing this Juggalo movement was started for was to unite the underground not divide it.  Both of these parties claim to be Juggalo family.  Both of them claim to hold it down for the underground.  Both of them claim to have Much Family Love.  But both of them are missing the point of all of it.  If they truely believe what they say they should be lifting each other up.  Supporting each other.  Even if they disagree on things they shouldn't wish harm against anyone on the other side.  We are all trying to make it in this business.  If someone hurts your feelings make a diss track!  Let them respond.  This gets you both exposure and allows a healthier outlet for your feelings.  Threatening or commiting violence will do nothing to further your career. 

  I try to promote everyone in the underground I feel is good enough to make it.  If I don't think someone has the skills or abilities I wont diss them I just wont promote them.  This family we are in is splintered here in West Texas and we need to do something about it before it is to late.  I have seen talented rappers lost because of egos and hurt feelings.  It is time to leave the hood mentality behind and grow into artists and business people.  Until we do that a lot of talent is going to go to waste.  We want the gang label to get removed we need to stop acting like thugs!

MMFWCL,

Juggalotus