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

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

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

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

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

The Amarillo Variety show

  Last night was the Amarillo variety show in Amarillo, TX.  Draztik the Terrible had to perform so he and I left Clovis, NM and headed out there, it is about an hour and a half or so.  We got in around 5:30 Texas time and headed to our homie 806 Outlaw's house to kick it before the show.  We hung out there until about 7 and headed to the venue for the show.  When we got there we met up with the promoter and got our wristbands.  Then it was a waiting game.  We met a ton of cool homies there.  Dmize came in from New Mexico which was a good time.  It was all good until the chaos started!

  First thing is that the promoter kept switching the lineup around.  Draztik was supposed to go on first.  Then he was moved to forth.  Then he got bumped to fifth.  Then finally he went on 8th.  Everyone else was a part of the artist shuffle as I call it.  No one knew when they were supposed to perform.  Through most of the sets the artists either couldn't hear themselves cause the mic volume was to low or it was to high so when they went in front of a speaker there was massive feedback.  I hope this was a one time fluke and not an accurate interpretation of how the promoter works as we have a few more shows to do for them.

  Draztik did much better this show.  He had more confidence on the mic.  He also performed our newest track Love me/Hate me and it was live that's for sure.  806 Outlaw ripped the mic but his hypeman got a little too drunk and kept forgetting his verses and such.  Dmize killed it and wore himself out in the process.  There was a death metal band which was a definite change of pace.  Some local more mainstream hip hop which sounded as you would expect.  And of course the headliners Born Wicked did their thing and ended the show on a high note.

  Tomorrow we are headed back out to Amarillo to a MC showcase, hosted by Sir Johnson Himself we got invited to.  Draztik will perform again and will tear the roof off it again no doubt.  Sir Johnson is a cool dude and I look forward to working with him in the future.

Not much else to report.  There was a lot of performers but not a lot of fans but what do you expect on a Tuesday night!  If there are any underground, mainstream, or any artist that would like a good honest review of your work let me know and I will check it out and post it here on the blog! 

Thats it fam I am outta here!

Juggalotus