25
Feb
My First Hip Hop Concert
by Ismael Burciaga | Music | 3 Comments »
On February 23, 2010, I attended my first hip hop concert to see Jay-Z perform. I am not a big hip hop fanatic, but Jay-Z knows how to write some good music. His beats are fantastic and what made the entire show a big hit for me was the live band. The drummer and the bass player were hitting that pocket nasty. It made my friend Chad Whiteley and I look like amateurs.
The environment is a totally different story. As my friends and I walked into the lobby of the American Airlines Center, within seconds my lungs had already been struck by the presence of Mary Jane. Some of the guys were walking around in baggy starched pants with a leather jacket and SUNGLASSES inside the arena. I so wanted to say “DUDE THERE’S NO SUN IN HERE, TAKE YOUR GLASSES OFF!” but I kept my cool and kept walking. Other people wore … well I better be nice and not share, but some outfits were just too crazy.
As my friends and I were hanging out at the The Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, I ran into my friend Hilary Kennedy and her fiance Drew. Hilary Kennedy is the face of Dallas’ KFWD Channel 52, “Just Fun TV” and the US Youth Soccer Show on the FOX Soccer Channel, broadcasted in over 32 million homes. She is also a host of The Bite Network and has published her first book, Career Diary of a TV Host: 30 Days on the Job. That girl is on the way to the top. Well she is probably already there. However, it was great seeing them.
Well I really don’t know what else to say about my first encounter at a hip hop event. It was crazy, it was fun and it will not be the last time I see Jay-Z. It did bring back a lot of memories from my high school days, but I am glad I was with a group of friends who would not have let me do anything stupid.
Have you ever been to a hip hop event? If so, what did you think?
Ismael, I love your posts.
A Jay Z concert is kinda like your first rock concert being U2. You know? You don’t get a feel for the grass-roots level of what hip hop is really like or what the medium could be. Its a big show and big business. Sure there might be some heart there, but it’s not like going to an underground set with a couple of guys lyrically battling it out.
Ironically, one of my first hip hop shows was in a Mennonite gymnasium. So I’m probably not one much to speak.
It was actually a lot of fun. Needless to say, mary jane was uninvited and I didn’t see her there. But there was Cross Movement, a pretty significant strider in the Christian/positive hip hop scene. It was quite the charming little set. Less flash, though.
My roommate is close friends with a seriously talented white-boy rapper who gave up the business scene to pursue a rap career. I also know a guy who gave up his job as a youth pastor so he could pursue a graffiti art career (I made his website).
Even in my nowhere town of Red Lion PA, it’s interesting to see what’s in the margins.
I suggest you start asking around. You might be surprised in what you can find locally.
M. joshua,
Website: http://mjoshua.comThat’s awesome. Yeah I will totally ask around. Whats the website of your friends graffiti art work?
Ismael Burciaga,
Website: http://www.ismaelburciaga.comhttp://redgraff.com/
M. joshua,
Website: http://mjoshua.com