A. RHYMESAYERS 10th ANNIVERSARY SHOW :: 08.08.03

For many of the QN5 kids, it was our first trip out to Scribble Jam in Cincinnati, OH, so we all had these wild pre-conceived notions about what it would be like. This event had always been rumored to be a circus of Avant-Garde poetry rappers and bewildered midwestern suburbanites trying to get their “hip-hop” experience on. Being based here in NYC, with a constant stream of underground events and a deep talent pool, we were very eager to see what all the fuss was about. Admittedly, I had my own reservations about what we’d find there, especially after viewing several of the videos they’ve released of the event. Well, to our surprise, it was an absolute blast from start-to-finish.

On Thursday, 1:30 pm, PackFM, Session, Akolades, Mrs. Deff & myself stockpiled ourselves into a baby blue minivan rental (of course) and made our way out to Lexington, KY to stay out at Deacon’s crib. Sure, it’s about an hour away from Cincinatti, but we’re broke, and hotel rooms for 12 people isn’t covered in our budget. The trip was definitely long…not as long as our ride down to Atlanta last winter, but definitely long. We had a ton of boxes in the back, some leftovers from RSC, and a few new boxes of FYIRB tees (we sold out of ‘em at RSC), so it was kinda difficult to see out the rear window. Mecca & I had just gotten back from a show in Los Angeles the weekend before, so I basically hadn’t gotten a chance to get my shit together in months at this point. I forgot to cram my entire CD collection into my bookbag, so our selection was limited for the ride. Regardless, we managed to make it work on a steady diet of old mixtapes and Asterisk:Two.

We arrived in KY at 3 AM Friday morning. Exhausted from the long haul, we basically tossed our luggage in the living room, setup our trusty air-mattresses and passed the fuck out on cue. In the morning, we all rode out to Scribble. It was a beautiful day out, sunny skies, not a cloud in sight. Apparently, that only mattered in Kentucky, because the minute we got close to Cincinnati a flash flood broke out from the heavens in protest of our arrival. Now, I survived Hurricane Andrew in Miami during 1992, and I’ve seen some heavy ass storms in my day – but GOD DAMN that shit was coming down when we got there. I’ve never been the most punctual person (blame my Cuban heritage), but thankfully that same predisposition to tardiness paid off, because those who arrived at Annie’s before us had already setup shop in the outdoor vendor booths. I felt bad for the guy I spotted in the back of the area LITERALLY standing ankle deep in a river of flowing water holding two boxes. I hope he didn’t decide to rock his vintage suede Puma’s that morning. We did pull up to the outdoor booths, and attempted to set up shop…but the rain just proved to be too much to contend with – So we relocated our operation to the indoor area where the RhymeSayers 10th Anniversary Concert was to be held. Once we managed to steer clear of Hurricane Scribble, the show got started.

It was like being home all over again, as we came to find Kimani from Third Earth Music, Breez & Pen from Stronghold, Technique, iCON, Quest-Chon, Oktober, Black Panther and a slew of other NYC locals that managed to make the trip out. At the same time, I met a lot of cats that I’d only heard about or have seen mentioned on the numerous underground websites countless times. Hell, I even met people who’s only recognizable trait was the mention of their screen name – which is always a trippy experience. Nonetheless we caught excellent sets by Brother Ali & Atmosphere.

I have to hand it to these cats, they’ve earned every stripe they’ve managed to get. The amount of dedication and hard work these cats have put into their label and their local scene has definitely paid off for them tenfold. It got me thinking about the differences between the various underground scene’s in the USA, and how difficult it is to be an underground artist in NYC and be able to even stick out. The lack of fans in New York is mind-boggling. Everyone and their mother is a wannabe MC/DJ/Producer/Manager – and that doesn’t make for a very supportive crowd. Just watching throngs of FANS just there to soak up the music and sing along with the RSE cats, gave me a sense of accomplishment for the trail we’ve managed to blaze for QN5 in New York, and a renewed drive to continue pushing outward to the world.

Props to Brother Ali for being refreshingly down to earth – (it was a pleasure conversing with you mane!) Not to mention, he’s also very convincing, otherwise Pack never would’ve entered the MC Battle the next night. We’ll see y’all when you slide through NYC again.

Everything ended around 2:00am, so we made it back to KY around 3:30 am, and as dead-fucking-tired as we were, the night wasn’t over just yet. Upon arrival, we came to find Kno & SOS had arrived, and a full four-course down-south Fried Chicken dinner cooked up by Kynfolk’s resident band-aid, CJ. [THANKS SWEETHEART!!]

My god, was that not the most perfect recipe for corn muffins and biscuits at the most appropriate time?! We were fucking STARVING, and there’s NOTHING open at that time ‘round those parts. [One thing that never gets old about NYC—there’s always SOMETHING open]. Once we inhaled our meals, Mrs. Deff passed out, and the friendly MC sparring began. Akolades played judge to such classics as PackFM VS Deacon, SOS VS PackFM and of course, of favorite, Kno VS Deacon. Yes, that was definitely funny. The remainder of the night saw us trying to figure out our setlist for our surprise QN5 showcase at Scribble the next day, and an impromptu Extended Famm VS CunninLynguists Tag-Team battle which we all regret we didn’t capture on DV. That shit was CLASSIC.

Lights Out. 2 Hours of Sleep. Off to Soundcheck.

B. SCRIBBLE JAM BATTLES & SHOWCASE :: 08.09.03

We launched back off to Cincinnati for the big day of battles and our secret showcase. The ride there seemed shortened, as we had a Pete Rock beat CD on repeat, and everyone in the car took their turn freestyling about everything in sight. Ahhh…the roadtrip-cypher. Unfortunately, Session spilled orange soda on his $350 Knicks throwback along the way. Nothing a little seltzer water couldn’t fix, luckily.

We set up shop once we got there, only this time outdoors, as the fury of Hurricane Scribble seemed to have faded overnight. The graf heads were out in full mass, scurrying to complete their pieces before the judges made their rounds…saw a lot of beautiful work. The competition element definitely makes for some brilliant creations, and hopefully some more VERY DESERVED exposure for those who keep hip-hop’s visual essence alive.

Substantial & Mecca arrived together on Saturday, along with Insanate of UV and associates. SunnyStylez & Natty of KYNFOLK were present as well, so we finally had everyone in the same zip code. Mecca immediately went into Mack-Mode overdrive and started running his topnotch game on the unsuspecting Ohio female-folk. Good to see the long ride hadn’t rattled Mecca’s sense of gregariousness.

The MC Battle prelims were held indoors, and they were surprisingly hot. We caught SOS, Wreckonize, Kory Calico, Meta4ce, IllPoetic (reppin’ with a FYIRB tee!), and the now notorious Swann. Normally, premilinary battles are lame as fuck… but I guess cats came gunning for the title this year, so the lines were stellar. Nice work to all those involved.

Afterward, to my surprise, Substantial opted to enter the new Beatbox Battle that was added to the SJ itinerary. I believe he made it to the 2nd round… which is excellent considering he entered on a whim, and those involved had come prepared to rock. Rock On – And you don’t stop!

Next up, was the B-Boy battle, which admittedly I didn’t get a chance to catch, as I was indoors showing love for our NYC brethren Breez Evahflowin, Poison Pen & Immortal Technique for their showcases. Once again, they tore it down nicely, and it was fun to bounce around the stage and hang from the lighting fixtures during the mob performance of Breez’s “Give It Away”. I’m pretty sure Pen & Technique made some new fans that day as well.

As the night progressed we continued to man the QN5 booth, meeting and greeting those who didn’t make it out the prior day. The new “GOYA” QN5 tees were a hit, and we managed to move plenty of CunninLynguists & Squijee tees as well. We’re now officially out of our initial run of “Asterisk:Two” CDs, and Underscore was moving nicely to boot. At the end of the B-Boy battle, our man Pase (of Five Deez) informed us that all the battles had been taking a long time and that time-cuts had to be made. And while we completely understood the direness of the situation, we had already come prepared to rock a full hour set. [Which may sound like an eternity to some, but damn near necessary when you have 6 different artists which need to be showcased]. We wanted to take advantage of the full outdoor crowd and setting sun, so we made a slew of last minute cuts in order to transform our 1-hour extravaganza into a hard-hitting 35-minute run-through.

We hit the stage to the cheers of a startled crowd – our performance was totally unannounced until that moment. Right as the sun was giving way to the night, Pack kicked an acapella from his verse on Dutchmassive’s “Soul Searchin” 12” and we immediately launched into “Line Drop.” The minute the Tetris theme played, they knew what they were in for and went bananas. It was great to see a sea of people trying to keep up with the progressive tempo, and the faces of those who hadn’t heard the song before. From there, we set up Session’s “Don’t Do It” which proved once and for all that a Scribble Jam crowd could get rowdy. Next, CL rocked “Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts” to much applause, and we then brought in Mecca to lock the ladies down for the night with a poignant performance of “Come On Now, Ma”. I love this song. It doesn’t matter where the fuck we perform it… Jiggy spots, Thugged out spots, backpack spots… it ALWAYS gets people moving. Y’all are gonna love Mecca’s “Sound & Fury” album – believe me.

The crowd was MEGA-RESPONSIVE. Of all the shows we’ve done (and that’s A LOT), I don’t believe I’ve heard a louder response from any crowd thus far. From there on out, we all went back and forth exchanging joints, keeping the crowd involved as much as possible. Other highlights included SOS teasing death while teetering on a wobbly monitor, ‘Nasty Filthy’ with Cashmere in tow, Pack crowd surfing and of course, my now famous stage tackle of an unsuspecting group of people in the front. I don’t know what happened…but I get ridiculously charged whenever we perform FYIRB, I think I just snapped. Pack stagedives/surfs damn near every show…and yeah, he is light, but I figured I’d give it a shot. I mean, fuck it… It’s our first time at Scribble; might as well give it a shot. Well, now I know for next time to signal the audience a little prior to jumping. I knocked skulls with someone pretty badly, but we’re ok. [I didn’t sleep very well that night, cause I kept thinking I may have had a concussion – lol!]. It was pretty stupid of me, because I don’t have health insurance anymore. Would I do it again? Fuck yeah.

The DJ Battle popped off after our show, prefaced by a sweet set by these cats from Denmark named DJ Static & Nat Ill. I hit the booth again, sweaty as fuck, took a ton of photos with the cats that picked up the CDs & Tees, drank 8 gallons of soda and sat the fuck down for a minute. [Props to Sunny for holding us down on the DV Cam and Akolades for running the sound smoother than a baby’s heel].

The MC Battle finally kicked into gear, and man o’ man – THAT WAS A FUCKING BATTLE. There was a lot of high profile talent involved, including Juice, Breez, Okwerdz, Deacon, Rhymefest, and a multitude of other unsung battle hero’s aiming for the mask. Initially, this cat Swann (1st time I’ve heard of the kid), was basically running over people for the first 3 rounds, and Juice was edging his way past brilliant performances by Dos Noun & Wreckonize (Miami). I’m sure you’ve read about this cat Deuce Leader (of Animal Crackers) who metaphorically committed suicide during his round VS Juice, and stage-dove his way to a broken ankle. Ouch. I’m glad it wasn’t me. In the end, and damn near out of nowhere, Rhymefest goes toe to toe with Swann and basically sons him for 3 straight rounds, to knock him out of the running. The finals consisted of Black Pegasus (aka Yo Mamas Pimp) VS Rhymefest, and Rhymefest went home with the SJ Mask. Congrats to Rhymefest for a well-deserved battle win. No jerkings involved. Definitely one of the better battles I’ve seen in my life. [And when you own EmceeBattles.com, that’s saying a lot.]

After the battle, we basically packed everything up and headed back to KY, for yet another glorious cookout of a southern breakfast by CJ at Deacon’s crib. The ride home was fraught with Antsy-ness and grogginess. Though, a quick pit-stop at a McDonald’s somewhere along the way yielded hours worth of laughs on the way home. Now, if this isn’t the most *PAUSE-WORTHY* poster you’ve ever seen…. We give up. Our love goes out to the McDonald’s staff on hand that night for putting up with our incessant laughter.

Try explaining the “PAUSE” concept to someone in West Virginia. Doesn’t work.

Props to everyone whom we met, and who came through to say ‘whuttup’ at the QN5 booth. [Code Red, Molemen, Brother Ali, Mars Ill, Pase, Formless, Smooth Lou, Wreckonize, etc] There was a great mix of people, lots of women, black kids, latin kids, white kids, asian kids…all playing together under one roof. It was a beautiful thing. We had a fuckin blast, and we’ll definitely be back next year. So, see ya there.

Peace & Respect.
Tone.