Me & the fellas @ Word 2 The Wize 7, last night at Taproot.
So, Last night was interesting. I was invited to judge & perform at my rap amigos, Phonetic and ADamn's rap battle event, Word 2 The Wize, last night being their 7th one thus far. I brought a few buddies with me, including my young bro, Keezy of Sky Div. We didn't know what to expect. Well, actually that's wrong, we did. We judged one before, but it was out at Beluga Point literally by the water. Just a few folks. Shit was weird but fun, so that's what we expected. A couple of wanna be "B.Rabbit's" kicking rhymes in a circle jerk. We got our fair share of 8 mile re-enactments, but this event was much different.
Dudes were actually spittin, and a few were even surprisingly entertaining (which to me, is just AS important as actual lyrical ability. But hey, that's just me.) There were some embarrassing choke moments which should be expected, but the overall passion and intensity of the MC's and the crowd actually surprised me. A few of the more entertaining verses came from MC's Heat, Snarley Brown, EFA (who looks like a white redneck racist, you would have never guessed this guy could rap if you saw him in Fred Meyers) and my new favorite local rapper of the week, this nerdy looking guy named Heebs. This Jonah Hill/Michael Sera-ish white kid who looks in his early 20's but has the body of a 40 year old man and doesn't give a single fuck about it. An awkward kid who can actually rap and is hilarious with his stage demeanor and witty, hilarious personal jabs (he brought up his opponent's wife's occupation, a stripper, against him repeatedly and every time, it was funny... and apparently, true.) I definitely became a fan of Heebs after last night. I look forward to his upcoming matches.
Shout out to all the other MC's who caught my attention, Snarley Brown (he's like this homeless looking white boy rapper, but a very charismatic, funny character. Apparently, he'd gotten into a fight with another MC at the event the night before, which was mentioned in a few bars, ha) and Heebs' homeboy Strat (who lost to Heat, but only by a cunt hair).
I performed "Slope Boy" for the first time. I was content with the performance. I look forward to performing that one some more.
Afterwards was even more unexpected. Me & the homies hit up the after party where, mind blowing to me, all the participants (and their friends) were hanging out together, happily enjoying drinks and smoke together, listening to instrumentals and just socializing and rapping... together. Very club house-ish. I was not used to seeing that kind of unity. I've been doing this local rap shit for a long time, and never seen that kind of peaceful, non-awkward rap camaraderie where it felt genuine. It was nice. Granted, soon as I got there, I was offered a dab hit by Sketch Menace (who travelled from Canada, I believe, to battle Jacob Jump) and was IMMEDIATELY fuuuuuuucked up, and went to the nearest couch and melted as Keezy was friendly taunted by a rapping Phonetic, who impressively kicked a long freestyle over whatever locally produced instrumental was playing from a speaker and was spitting viagra bars. Keezy eventually got in a lil cypher later and shined, of course.
Note: there were plenty of cameras recording last night. I will let those guys post the videos, when they're ready and I'll relay them to all of you. Shit was dope though. I had lots of fun, and was happy to be surprised. That doesn't happen much these days (#OldRapperProblems ha). Now, if I can just convince Keezy to get in there and exterminate these guys, haha! ;)
note: I thought I took more pictures, then I remember how high I was and am then kinda surprised I even got this many. *Kanye Shrug*
Jacob Jump vs. Sketch Menace
Me & the brosef, Adamn, co-host of Word 2 The Wize. Note: I went tanning too long, yesterday hence why I look like I have no shirt on. #RedLobsterTubby
Heebs. My new favorite local guy who raps, whose name isn't Tubby, Fleetwood or Keezy.
I think I'ma start a bidding war for this fucking kid. #WatchOutForHeebs haha
Keezy & Webb of The Sky Division (and Uncle Boots posted in the back)
Me & lil, yet much taller bro, Keezus.
Harry & Lloyd. Yeah, I didn't know either, bro.
12 minutes in the lay down (level 3) at Color Me Tan, fucked me up, b. Smh.
Selfie, right in the middle of a battle I'm judging, game on fleek. (That's how you use that word, right?)
Myself & Madd Angler.
Heebs and Organik posted on stage.
Thanks again to Phonetic and ADamn. Word 2 The Wize 8, coming soon.
Note: Something unforgettable happened last night. Something very special to me. I intentionally didn't write about it in this entry, cuz I'm saving the story for the perfect beat. I'll leave it at that, for now. #ThankYouJohnny
