A.D.E.N. and Mr. Mason Jones, with E*Klipse The Champloo, Cain McCoy, Bizniz, Isaiah & Hovey, The Dakotas
October 28 at Strange Matter
Leaving work a miraculous fifteen minutes before kitchen closing, I ran one quarter of a city block with a quickness. Much to my surprise, I was able to catch this show in its entirety. I arrived into a thick cloud of anthemic sound bouncing off of graffiti colored walls. Cain McCoy was center stage on the microphone welcoming the crowd. In the call and response format of traditional live rap entertainment, he was asking the crowd to put their hands up, which most of them were happy to do. Then he asked them to do whatever and “just stand there” or “look bewildered.” This was the moment in the night that I knew I was going to enjoy myself. Behind Cain, a live painting was developing. To the left, Mason Jones and ADEN stood crouched over turntables and laptops hitting the crowd in the face with the deafening womp womp of dub step, and its ominously slow, steady kick and snare. There’s a sort of euphoria specifically reserved by grooves like this. They grind away at you until they take control of the nervous system and hit bone. The bass tones help too.
A.D.E.N. and Mr. Mason Jones, with E*Klipse The Champloo, Cain McCoy, Bizniz, Isaiah & Hovey, The Dakotas
October 28 at Strange Matter
Leaving work a miraculous fifteen minutes before kitchen closing, I ran one quarter of a city block with a quickness. Much to my surprise, I was able to catch this show in its entirety. I arrived into a thick cloud of anthemic sound bouncing off of graffiti colored walls. Cain McCoy was center stage on the microphone welcoming the crowd. In the call and response format of traditional live rap entertainment, he was asking the crowd to put their hands up, which most of them were happy to do. Then he asked them to do whatever and “just stand there” or “look bewildered.” This was the moment in the night that I knew I was going to enjoy myself. Behind Cain, a live painting was developing. To the left, Mason Jones and ADEN stood crouched over turntables and laptops hitting the crowd in the face with the deafening womp womp of dub step, and its ominously slow, steady kick and snare. There’s a sort of euphoria specifically reserved by grooves like this. They grind away at you until they take control of the nervous system and hit bone. The bass tones help too.
Cain McCoy, the host for the evening, warmed up the entire building and then delivered a brief set. Really, it was way too short. This guy can rap. And on top of that, he commands attention. It’s good to hear someone end a line with “Virginia, baby!” and mean it. It’s also good to hear pensive lyrics, cleverly syncopated to heavy hitting production and enunciated clearly, in emotive tones. This guy does both.
I should admit that I had been looking forward to seeing Cain ever since I realized he was one half of the no longer active rap group The Scholars. His solo performance had every ounce of energy that I remembered the duo carrying on the floor of Nara when I saw them a couple of years ago. Then, I had seen the Scholars deliver an even dosage of backpacker thinking man’s rap and loose-letting party music. Cain still seems to accomplish the same by himself, and with the urgency of a one-man message, it is doubly impressive.
More or less, the same could be said for the following acts. The second performance consisted of a principle emcee named E*klipse the Champloo and some backup that didn’t make sense. I liked his vocal style immensely, but it seemed too loud, or rather, the beat seemed too weak. At a certain point in his set I came to the conclusion that all this guy needs to be a great live performer is some better production. There is nothing more anticlimactic than a good rap song with a club beat wobbling unconvincingly through the PA system. The set was not dragged down by this fact much, and not all the beats were club. Funky horns gave some a Chicago sound, a la Lupe Fiasco with big city charm; others felt like the South and were properly wild. A floor full of people stood enjoying it. Some people were dressed up in early Halloween costumes. Some danced while others blew bubble gum and swayed.
Sets shifted quickly from Eklipse to Bizniz, who continued in good fashion. This dude has charisma that starts with his smile and carries down into the delivery of each one of his words. He is a tall lanky frame, dancing across stage and holding a microphone with great ease. His lyrics said it plainly: You can relax, but if you want to know, Bizniz can tell you where the party’s at. I am paraphrasing but that was more or less it. At several points in his set I heard him mention cookie cutters. I got curious and I found out later that it’s in fact a capitalized Cookie Cutters, the name of his crew or band. I was interested to know more about this, but as it happens from time to time, it was too loud inside Strange Matter for my ears to understand the entirety of this new information.
For me, these first three performances were the highlights of the evening and stood in contrast to the next. The night moved from some really good rap music to an onslaught of R n B that I was not ready for. I guess the crowd was. A large pocket of Isaiah and Hovey fans opened up on the floor. Dancing ensued. People knew lyrics. Did everyone come to see these guys? I didn’t get it. I was confused because of how much I had been enjoying the show until this point. This is not to say that they were horrible; they just weren’t for me. They had entertaining song titles like “I really enjoy those ladies” and lyrics about going to VCU and drinking PBR in the RVA. Their last song, which contained more rap and less singing, had some of the intensity of earlier performances. They mentioned that this was a new song and I selfishly hope that they will continue about in this direction if I am to see them again in the future.
The next act sort of lost it for me and, I think, for the rest of everybody there too. The Dakotas risked two acoustic guitars at the pinnacle of the night’s volume, and half of the crowd dissipated as they played their songs, which were awkwardly dressed in cheesy lyrics. Imagine Eve6 or John Mayer rapping. I’m not sure if the crowd’s departure was a consequence of this dreadfully dull music, but it made sense to assume so at the time. It is just as likely that half of the crowd had been there for the act before them and was going to leave anyway. Speculation is pointless.
For those of us that stuck around, we got to see Mr. Mason Jones and ADEN finish the night with a compelling set of dubstep and crunchy electronic beats. Again, the bass helps massively. These guys have been at it long enough to know what to play and when. Although I could not bring myself to participate, I watched people dance for a bit. I decided I’d feel creepy if I did attempt to dance and, before heading home for sleep, I made sure to lose a quarter getting stomped in an amazing arcade game called Puzzle Fighter.
I have good information that suggests Cain McCoy is organizing another show coming up soon at Strange Matter. It’s called Illogical Activities and scheduled to go down on Saturday November 13th. If it’s anything like Mind over Strange Matter, it should be a good time.
