Recap: Gravity album release concert – Warehouse Live Houston (09/28/12)

 

Lecrae takes center stage at the Gravity album release concert – Photo by Sketch the Journalist

Last Friday, September 28 Reach Records brought the Gravity album release concert to Houston to celebrate the chart-topping new project from Lecrae. This recap is already tardy so I’ll just hit you with a few quick notebook dumps, photos, and videos.

 

J.R. sings “Gravity” with Lecrae – Photo by Sketch the Journalist

On stage:

• A large video wall flashing various animations throughout the show. Some were lyrics, others were simply logos
• Opening acts included Derek Minor (fka PRo) and Canon
• Sho Baraka acted as host with DJ Official manning the turntables and Houstonian Nate Robinson on the drums
• Song features and added hypemen included: Sho Baraka, Swoope*, Andy Mineo, Von Won, J.R., and former American Idol contestant Ashton Jones

* Swoope’s appearance on stage for “Fallin’ Down” seemed to particularly animate both Lecrae and the crowd who might have let their energy levels slip during the more ballad type songs

 

Swoope performs “Fallin’ Down” with Lecrae – Photo by Sketch the Journalist

Biggest crowd pleasers:

• “Go Hard”
• “Welcome to H-town”
• “Jesus Muzik”
• “Dum Dum”
• “Violence”
• “Gravity”
• “Mayday”*

* Vocalist Ashton Jones took the crowd to “church” with her soulful singing. Mainstream rapper/producer Big K.R.I.T. appears on the recorded version but was not in town for this concert. However, that didn’t stop Sho Baraka from volunteering to be announced as K.R.I.T. during the performance just to see if anybody would notice.

The setlist appeared to go from songs that celebrate with believers to ones that can speak to non Christians – something that mat have simply been a factor of Lecrae parading through his back catalog of hits before moving on to his newer, Gravity material.

 

Backstage: Tre9, Canon, Lecrae, Von Won, and Gifted da Flamethrowa – Photo by Sketch the Journalist

Houston represented

• From the stage, host Sho Baraka gave respectful recognition to the recently departed DJ Primo (who chopped and screwed the initial 116 Clique compilation album that helped launch Reach Records)
• As predicted, the Von Won-assisted performance of “Welcome to H-town” was very well received. Check my video of this performance below and be sure to stick around for the end credits.

 

Derek Minor, Canon, Andy Mineo, and Sho Baraka came out to perform “Power Trip” with Lecrae – Photo by Sketch the Journalist

Quote of the night:

“Regardless of the genre, I still have that same call we all do: to tell the world about Him” – Lecrae

 

Andy Mineo posted this photo on his Instagram account hanging out backstage with the High Society crew (top), Houston Rocket Jeremy Lin (left) and Houston Texan running back Justin Forsett (right)

Spotted backstage or in the crowd:

• Houston Rockets star Jeremy Lin
• Houston Texans’ running back Justin Forsett
• Active By Faith founder and former Houston Couger basketball star Lanny Smith
• “25 Lighters/25 Bibles” producer/rapper DJ DMD
• Gifted da Flamethrowa
• Corey Paul
• Tre9 & D. Davis (who brought 30-plus kids from their Hip Hop Hope Missions efforts with them)
• DJ Chill
• Lita Rodi
• World Rejects
• DJ Millhouse
• Hilary Jane
• Trevor Lee
• Lil Sizzle

VIDEO: Recap of Master's Tournament winner's megaconcert with Christian rappers

Worship artist and CCM radio mainstay Jeremy Camp created a video recap of this weekend's Bubba's Bash concert that raised funds for the Bubba Watston Medical Clinic in Livayo, Kenya.

The megaconcert was organized by PGA golfer and 2012 Master's Tournament winner Gerry “Bubba” Watson and showcased mostly Christian hip hop acts - including Houstonian and recent Rice University graduate Ronnie "Reconcile" Lillard. Look for his white tee and swinging dreadlocks starting at the 2:15 minute mark.

SXSW 2012 recap

MC skills competition opening round
All photos by Sketch the Journalist unless otherwise noted

Many are saying that 2012 was the year hip hop took over the South by Southwest festival. Although predominantly geared toward independent acts, this year’s SXSW event was notable for appearances and concerts by the likes of Jay-Z, NaS, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Eminem, and Rick Ross.

It was also a monumental time for Christian hip hop with the DaSouth.com putting together an official stage for the fourth year in a row and the additions of a Reach Records showcase at La Zona Rosa and a side set organized by rhythm and praise site GroovSpot.com.

It would be next to impossible to try and catalog everything that went down, but here are a few of my personal highlights with some photo and video help from others who were kind enough to help us cover it from various angles.

Friday Night Kickoff Concert

The weekend kicked off with the DaSouth.com/CityTakers SXSW party at the Horizon Worship Center. This mega concert contained performances by theBREAX, k-Drama, bigAL, Peculiar Image, Frontline Movement, Kingz Camp and others.

theBREAX rock the set

Frontline Movement's table offered an advance copy of Reconcile's upcoming "Abandoned Hope" album from Full Ride Music Group

k-Drama performed some new music

The homie Spoken came down from Toronto to attend the event

Exodus' Lapo performed and also played camera man
throughout the weekend

It was also a good time for fellowship between fans and other artists.

D.C.'s Too Phliy and former Baltimore boy Beleaf Melanin from theBREAX
sparked a convo backstage

Cross Movement Records' Director of New Media Brandon Stubbs
and Jerrell Johnson share a word backstage

And like many a Christian rap event, it ended up at IHOP.

Saturday Morning - Carver Cultural Center

Scott Free help cats understand the missional mindset

CityTakers’ Scott Free kicked off the morning with a workshop geared toward helping rappers understand the right way to approach their ministry and music careers by being missional. DJ Wade-O even mentioned it as one of his favorite events of the entire weekend.

Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, and Von Won fielded questions
at the panel discussion
Photo by Rosalinda Chapa

Afterwards, a panel discussion was held with artists and insiders about the practicalities of full-time music ministry. I, Sketch the Journalist, moderated the conversation and the participants included Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Von Won, k-Drama, Thi’sl, Ruslan, KB, PRo, and even a surprise appearance by Reach Records’ co-owner Ben Washer.

The full panel

Topics included the benefits of being signed to a label, whether or not to respond to online critics, and how to, after shows, identify people who are just fans and want to talk music and those who are actually seeking authentic ministry.

Aslan takes center stage at the DJ skills competition

Next, we had the first ever DJ skills competition organized and hosted by DJ Promote. The participants were DJ Vow, DJ Stibs, and DJ Aslan who competed for $300 and a DaSouth.com/CityTakers SXSW trophy.

(L to R) Tre9, DJ Wade-O, DJ Primo, DJ D-Lite, DJ Aslan,
DJ Promote, Scott Free, DJ Vow, and DJ Stibs

DJ Wade-O, DJ Primo, and DJ D-Lite judged an opening set from each entrant and decided who would go the final round. Stibs got bounced in the first round but earned props from the panel for spinning actual vinyl instead of just utilizing a computer-program based set. In the end, DJ Aslan took home the cash and bragging rights.

After that, we kicked off the bracket-style MC skills competition. You can get full details of how it was run and what the prizes were here, but basically, eight MCs from various geographic regions competed head to head for the best freestyle based on five topics presented to them just seconds before they spit their verse. Special props go to bigAL and Trevor Lee who honorably stepped in for two competitors who were unable to make the event at the last minute.

Atlanta’s Enlitement faced a tough challenge from New Orleans’ Gifted da Flamethrowa in the first round but ended up getting the crowd fully behind him with the following set.

(L to R) Chris Chicago, R-Swift, Jerrell Johnson, Tre9, and Scott Free

The finals included Enlitement and Tampa’s Jerrell Johnson. The two MCs’ sets left judges R-Swift, Tre9, and Chris Chicago feeling torn so they asked both guys to go one last round with a single topic. In the clip below, you’ll see the homie Jerrell Johnson take the title with a freestyle rap about “spare tires” that he had to use in at least three different ways. Just wait until you hear his asparagus line.



Watch the complete final round and tie-breaker sets here.

Saturday Night – La Zona Rosa

Later that night it was time for the Reach Records official SXSW showcase at La Zona Rosa. This night club held hip hop showcases all week which included ones with performances by B.O.B., T.I., Statik Selektah, Talib Kweli, and Pharaohe Monch.

But on this Saturday, immediately following a set by the lovely Norah Jones, the entire Reach Records and Reach Booking rosters took to the stage.

DJ Wade-O manned the tables for Thi'sl's set

Highlights included Thi’sl introducing Houston’s Reconcile as the newest member of his Full Ride Music Group crew, High Society jamming their collective works, Andy Mineo controlling the crowd, and Lecrae debuting some new material from his upcoming mixtape.



Just before Lecrae hit the stage for his set, I caught up with him for a quick interview about his SXSW experience, how the BET Awards Cypher created opportunities for him in Austin, and what to look for with his new direction.



I’m told that the Reach Records showcase drew roughly the same crowd to La Zona Rosa as other hip hop concerts there that week and that, on that same night, they were invited back to perform there next year. This is definitely a good look for Christian hip hop as a whole so be praying about that opportunity for 2013.

And as the Reach concert was winding down, I headed downtown with Tre9, Scott Free, Jerrell Johnson, Enlitement, Gifted da Flamethrowa, Trevor Lee and others to talk to SXSW festival attendees, hear their stories, and pray for their lives. It was about 2:30 in the morning, but the clubs were still in full swing and, on the spur of the moment, our MC freestyle competitors decided to start a cypher.

As a crowd started to build, a few video cameras joined the circle as did a few mainstream rappers who tended to step in and spit writtens. My video clip below is a bit shaky and not the best quality audio, but at least it will give you a feel for what went down.



Like I said, it was an amazing weekend for the Christian hip hop movement. Prayerfully we’ll get to impact Austin and the music industry again there next year.

More pics:

Lecrae preps before taking the stage at the Reach Records showcase

Scott Free gets animated during his workshop

Handout from the missional mindset workshop

(L to R) R-Swift, Too Phliy, Thi'sl, and Chris Chicago

bigAL nervously awaits to hear if his freestyle skills would advance him
to the next round (it did)

Lecrae joined Trip Lee on stage for "I'm Good"

Austin's SaulPaul showed his freestyle skills in the MC competition

Backstage at the Reach Records showcase, several artists joined in a group shot for an upcoming video (L to R: Ruslan, Beleaf Melanin, KB, Andy Mineo, CheeseBeats, Swoope)
Photo by Rosalinda Chapa

La Zona Rosa - site of the official SXSW Reach Records showcase

ATL's Double freestyling on 6th Street

Recap: SXSW 2011 - Hip Hop Hope

Our Hip Hop Hope Unity Conference panel discussion at the Carver Cultural Center

Three days later I think I'm FINALLY catching up on the sleep lost from late nights at SXSW.

Our third year there presenting Christian hip hop in a variety of formats was another good one. We had a jam packed concert roster, a killer panel discussion, and three full days of events.

Highlights include:

Thursday's Artist Fellowship Dinner

I wasn't able to attend, but several people told me how much they enjoyed this kickoff event. There, artists and fans were all the same and got to know each other on a personal level outside of the stage.

Frontline crew's performance of "U Rydin" from Friday night's showcase concert

By the time 10pm rolled around the crowd energy had (understandably) waned - that is until these Houston boys came up and absolutely wrecked shop. See the video below and ask yourself: Is Frontline the next 116 Clique?



Fonzworth Bentley

The former Diddy personal assistant/MTV's "G's to Gents" reality show host and current fashion entrepreneur/G.O.O.D. Music signee worked both of our concerts AND panel discussion into his busy schedule and was an awesome addition to the weekend. (Props to theBREAX for making that connect.) Be sure to keep and eye out for Bentley's new work and encourage him in the faith when you can.



The artist panel discussion

Wow! I organized and moderated the thing, but God was the one who used and orchestrated the conversation. Our discussion focused on the practicalities of full-time music ministry and was so good we had to extend its run time by at least half an hour. There were varied viewpoints but a unified purpose and vision. Peep the video clip below for a short sample.

Scott Free played host on Friday night & workshop instructor on Saturday

Scott Free's Hip Hop Missions workshop

I wish more artists were able to attend this because the content was so rich and challenging. I take the blame for that because we had to rearrange the schedule at the last minute, but if you get a chance, be sure to check out this message and what Free is doing with this City Takers movement in Atlanta.

Solo from the Gospel Gangstaz busts out his sword - Photo by Von Won

Gospel Gangstaz mix old school and new school

The OGG's reminded us that the West Coast still reps the cross and had a high energy and fun performance of "Keep It on the Low" with mic partners 007 & Martay on stage to do it up right.

JR was interviewed by the Factor Effects crew backstage at Saturday night's concert

New songs from JR, Da' T.R.U.T.H., and Ambassador

We haven't heard from some of these guys in a minute so it was nice to see them again and get a sneak peek at all three of their upcoming albums.

The Christian rap community took over a restaurant after everything was done

40+ Christian rap artists and affiliates at Baby Acapulco's

Once the last mic cord was wrapped about 40 of us ended up crashing a Tex-Mex joint at 12:30am. It was a great way to end a long weekend with a ton of new and old friends.

**********

That's just a brief glimpse of what went down. For more, follow all of your favorite Christian hip hop artists on Twitter or Facebook as I'm sure even more photos and videos will be popping up online in the weeks to come.

And prayerfully, we'll be back to rep the King through hip hop at SXSW again next year.

More pics:

DJ D-Lite & DJ Wade-O man the turntables at Friday night's concert

Pro gets hyped before hitting the stage - Photo by Von Won

CheeseBeats, Tre9, and Von Won chill in the artist green room - Photo by Von Won