The entire day yesterday was an end to end burner. DJ Rectape didn't arrive from Strasbourg until 6:00pm. Soundcheck stared with the band at 5:00pm, so we had to hustle to get to Lucerna by 7:30pm to check the DJ sound and, um, rehearse our part of the show together. We got to run the essential transitions and feel it out. I wasn't really worried; just wanted to get on the same page. No problem. The 2 hours leading up to the show were a blur of interviews with Bedna TV, meeting and greeting all the industry heads (clothiers, radio DJs, sponsor reps) and keeping tab on the time.
When the needles dropped, it was all butter. 90 minutes of ascending Hip Hoppery, commencing with the classic MC/DJ formation, sprinkling in the beatboxers, showcasing the beatboxers and the DJ, then bringing out the band and the lovely vocalist to bring down the house.
All the artists that rocked with me were so professional, so ill and so chill. It was such a treat to work with y'all. The show looked like a well-rehearsed machine, when in fact it was a seat of the pants snowball. I'd have it no other way. There was so much potential energy unleashed on Lucerna. Truly magical and completely cathartic.
The crowd was tremendous; not quite as large as we'd hoped, but for my first solo billed show in a foreign city, it was overwhelming. Knowing how hard it is to get 100 heads to a show in New York City (after 8 years of grinding there!) leaves me awestruck in light of 150+ heads on another continent, during only my third visit to Prague and first European tour. We busted our asses promoting, got a lot of love from the media outlets, had a ton of good friends in the building and put on a magnificent show. It felt like a treat for everyone there to get such a heavy dose of balanced live Hip Hop; the most humbling thing is the crowd's response: despite not understanding 75% - 100% of what I'm saying, cats were showing so much love and really rocking to the vibes.
So many of the struggles within the music world and entertainment industry are the same everywhere: the true school ethos pitted against the commercial faux gangsters; the big money pork barrelers versus the independent idealist; the party for the ego or the party for the people... It is affirming and uplifting to connect with so many dope human beings from around the world and put together another dream show. The international vision is surely being realized, and every passport stamp is a badge of courage, determination and connectivity. I said it last night and I'll say it again today: best September 11 ever. It was not just coincidence to have the chance to release "Building the Better Bomb" on this unforgettable and shamefully mis-appropriated day. The gravity of the timing was very real for me. For the last 6 years, the last place I wanted to be on 9/11 was NYC, or America for that matter. It is with complete and total gratitude that I bow to to all the musicians that rocked with me (Tomas, Jan, Split, Velocity, Noemi, Jaro, Nasty, Ivanhoe, Dowis, Rectape), to everyone who came out and built, and to my mellow Kuzell. We are on the way brother. Da Ska makes me Say Word.
Thanks again Praha. I loves me some CZ. Can't wait to have the BK crew deep here for Hob-n-Nob on Septmeber 27.
The audio, video and pics from the show are forthcoming. Of course, I only took pics before and after, and neglected to give anyone my camera or flip video. But Bedna TV shot the show with 3 cameras, we recorded separate 16 track audio off the sound board, and there were mad other photographers there, so please hit me off with pics if you have any. I'm saying: this tour DVD is going to be awesome.
Again, much love to everyone who had a hand in making last night so special.
Peace, Love and Blessings,
RD
No comments:
Post a Comment