I had a chance to attend the Beauty Bar downtown Las Vegas this Saturday and caught a variety of Hip Hop performances from Blu and Exile to Joe Budden to Las Vegas’ own Sedrew Price, The Landlord and a few others. The Beauty Bar has been one of the few venues here that has been consistent with Hip Hop shows; it actually looks like a salon too. When I walked through the door, I saw chairs which looked like hair dryers used to be attached along with beauty shop floors; living up to their name. There was also a number of Dj’s spinning from Dj Slimm to Dj Certified; keeping the party live. I have to give to my man who was spinning that heat inside though… I heard a lot of good music I haven’t heard in awhile, good job.
One of the first acts to go up was A.P. and Chuck Frazier of Campfire Music, delivering a solid performance for the people. They brought a lot of energy to the stage which demanded the crowd’s attention. The next performance was from The Landlord, recently signed to Floyd Mayweather’s record label Filthy Rich Records. I really can’t say much about it; only that it wasn’t pleasing to my ears and I think it’s due to lack of identity. Everyone wants to sound like the South right now; I guess it’s because they’re on top these days. Once that was over, Sedrew Price was next up; looking like the town favorite with signs and t-shirts that read “listen to Sedrew Price”. While rocking the crowd, t-shirts were tossed while the people vibed to the music. I expected Sedrew to do more of his original music; didn’t know if what he performed was on a mixtape or what. I feel as a local artist, you have to show the people why you belong; anybody can rap to another cat’s beat. Here’s the question to ask yourself: Are people vibin’ to my flow or this beat that they have heard countlessly on the radio?
Then came Blu and Exile, bringing a strong performance, even bringing along fellow L.A. emcee, Cassius. Blu performed a few tracks off of “Below the Heavens” ( ex. No greater love and Blu collar worker) and then went on to some songs he’d done with Cassius. He even kicked verses over an Exile beatbox….it was fresh! Finally, there was Joe Budden who brought it home with joints off of his new album “Mood Music 3″. The microphone he brought with him had a few technical difficulties but it was a pretty good show overall; hope to see more of them in the future.
