The Wake

Hip hop culture oozed from every orifice of First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis as the Seven’s Travels Tour made its way back home to Minnesota. The Oddjobs and the Rhymesayers Entertainment crew, consisting of Musab, The Micranots, DeeJayBird and headliner Atmosphere, spun, freestyled, and rapped to a full house for their second hometown show in as many days.

The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis rap group The Oddjobs gave a tone-setting performance that left the crowd eager for what was to come, coming out energetic while making sure that the audience knew they are still a product of the local hip-hip scene, taking time to pay respect to former Senator Paul Wellstone.

Rhymesayer Musab followed The Oddjobs by playing a mixture of danceable pop songs and self reflective raps. Not to be outdone, veterans The Micranots brought the audience to a fever-pitch with a dazzling display of both a capellla and freestyle rhyming. Real passion was felt with every sweat bead that flew from the head of emcee I Self Devine A.K.A. The Emperor. Although they admitted to have been around for 13 years, they performed as if they still had something to prove to the young crowd.

Brother was next to show off his flawless flow as well as his trademark intensity during his rendition of “Champion,” along with several other crowd favorites. He seemed to feed off the audience until they finally began to chant “Ali” the end of his set. For a moment, First Avenue forgot who they were really there to see.

After DeeJayBird got the room moving, it was time for Atmosphere to hit the stage. After starting with a couple of teasing intros to vintage Atmosphere, Slug and his DJ Mr. Dibbs went into “In My Continental” from the recently released Seven’s Travels album.

Following up with more new tracks, Slug seemed more confident with every passing song. After going strong for over an hour and a half, he showed no signs of fatigue. He was revved up as he descended into the audience to have an impromptu freestyle battle with Brother Ali.

At the end of the show, Brother Ai returned with Slug for an encore performance of “Cats Van Bags” after which Slug passed the torch to Brother Ali plugging all of the touring work that he has done in support of Shadows on the Sun. Slug also vouched for his label mate by saying that his album was one of the best to be released this year in any genre, as the crowd went wild and began chanting once more.

Throughout the concert, it was evident that hip-hop was being personified by these artists. A feeling persisted in the air that this was only the beginning of the meteoric rise of this local record label. The grassroots effort that the Rhymesayers are putting forth is truly a throwback to the early days of hip-hip when artists lived, slept, and breathed the music and the culture, while advancing it at the same time.

Before the days of major label support, every artist trying to make it in rap music had to do what Slug and his crew are doing. They had to constantly tour the country and prove themselves to everyone by putting their talent on display, all while living in a van. And this is just what they have done, asking everyone in the audience to go home and vote for the “Tying to Find a Balance” video on mtv.com, so it has the chance to see the light of day in the mainstream. By adhering to their mission of bringing their music to the masses, but doing it on their own terms, the Rhymesayers has taken every precaution against “selling out”.

The First Avenue shows were only a stop on their way to Madison and other Midwestern cities on the second leg of the Seven’s Travels Tour. Slug ensured his hometown that they will continue to put Minneapolis on the hip-hop map, saying that huge crowds come out to see the show even in cities that they have never stopped at before.