#djnotion

One of the first hip hop shows I was involved in was the Blueprint Meet & Greet last July at Virtuoso Tattoo Krew.  Since then I have followed Blueprint on Facebook, read his blogs, bought his music, basically becoming a fan.  One of my favorite lines from his album on Greenhouse (with Illogic) "Bend but Don't Break" went "You think you're free, I think you're slaves, cause all you rap about, are whips and chains."  Insta-fan after that line.  

DJ Notion hits me up a few months ago wanting a date in Fort Worth to bring Blueprint through, I was all over it.  Lola's was the first and only choice, of course.  Line up was set, and a mighty fine one I might add!!!  

Night of I arrived early enough.  Doors opened at 8:30 or something crazy early.  DJ Notion and Zetroc played some mellow tunes until about 10pm.  Gave everyone the chance to chat it up a bit, get acquainted with the bar, have a few drinks.  I took this opportunity to say hello to Blueprint, ask how his stop in Houston went, all the things us promoters say to touring acts.  Let him know how excited I was to see him perform again.  He did the same, asking me how things were and such.  Good dude, genuine.  

I had a special guest that evening.  An old flame of mine's little brother and cousin, who I had spent a great amount of my High School and early 20's knowing, made an appearance.  I hadn't seen Jon in a good 6+ years.  It's was like seeing a brother again after years apart.  He's a Blueprint fan and drug his cousin to a hip hop show, cause that's what cousins are for, right?  Caleb, Jon's cousin, told me before the show, "I don't listen to Hip Hop.  I used to, but not so much anymore."  He went on to say what crap he was hearing on the radio and I let him in on my philosophy as of late in regards to Hip Hop.  Conscious lyrics vs. Mainstream crap.  

Grey Matter went on, got the crowd all hyped, then went straight into "BPM", one of their most popular tracks.  During the set, Jon and Caleb were both vibing.  Caleb looks over at me and says, "Man, bad ass show so far!"  Grey Matter put on a great performance, everyone was real hype once they got off the stage.  Kilo even spit a few a Capella verses.  Perfect intro for Mindz of a Different Kind.  

MDK is a 4 member group out of Austin, TX.  They performed with Blueprint last year at Crown and Harp.  I saw them, became a fan, and since then, they've performed in FW one other time. MDK performed some of the stuff from their new album, Butter and Water including "Lyrically Creep" which is one of my favorites.  The chemistry of these four MC's, the way the flow flawlessly between each other and interact make this group a little different than most that I see.  Usually, an MC will get up and spit at least an 8 if not a 16, and in songs like "Lyrically Creep", Bza will spit a 4, then Chi Town will come in for a 4, T-fly another 4, Nick with a 4 and just rotate it like that.  Something I haven't seen done (very well at least) by a lot of groups.  Keeps your attentions, that's for sure.  

I took a break outside, talked with Jon and Caleb who both were enjoying the show very much.  "Damn, Callie.  Good show!"  I couldn't take credit, I was just the middle man, but it's always nice to win people back to hip hop with some good lyrics.  

Blueprint takes the stage, and he never disappoints.  He has a way of delivery that makes you soak in his very thought provoking lyrics.  My favorite of the night, "Perspective", had a lot of good one liners.  Here's a few:

"I don't care if you're living in a high rise, You're no different than a man in a hut.  Every single life is sacred in God's eyes.  You're not worth more because you have more stuff."

"I don't care what the care of your skin is. I don't care about your fortune or fame.  I just want for us to have more perspective and understand that everyone's pain is the same."  

"We tell ourselves they don't work as hard us, they could be like us if they weren't so lazy.  I think it's an excuse, that allows us to treat them less human."

So many more...

After the show I bought Respect the Architect.  Great album.  Check it out.