On Sunday, October 9th, Nashville was hit LIVE AND DIRECT with a huge hip hop event. Trending on Twitter under the hash tag, #LivexDirectTN , it was set to be an amazing evening! As the Mercy Lounge started filling up, the opening acts began to draw the crowd closer to the stage. By the time Kid Daytona’s set began, the crowd was fully pumped up and ready to party…Which is where our story begins!

Kid Daytona ran through his catalog of high life music. Relying mostly on sample based production, it was an ideal performance for the Boom Bap crowd that had gathered around the stage. Unfortunately, he isn’t widely known on the Nashville scene yet, so the crowd took some time to warm up to his set. After he left the stage, the entire crowd would never forget Kid Daytona!

Rhapsody hit the stage next to run through a set of her best material. She rocked the stage and is probably one of the better femcee performers that I’ve seen! During one portion of her set, she even got on her knees to perform one song to her biggest fan in the building. He literally knew her lyrics bar for bar. It was very impressive. I honestly enjoyed her set and I had never heard of her until I came to #LivexDirectTN.

In the midst of all of these performances, 9th Wonder took on a surprising DJ role. He set up live turntables and really kept the party jumping between acts. However, my favorite act on the set was Ski Beatz. Ski’s whole set was running through his extensive production catalog. Usually, one wouldn’t think that would be a very impressive live show. After his band took the stage with him for their rendition of Jay-Z’s classic, “Dead Presidents”, the crowd was fully prepared to enjoy his production set. Ski made a beat live for the Nashville crowd and even battled his band using his drum machine. Over all, I couldn’t help but to feel like I had just finished crate digging when he left the stage. It was such a feeling of ecstasy!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOliIlWSpSQ&hd=1

Now that the stage has been set, the night reached its pinnacle as Freddie Gibbs took the stage. The mixture between clever lines, rapid delivery, and amazing stage presence really made Gibbs’ performance so much more memorable. His use of golden era production, along with the more CTE sound of 808 drum kits, really added diversity to his musical direction. He kept the crowd moving with chants of “Fuck the Police” and a combination of accappella verses and full songs. As Gangsta Gibbs exited stage left, one patron (that I’m very thankful for) screamed that he couldn’t leave the stage without performing his underground hit, “Str8 Killa No Filla”. As Gibbs entered for his encore performance, the entire crowd lost their mind. All I can vaguely remember was jumping up and down with my middle fingers up! I’m certain that Freddie Gibbs now has an even larger fan base in Nashville, TN!

The final act that I thoroughly enjoyed was Murs. I’ve been a fan of Murs for a VERY long time, so it was quite the experience to see him live. As a performer, I was so amazed at his live show. He literally jumped up and down while rapping on beat. He jumped and did the splits at one point during the show. His music seems to be centered around his performance, which is why it was such a great sight to see!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkkGQo3eFII

I really enjoyed every second of the Live x Direct show. The Boom Bap DJs really did it big in Nashville. I’ve been to several of their events, and I always expect the time of my life. This time, my expectations were met and exceeded. After the show, I got to meet all of the performers. Ski Beatz was probably the most humble person I’ve ever met. I happened to notice Mistah Fab in the building, so I got to chop it up with him about this Royce Da 5’9 battle! I also got to meet up with local celebrities such as Open Mic and Dee Goodz, which is always a pleasure. All in all, Lovenoise and The Smoking Section threw another excellent event. I know that it’s official when I see either of their logos on an event flyer! Until next time, hip hop lives in Tennessee!!!