FromBatonRougeToJerusalem
A Marcel
P. Black Travel Blog
Date: Saturday January 26th,
2018
City: Tallahassee, Florida
Venue: 621 Gallery (Annex)
Show: 3 – City: 3 – State: 3
In
2018, I’m moving different. I chosen not to state chase, but instead knock
items off my bucket list, all while looking for new opportunities to take part
in. I was booked for a college gig in Pensacola February 17th, so I
was tryinna get either a Panama City, Fort Walton Beach, or Tallahassee show to
fill out that weekend. Last year I did a lot of one offs, this year, I wanna do
at least 2-3 shows a weekend instead. It helps save money and time.
Well
that’s not what happened this weekend lol. I should the trees and nothing came
out that weekend. And the Pensacola show ended up getting canceled anyway. Alas,
my girl Fika from Tally linked me with some other folk, and this show in
Tallahassee did present itself, a Hip-Hop show case called Submersive Sounds
put on by local Hip-Hop artists and a Sociology teach at Florida State named
Dr. Lisa (she teaches a dope Hip-Hop course I plan to lecture at someday).
Since
Mark Dub aka Extra Large Debarge couldn’t make it due to him spending the last
2 weekends on the road with me, I chose to catch this slab for dolo. I drop my
kids off at school, fun by the office to check in, and caught the slab by 9 am.
Before I hit the highway, I got what my Dad calls “keep awakes.” Scooped a bag
of Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles, sour candies, 2 Redbulls, a liter of dat Ozarka
ya heard me, & some Gatorade ya dig. I’m tryinna go as far as a I can
before noon when I do staffing the owner of my company, so there’s no time for
stopping. I pull up in Mobile right about 11:45 am, do my thing at 12 pm, got a
like bite from Arby’s and I’m back on the slab to Tallyho.
“Say Big Dog….”- Big Nigga Upstairs
So
I pull up to my hotel, get my keys, & the sister done knocked off about $10
of my room. Room was already cheap, so this was love. I grab all my stuff, go in
the room, eat my Steak & Shake, then hop in the bed for bout an hour before
I head towards the venue. Watching HGTV of course. Fast forward, I get up get
dressed, head to the car. I walk outside I smell some loud ass weed coming from
upstairs, and I hear, “Say Big Dog, what you getting into tonight?” Buddy looked
to be about my size dressed in all Black, and the way we rocked his fitted let
me know he was with the shits.
I
replied, “But go pull up on my homies, what you got up?”
Big
Nigga was like, “Mane IDK what’s shakin, I ain’t from here.”
Me,
“Same. It’s sad because it ain’t no strip clubs out here…”
Big
Nigga, “Mane if you lookin for dem hoes I gotcha my nigga.” Then 2 white women
walk out the room smoking cigarettes. Mane these niggas trappin girls out the
Baymont… Lawd.
I
tell buddy I’m scraight and I gwan bout mi bidness. Pull up to the venue to see
my homie Fika riding a Moped in a dress. Lit AF. I park then go in & peep
the scene, it looks like a well kept storage unit with a checkered dance floor
and a make shift DJ booth. I go holla at the DJ, then go set up my merch. The crowd
is mostly college aged Black males & females, and older Black and White educators
(I’m assuming they’re Dr. Lisa’s colleagues). In 2016 I did a show in Tampa
with the main Hip-Hop crew in Tallahassee, Cap6, but I really ain’t recognize
they faces or know their names, so I just played it lowkey, manning my merch
table.
First
act goes up, young guy from Miami. Next a young lady from St. Louis who strangely
chose to do a Neo Soul set at a rap show. She was dope so NDC. Next was a brother
who had a really good performance, & solid lyrical Panda raps. Dr. Lisa
told me to go up.
The
beauty of not going first is the opportunity to take notes on the crowd and see
what the other artists are doing well, what they’re neglecting, and what you
need to pull out the bag to go up. First thing I do when they call me is set
the mic stand up before I rap. I got into my acapella, and get some lite love.
Then it’s “Stare & Whisper,” with the call & response, which well
again. My “5 Things” got wild house, then I go into “Where I Stay,” which went
very well. Being that there were college professors in the room, as well as “woke”
college kids the Michelle Alexander reference at the end of the 2nd
verse got oohs & ah’s like a Daylyt punchline.
Next is def the highlight of the
night. I start “Hallelujah” & the mic goes out, I swap it out & run it
back from jump. They are with the “Fuck Donald Trump” actions in Tallahassee!!!
I kill the first verse, hit the FDT call & response again, then start the
next verse where the mic starts goin out AGAIN. So what do I do? I put the mic
on the stand and rap the verse to the top of my lungs, and boy was it lit. The
crowd was super impressed and hyped that I didn’t miss a beat and they rocked with
me even harder!!! After the verse someone tries to hand me a new working mic,
and I wave him off because yall bout to get this no mic work right now. Go back
into the last hook and the crowd is eating out my palms… A true Hip-Hop moment
that I gotta thank the Lawd for all these shows that gave me the experience to
keep the show going and not fumble.
The energy
was so high, and I didn’t wanna risk bringing it down or drain my own wave, I
decided to skip with “Cry Freedom” instead of doing “Freedom Music” or “#FreeBLKPPL”
(I need to either figure those songs out or take them out my live set, because thought
they’re a great listen, they don’t translate live well at all). I went full
small congregation Missionary Baptist deacon mode on em, and it proved to be
the best usage of my energy. Finish my set, then headed back to the merch table
where I had several great convo’s with both older heads and young boys alike.
Only the older heads bought stuff though, young college kids never have money.
No Zola for me!!!
Buddy
from Cap 6 kills it, show is over, I break down and head home. I see Guthrie’s,
and I wanna check it out so order the box combo. For those who don’t know,
Guthrie’s is who they claim my dog Todd Graves stole the idea for Canes from,
and I call blasphemy. I pull up to my room, and I see Big Nigga still outside smokin
weed. I look behind me and I see two Black women who were both visibly fine AF
standing outside a car parked behind me, dressed in sweats & Uggs. The two
white women I saw smoking earlier go talk to them, and they all walk back
towards the hotel, right past my van.
I don’t
want them to see what room I’m in, so I let them go ahead of me, then once they
were up the stairs, I waited till Big Nigga wasn’t looking and go to my room.
Before I shut the door I hear Big Nigga say:
“Say Big
Dog, wassup with that Guthrie’s tho…”
I’m like
WTF? I went & waited for a second to see if anyone was gonna knock on my
door, once I thought it was chill, I took pics for the Gram, and ate. I’m in
the bed looking at my Facebook “On This Day” posts, I get an email from an 813
number that says, “Say bruh, what that Guthrie’s talkin’ bout?”
“They got me noid… But I ain’t paranoid.”- Silkk The Shocker
WHAT. IN.
THE. HELL. IS. GOING. ON!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Why am I getting an EMAIL FROM A TAMPA CELL
PHONE!!!! I google the area code & see that it’s a Tampa number, and my
mind starts racing, “Did Big Nigga find my promo card that doesn’t have my phone
number, but does have my email on it, and is him asking me for Guthrie’s mean
they bout to run up in my room and rob me?”
Ya’ll
remember that viral twitter story about Zola and the white girl trappin out the
hotel in Tampa, and the wild Florida niggas? That’s all I can think of. I get
fully dressed pack my bags, and now I’m ready for whatever. Thinking of calling
the police, wishing I had a gun. Then I decide to email the back, to see what
was really good…
So I do,
and it turns out it’s my boy A.J. from Tampa who plays with the Grid in New Orleans.
He saw my post on the Gram and decided to mess with me about it…
MAAAAANNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEE
LOOK… He didn’t have my new number, so when he texted “Marcel P. Black” it went
to my maroonmusic @ gmail.com account. Crazy af right? Finally go to sleep, get
up, and head back to BR, laughing at how I was ready to go out in a blaze of
glory behind some chicken fingers & hard ass toast that’s not seeing Raising
Canes, any day of the week.
Venue: 4/5 (Wide open DIY space)
Crowd Response: 4.5/5
Merch: 3/5 (Wish I coulda sold more, but the people who did shop bought a min of 2 things)
Sound: 2/5 (No no monitors on floor for artists, gotta subtract for the mics going out too)
