concerts

I Can’t Jay Electronica

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Man look.  I am so over Jay Electronica and this never ending fable of a album.  Like really??!! Does it take this long to cultivate a concept of even dropping an album?

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We as dedicated and persistent fans have waited way to long for some sort of discussion of an album release.  After you deleted your twitter page a few weeks ago, we were left with this empty black hole in our music loving hearts.  How could you do this to us?

I hate to make the comparison but you have done this to yourself. Who do you think you are? Dr. Dre?

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Okay, sorry Jay, I didn’t mean to be so harsh. I take that back. But you are treading along those same lines, and it doesn’t look good.

The gems that you drop ever so seldom-ly do hold us over, but it leaves us wanting so much more. Just to hear the things you addressed in the “We Made It Freestyle” left me really hungry.

Thank you for “Better In Tune with the Infinite“, I think that will hold me for another few months or so.

And what I said it.

YG Live

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Sorry for the late post, but still pretty relevant. I had the opportunity to witness YG’s first live concert in Houston last Thursday at the House of Blues.

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As you can tell by now, I have a bit of a thing for the Young G.  And, my love has intensified after seeing him perform live. His tall, slender, tatted up physique alone held my attention. I digress.

YG is a very young artist and fairly new to performing in front of large crowds, needless to say the show had some noticeable  highs and lows.

I did love his set design.  It was old house looking fixture with his block “400” tagged as it’s address.  DJ Mustard was hiding within the house spinning out YG’s tracks.  He had the whole house party theme going. As he and his homies took long sips of Ciroc Berry between songs.

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YG had krazy, good energy throughout his set.  He even took a little time out to gansta boogie for the fans. He performed all the bangers from “My Krazy Life” as well as a few mixtapes hits and his classic “Toot it and Boot it.”

The crowd was going wild enjoying the gangsta party. All the gansta boos and thugs were on the scene, heavy.  All type of gang signs and thug camaraderie took place during his show.  As far as I could see only one fight broke out all evening!

One low point of the evening was when YG brought out a folding chair and proceeded to rap while having a seat. No sir. We (the audience) didn’t get the luxury of having a seat, so you shouldn’t either. And who sits down at a concert anyway?

I could kind of see why he had the chair as a prop when performing “Sorry Momma.” But the chair remained for like 3 songs thereafter.  Gotta get your health up YG, no more sit down breaks.

I also had issues with his vocals.  I don’t think it was anything technical, just the way he sounded. Another area for improvement.

Besides the minor imperfections, he had a great show.

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He closed out the set with his popular hit “My Niggas” and brought out a host of H-town’s finest to support their nigga.

I truly believe YG is a solid young artist. With time and dedication he will grow into a great artist. Don’t believe me, just watch.

And what I said it.

Celebrate

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Happy 420 to all the stoners! Except for Young Thug, I don’t like that guy. But anywho, I hope all is well in the land of the high.

This year I decided to take part in the Marley Fest in Austin, TX for commemoration. It was a totally awesome event. A very liberating experience.

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Please excuse the lack of pics, I forgot to snap shots.

There was great weather, great reggae music, great festival food and shops, great vibes, and great people. Once you stepped off the elevator from a parking garage the fumes of fun filled the air.

There was such a diversity of stoners at the fest, I remember gazing amongst the folks and thinking this must be Utopia.

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One thing was for sure the food lines were hella busy. The funnel cake line was like half a mile long, needless to say we patiently waited.

This was my first, but definitely not my last Marley Fest I attend. It’s not a stoners only event but you must be stoner tolerant.

Happy 420!

Happy Resurrection Sunday sinners,  and what I said it.

Regular or Deluxe?

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Should I cop the regular version or the deluxe version?  This is a question I ask myself just about every new music Tuesday.

I usually debate if the album is worth the extra $3-5 bucks for 3-4 additional songs, 2 of which I’m sure I already heard. But, I really think about posting. How can I stunt on instagram (@shebrown84) with a picture of the regular version album copy?

I usually just go ahead and get the deluxe edition.

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Is this the intent of the artist? Do they really expect fans to dish out additional money for a few extra tracks that are usually lackluster, at best? Or, does the artist really feel they are giving true fans an added benefit by spending a little more, to get a little more?

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I don’t get it.  As a fan we are already supporting your vision by copping the album. So now we are forced to spend a little more to hear a track that should never have made the album cut. I’m tired of it. It’s not fair.

Maybe artist should consider another options instead of extra tracks as the deluxe albums’ added bonus.  I compiled a list of things I personally would prefer to pay my extra cash for instead of a few extra cuts…

  1. Free Merch- I would prefer to receive artist merchandise if I pay for the deluxe edition. A shirt, a poster, exclusive towels, something.
  2. I like video discs- I think it’s pretty cool when artists put together a few videos as a bonus.  Especially the uncut version we would never get to see.
  3. Customized album option- Give fans the option of pre-ordering a CD with the songs that we want. #whoop This way we can pick the songs we want from a list of tracks the artists intended to be on the album, along with deluxe cuts. I would gladly pay deluxe charges for a CD of all my favorite songs that I help my favorite artist put together. Seems like a great idea to me.

I want artist to continue to appreciate the fans and their continued support to their craft.  Just by making your fans feel appreciated will guarantee their continued support. Use me, but don’t abuse me.

And what I said it.

Jeezy, Jeezy, Jeezy!

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Young Jeezy did a hell of a show, Friday night March 28 at Houston’s Arena Theater. He ran through his massive hit catalogue for the fans of H-town.

He started off his set, with his verse on Shorty Lo’s “Dey Know Remix”.  The crowd were on their feet. Jeezy burst out with so much energy, it was hard to keep your seat.

Jeezy filled the stage with a whole heap of fine ass thug background standers.  Like really, some nice looking shoot-em up style niggas.  Just the kind I like. And, I love it!

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Arena Theater Houston, TX

Young came out looking dapper as always.  All black everything. A leather black jacket, leather fitted cap turned to the back, black jeans, and J’s.  Being in Houston, that leather coat was not going to last long. Shorty into his set, he stripped down to reveal a black short-sleeve shirt with leather paneling.

Jeezy was looking good! Looks like he put on a few pounds since I last seen him.  But he rocks it so well, and I thought he was slimming down a little too much for my likings.

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Even though Jeezy does not have a hit record in rotation currently (aside from his feature on Rick Ross “War Ready”), nor has he released a new album (since 2011’s TM:103), he still drew an impressive crowd of die-hards.

All of Houston’s Street Kings and Queens, Hustlers, Gangsters, Ratchets, THOT’s, and Baby Momma’s were in full effect. Even Slim Thugga Mother Fucka graced the crowd with his appearance, taking pics with the ratchets. Such a hometown hero.

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The Houston Arena theater has an awesome rotating stage set-up. I know me and Jeezy caught eyes on more than a few occasions, and I exchanged a few flirtatious smiles with his sexy entourage. All in all, it was good night.

Jeezy definitely put on for our city! And what I said it.

2014 Groupies

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The term groupie is usually associated with rock bands and young female followers willing to do anything to meet their fav musicians.
I am a renaissance groupie.  I will travel just about anywhere to see any of my favorite artist/groups perform. I have even been known to fly solo dolo to a concert just to be in the presence of the band.

If you don’t have a deep rooted passion for music, you probably couldn’t grasp the idea of spending close to $5000 annually for a musical entertainment budget. The cost include buying new music from all my fav artists, concerts tix, concert outfits, artists merch, drinks at concert, and other miscellaneous purchases. All to show my love and support for the arts.

There is nothing like the thrill of being in a designated area with a large number of people excited and super hyped to witness a performance. Just knowing that everyone in that venue at that time is there to enjoy the same show makes it really easy to meet new people. 

Being in the communications realm has provided me with numerous opportunities to attend all types of concerts. The one thing that stands out the most is true fans really do exists.

It never fails, whenever I go to a concert, there’s always 1 person who thinks they can out-fan me. I remember flying from Houston to New Orleans to see Frank Ocean perform at Jazz Fest one year. I meet a guy from Saint Louis, he said he traveled to New Orleans because it was the closest tour date Frank Ocean had all year. He said he drove the entire way jamming nothing but Frankie songs.  I felt out-fanned because I decided to catch the 45 minute flight, instead of driving down jamming Frankie hits the whole time. Damn, I should have thought of that.

Another time I meet a chik at a 2Chainz concert. She lives in ATX but she traveled to Houston to catch his show. Keep in mind this was during SXSW time. She left the festivities of SXSW to see 2Chainz perform in Houston, and then headed back home after the show to make it back to ATX to see 2Chainz perform the following night. Yeah she out-fanned me.  Stories like that are so motivating and inspiring.

Being a 2014 renaissance groupie is not for everyone, it takes a certain type of person to pull it off. I suggest the next time your favorite artists is performing near you,  you should go. Be warned it is an addictive habit.