The Storm Watch Show

2009

It was a pleasure to be on hand for the Storm Watch Show put on by Rham Robinson for Protege Magazine at Don Hills Nightclub in New York City. The unsigned artist showcase was especially nice from my vantage point as one of the three industry judges for the competition that awarded the winner with, among other things, a diamond bracelet provided by DefJam. Most performers shouldn't be souped by bling though. Just gettin good critiques and direction for a career in this business should be the motivation. Although there were some pleasant surprises like R&B singer Mbusi, and overall winner Sound Cartegena, many of the rappers were convinced that songs about relationships would get them noticed. That’s a sad trend in rappin' right now, when the tired R&B love formula gets used in rap. It's not creative, more than get-over and when rappers find it necessary to lip-sync instead of getting a hype man to back them up, it's embarrassing.

The winner of night, Sound Cartegena, gave an energetic performance that was clearly delivered and entertaining. He brought his hype man Montana who was very crisp on the adlibs, an important asset to a serious live performer. All of the judges took special notice when rappers lip-synced their words or let the backing track do most of the work while they provided the adlibs. Whack ass sucker mc's. Yall are definitely on the clown list. Study your craft means goin back in time. Biting the style of today's rappers is a big mistake. Labels know it, program directors know it and deejays know it even though some would sell their soul for a street buzz. Still, it’s better if you step your game up. HINT: Duos and groups should practice each others lyrics to back each other on stage. Solo artists should get a hype man. Study Mr. Cheeks and Freaky Tah or Chuck D and Flava Flav.


One, Kurt Nice