Hip Hop Explosion would have been a medley of incomprehensible noise without Isaiah Rashad.
Students bounded up the steep, low-lit staircase leading to Ackerman Grand Ballroom, chatting about how excited they were to hear hip-hop performers Rashad and Casey Veggies at the Cultural Affairs Commission’s Hip Hop Explosion concert event Thursday.
The bass of the music vibrated the floor on the way up. On the immense stage, a DJ spun records as the multicolored lights on the side of the room changed colors to the beat of the music.
But only a small fraction of the ballroom was filled at 8:03 p.m. The DJ awkwardly transitioned from Drake’s “Back to Back” into All About She’s “Higher (Free),” and the crowd shifted restlessly.
The DJ played music for half an hour, trying to hype up the crowd, but the crowd’s response was quite dull.
Opening act Casey Veggies finally entered the stage to half-hearted cheers. He captured the audience’s attention for the first 15 seconds of a song, then their hands fell as they sang along to the few words that they knew.
Fifteen more minutes of awkwardness from the DJ later, Rashad appeared on the stage. The lights dimmed, and the decades seemed to shift from modern mainstream tunes into an easy groove reminiscent of the ‘90s. Rashad started rapping, but the music became distorted.
“I thought that was just me,” Rashad said as he stopped the music, muffled by the dysfunctional speaker system.
The sound quality was the big issue throughout the night. Many fans close to the speakers moved to the back of the room due to the loud speakers. In the back of the room, however, one of the speakers had a lag, creating a weird echo throughout most of the songs.
Despite the technical difficulties, the crowd sang along to all of his songs.
One of the stand-out songs of the night was “Heavenly Father.” Its melodic, neo-soul opening drew the focus of the audience into the center of stage, and Rashad’s dreadlocks were flooded with orange lights as he bopped his head up and down. It seemed like everyone in the room faced Rashad as a soft beat dropped. Words flowed seamlessly from his mouth, and cheers turned into a flood of voices trying to keep up with his quick pace.
Rashad, however, couldn’t completely save the evening because the performance’s production quality was less than optimal. Nevertheless, he swept the stage with his relaxed swagger and thought-provoking, lyrically potent songs at Hip Hop Explosion.
– Tehya Faulk