Last Night: Hip-Hop Fest 2 At Midtown Lounge

Photos by Shea Serrano

Tawn P (left) and Dante Higgins

Hip-Hop Fest 2 feat. Tawn P, Undergravity, Dante Higgins
Midtown Lounge
June 9, 2011

11:09 p.m.: Son. Of. A. Bitch. We've been trying to see Tawn P live for, like, two months and have missed her every single time. She apparently just finished her set a couple of minutes ago. This shit is unbelievable. Go ahead and add this to the Big List of Reasons To Hate LeBron James that people have been compiling.

Tawn P is the creator of The Wake Up, one of the year's very best tapes.

Clarification: We don't hate LeBron James. Matter of fact, we rather like him. It was just an easy comment to make. Also: Rashard Lewis? WTF?

Undergravity

11:17: Ah, Undergravity is up. UG is a likeable, organic duo that is most effective when they're being nostalgic. Their music is very good to listen to if you're driving on a not terribly hot afternoon or walking to the corner store or are at a picnic. One of them wears glasses (Mac) and the other one looks rather cuddly (Adam Bomb). They may have been born in the 60s, but we can't be sure of that.

11:21: We first saw Undergravity perform briefly at a beauty-supply store back in March, a night that was memorable mostly because it looked like a crazy man was going to murder comedian Ken 2 the Fool. Tonight, UG is much, much better, entirely confident and comfortable onstage. Their enthusiasm is almost palpable, which serves to magnify the earnestness of their music considerably.

11:22: UG has a three-man group of old-men singers on stage with them. Excellent. Naturally, the ubiquitous Ken 2 The Fool is up there with them, pretending to be the fourth member.

11:23: "I'm an old young nigga." - Adam Bomb, Undergravity

11:23:15: "Adam Bomb," by the way, might be the most ingenious rap name ever created.

Guy: Yo, Adam, if you're going to rap, you need a rap name.

Adam: What's wrong with "Adam"?

Guy: Bro, that's not a rap name. That's the name of an intern at an accounting office. That's the name of one of Sigma Chi's new pledges. Not a rapper.

Adam: Umm... oh, hey, rappers say "bomb," right? Like, this is the bomb? What about if I just add it to the end? Adam Bomb.

Guy: Seriously?

Adam: Yeah. It's cool. Adam Bomb. Say it: Adam Bomb.

Guy: ...Fuck it. Go with that.

11:28: The twosome has done well enough to earn an encore. They do a song, naturally, about summertime in the Southside. The crowd is not displeased.

11:30: Do you know how hard it is to see an obese black woman and not want to make a completely unoriginal Precious joke? That shit is just about impossible.

11:33: "Let's give it up for Undergravity, keeping the '90s alive." -Ken 2 the Fool