Hip-Hop & Bullshit: "She's So Fresh" III

The past few weeks have been extraordinary for REAL Hip Hop music and culture in New York. From my being caught off guard at the "Bondfire at Bowery Poetry Club Open Mic Night" to Statik Selektah's "100 Proof" Record Release Party at S.O.B.'s, I've had the pleasure of witnessing some exceptional live Hip Hop performances thus far in 2010.

The "She's So Fresh" Showcase III truly continued my lucky streak of being a first-hand witness to GREAT HIP HOP in 2010. The event took place last night at Sputnik in Brooklyn. I had the pleasure of being invited by three unrelenting, pertinacious women of Hip Hop: DJ TastyKeish of WBAI 99.5 FM's "Rise Up Radio" Show (www.Twitter.com/TastyKeish), Bless Roxwell the Femcee and CEO of J.A.G. Music & Media (www.Twitter.com/BlessRoxwell), and Miss Shani the CEO/Chief Publicist and Event Producer of Stilettos & Sounds LLC (www.Twitter.com/StilettoDiva). I was pleasantly surprised by the gift bag I received when I entered the venue. Big up to Bless Roxwell for the CD and the delicious cupcake I killed on the G Train headin' back home at 2:00 AM.

"She's So Fresh" is a concert series that Bless Roxwell created back in August of 2009. It's a forum for upcoming female emcees (a.k.a. "Femcees") to display their skills on the mic live in NYC. The concept is amazing because femcees simply don't get the shine that some of them deserve in the Hip Hop game. I mean, look at my site for example. I have yet to feature a female rapper as "EMCEE OF THE WEEK" mainly because it's more challenging to find high quality female talent, due to a lack of media support. (I'll be remedying this situation on my site in the near future!!!) Regardless, Bless Roxwell is pioneering the promotion of women in Hip Hop. She doesn't just represent for women through marketing, she reps when she Rox Well on the mic and Blesses the crowd live on stage. (God, I can only imagine how many times somebody has already used that line, I just couldn't pass it up!!!)

"She's So Fresh III" was hosted by DJ TastyKeish and the show started on time (what kinda fuckery is this???) being set off with the appropriate tone by DJ Mocha rockin' the 1s & 2s. The first act to hit the stage was a collective group of freestyle rhymers called "Rhyme Like A Girl." Their set was rather unique as they all just got on stage and partook in a freestyle cypher that included a mixture of rapping and singing which all had a theme and a direction. This was quite an impressive way to come out the gate. Of the six acts to follow "Rhyme Like A Girl," I was thoroughly feelin' three of them:

Dante is an upcoming artist from Brooklyn. She held down a 15 minute set with some serious stage presence. She's got a pretty hard and gritty flow. One track really stood out to me and I think it was called "We On." Another track that caught my ear was called "Walk It." This is the first single from her new "Square In A Circle" Mixtape set for release on Monday, February 8th. You can download this track here: ***FREE DOWNLOAD*** Dante "Walk It"

Be sure to peep Dante's myspace at: www.myspace.com/dantemusic

You can also follow Dante on Twitter at: www.Twitter.com/SuperstarTaay

Bless Roxwell was the next femcee to impress me last night. Bless is as beautiful visually as she is audibly. Don't let her lovely feminine attributes fool you though, because she can get on stage and tear shit down. Two songs she spit last night really stood out for me: "Motivation" and "Peace, Love, Unity." Her flows were complimented by a couple of sick beats here and she did an excellent job captivating the crowd and really moving them with her command of the mic wand.

Bless is quite the Hip Hop entrepreneur as well. She's the owner and founder of J.A.G. Music and Media and she runs a blog called "The Revolution of Fresh" at www.WeSoFresh.com where Bless profiles female MCs and women in Hip Hop through her famous "She's So Fresh" Fridayz! series. Currently, Ms. Roxwell has an album available on iTunes titled "Evolutions." Click the link below to download the album from iTunes:

BLESS ROXWELL "EVOLUTIONS" ALBUM on iTUNES

Also be sure to follow Bless Roxwell on Twitter at: www.Twitter.com/BlessRoxwell
Her official website is: www.blessroxwell.com/

The third act to really grab my attention was The Anomolies. They're an all female group consisting of Big Tara, Pri the Honeydark, Helixx, Kuttin Kandi, and Invincible. She's So Fresh Showcase III was also a birthday party for Detroit's own Invincible (www.Twitter.com/InvincibleDET). She's arguably the illest female rapper ever. Forget classifying her as a female emcee, she's one of the the illest EMCEES period. Honestly, if you haven't heard of Invincible you need to BODY YOURSELF right now.

The Anomolies absolutely merked their set doin' classic songs without missin' a single word. Even their DJ Kuttin Kandi lit up the Technics like they were firecrackers. Invincible was truly astounding and I was amazed to see her two nights in a row (as she performed with Bahamadia the night prior at Statik Selektah's Record Release Party at S.O.B.'s). She was puttin' in some solid work on the night of her birthday, but what better way to celebrate than to do what is your life passion and have the crowd rhyme right along with you. It must've been a wonderful feeling.

As I rode the train back home to downtown Brooklyn eating the scrumptious red velvet cupcake that Bless Roxwell stuffed into the gift bag, I began to think that KRS-One really isn't crazy. You see, I've been reading his "Gospel of Hip Hop" 832 page bible for HipHoppas and he repeatedly instructs his readers to follow their dreams and stop fuckin' with societal norms that confine people to dead-end jobs. I finally felt at ease with my decision to quit my job last week and begin to pursue something I'm passionate about. Well the ladies of "She's So Fresh" Showcase III proved to me that pursuing your passion just may be the thing to do because they all were doin' it and doin' it and DOIN' IT WELL.

Peep the Invincible's video for her track "Sledgehammer" below: