One Jammin Christmas Eve
By Andre J. Thomas, Entertainment Blogger
December 25, 2015
One thing that I can say about Birmingham is that it definitely shows love to unsigned rappers. Next to Atlanta, The Magic City is a gold mine when it comes to venues to perform in. There are soooo many hot spots that will open it’s doors for rappers and singers to showcase their musical talent.
Last night, instead of waiting for Santa’s sleigh to wiss pass the Southside, I have to admit, I was learning how to “jigg” with Birmingham’s own El’ Hundo Williams, Big Jugg, YBChosen, QDot Davis, and more. If Santa passed by the Nick Rocks, I’m sure he was surprised to see the rooftop vibrating as the performers were jamming the night away. This event was all made possible last night, courtesy of The Nick Rocks, JimboBooking, and QDotDavisPromo.
Visionary kicked off the set with his single “Set this World on Fire.”
Visionary
Tennessee native Creekwater White featuring CJ rocked the stage with their single, “Bounce.” The single describes how rappers can escape from the pressures of everyday life with a little bounce. 😈
Creekwater White
New Orleans (clears throat, I mean Nawlins) based rapper Trigga Treez performed in Birmingham for the first time last night. Seeing the love that was shown to him helped me to realize that Birmingham definitely supports music. His single “I Get Money” won the crowd over as he engaged fans to help him perform the signature song. Trigga Treez definitely is one rapper who defines what it means to be self-made.
“I won’t allow a record label to define me!”
Trigga Treez
New Orleans rapper A. Levy is no stranger to Birmingham. Levy also headlined the Sinful Confessions Tour earlier this year. Performing his signature turnup song, “Clap for the Haters,” Levy made it clear, ”ain stuntin -ain gloatin- I’m a starving artist” who’s not ashamed to admit he is hustling hard in the streets to pump his music and make a name for himself.
A Levy World
Breaking the monotony last night were singers Jasmine & Stormie Leigh. In two years of covering events, I can honestly say I’ve only seen ONE singer! lol After hearing all the hardcore vibes, Jasmine toned it down for a minute and got us back in the Christmas Eve spirit with her cover of Mariah Carey’s, “All I Want For Christmas!” The beautiful singer passionately belted out chords from her newest single, “Head Over Heels!” Jasmine is currently a stand out artist under Q. Dot Davis Artist Development. She will be having her release party at The Nick Rocks, January 1st, 2016.
Jasmine
In my opinion, Stormie Leigh was the cutest lil thing. Her southern twang just captivated me! Though her music seemed to call men dogs, you couldn’t help but to love it. Performing songs from her Instrumentality EP, Stormie Leigh gave me life with her single, “Devil Dawg.” The best way I could describe her music was a mix of pop, rooted in a country music influence.
Stormie Leigh
It was my first time hearing Birmingham rappers BlewBird & Wood. The duo came equipped with their very own production studio to film their live performance of their single, “Still Spiffy.” The provocative signature track embraces all ages with its groovy ole school background. You couldn’t help but rock your hips and dance last night, as they had us “jammin on the one!” (You gotta be over 25 to know what that means) lol
BlewBird & Wood
YB Chosen is probably one of the most unique rapper I’ve seen so far. There is a black intellectual hidden behind his rough exterior. Performing his single, “Ju Caesar,” I think YB definitely would be a literature teacher’s inspiration to showcase the benefit of tackling Shakespeare’s most well-known characters, Julius Caesar.
Though a number of rappers gain fame boasting a lack of intellectualism, #YBChosen changed the game by showing that his Stillman College education was well worth it. His feature track, Ju Caesar is provocative, but hidden between the sensual overtone is a cool literary element. Modern rappers can learn a lot by embracing the poetic skills of thespians like Shakespeare.
YBChosen
Big Jugg from the hood featuring El’ Hundo Williams are probably the Siamese Twins of Crunk. El Hondo Williams with his rough southern vibrato mixed with Big Jugg’s rocking lyrics make an good combo to turn any club from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds.
El’ Hundo & Bigg Jugg
The Christmas Eve celebration wouldn’t be right if you couldn’t bring a rapper out of retirement. Brandon “GQ” Jackson announced last night that he was returning to the stage after he performed his latest single, “Breakin My Wrist!”
Brandon GQ Jackson
Shaquille Deandre AKA Shaq D and Ivan Williams AKA IV did a really great job last night. Being the most obscure performers of the evening, they surprisingly came to the stage very hard last night. Kicking off their set with their feature track, Dem Young Dudes,” mi hermanos did an excellent job showing their maturity as lyricists and performers. Definitely proud of them to say the least.
Shaq & IV
No need to really gloat on Q Dot Davis. I think we all know my little BIG brother went hard last night. Plus, Q is a common image displayed on my blog.
Showcasing his latest single, “They Thirsty” and “Okie Dokie,” Q Dot Davis showed us the fun side of music last night.
Q Dot Davis
Make sure you guys check out his latest video. Ya favorite entertainment blogger (ME) almost made that cameo with this video lol.
Los Ghost
Closing the show was rapper Los Ghost who is currently promoting, Money Motivated, his newest collaboration with rapper Jelly Roll. The Tennessee based poet not only showed his lyrical ability, but his extensive dance skills. Los Ghost definitely was rapping performed as his own background dancers to say the least. His music definitely gives you a great workout!
@AndreTheBlogger
Andre J. Thomas is a 5x Award Winning Producer and Entertainment Blogger based out of Birmingham, Alabama. He can be heard every Saturday on the hit radio show, Joe Lockett Show. The Joe Lockett Show airs on 101.1 FM & 1260 AM (Metro Birmingham) every Saturday from 4pm to 7pm CST. You can also read articles written by Andre in The Birmingham Times, Black Moguls Magazine, Gumptown Magazine, and on andrejthomas.com.
