Killer Mike at The Apollo: 7/20/23

Michael Santiago Render, better known as Killer Mike, performed at The Apollo on July 20th for the New York City leg of his "The High and Holy Tour." Before the show's start, Crackstart the DJ, set the show's tone beautifully with live mixing, and he shouted out, "OG mama's basement party" as Mike came on. The choir begins to sing, and the "Man of the People" is introduced. The DJ shouted out Harlem, which is Mike's hometown and the location of The Apollo. Dressed in an all-white outfit, he shines from any angle, with the bright lights bouncing off him elegantly. He says he has one mission: to rock the motherf****** stage.

Even though he is an artist with a very large discography, he said he is not doing his old stuff and plans to play his new music, referring to his new album, "Michael." In between songs, he motivationally speaks, saying how you need to fall to appreciate getting up. He talks about his grandma and his struggle growing up, especially mentioning the appreciation of the reward of getting back up. Interacting with the audience, he points up to the sky and asks the crowd to groove. He follows with Scientists and Engineers the most popular song on his most recent album, featuring Future, Andre 300, and Eryn Allen Kane. Like the song, he asks the crowd how long they are going to live - forever. The crowd was electrifying, and the energy was intense. He then brings out Cam'ron, and the crowd explodes, excited to see him.

He put on an outstanding performance and hugged Mike before leaving. The crowd begins to sing, repeating, "I ain't ever scared WHAT, I ain't ever scared WHAT." In his past, Mike used to work at auto zone, relating his past work to a song about filling up a gas tank. On a more political note, he talks about the Ronald Regan administration and what they did with the crack cocaine epidemic. He says that MLK Street was a beautiful street before crack hit it. Throughout the performance, he smiles, generally as a segway between songs, but before he talks about his anecdotes. He ends the show by talking about the state of Hip Hop and being thankful for it. As a religious man, he credits God and the Hip Hop and Rap community. He performs High & Holy for his final song, just like the tour name, with a great smile. Killer Mike put on a phenomenal show at The Apollo; check out his music and socials!

Written by Shrithik Karthik

Photography by Shrithik Karthik

Drake at the Barclays Center: 7/17/23

After five years, Drake came back on tour for an astoundingly good show, one that was unlike anything else we’ve seen before. Drake made his fifth stop on his “It’s All a Blur” tour last week at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. The show begins with the younger version of himself rising from underneath the stage, showing how much he has grown over the years, both in his career and as a person. As “Look What You’ve Done” instrumental begins, he walks onto the stage, interacting with the audience as he passes. Once he sits down on the couch with the younger version of himself, the song restarts, and Drake begins to sing.

The crowd became very hyped up when “Know Yourself” came on. The audience says the famous line, “I was running through the six with my woes,” and Drake hyped them up as he gave them a second chance to deliver the line back to him. The music builds up, the audience screams the lyrics, and fireworks explode from above. When he performed “Nice For What,” the energy in the room exploded, and everyone was singing their hearts out. For the song “Search and Rescue,” which was released more recently, Kim K says the line “I didn’t come this far, just to come this far and not be happy,” which Drake follows with, “I didn’t.” He then exits the stage, and 21 Savage comes out.

21 Savage came out of section 118 and opened with the song “Red Opps” and during the part where there are gunshots, fireworks banged in an explosive manner. The crowd loved the hype energy that 21 gave opposed to Drake’s more mellow vibes. With such gritty lyrics the audience gets to bring out their savage side. He then plays “Who Want Smoke??” and the D.A.R.E logo is shown across the stage. The entire stadium is covered in red and the lights strobe and flash between white and red. The energy is strong and thousands are jumping and the floor is moshing. To close it out he plays one of his most hype songs “Mr. Right Now,” which set the mood perfectly for Drake to re-enter the show.

Drake emerges from beneath the stage to play “Knife Talk” with 21. The next song they performed was “Spin Bout U,” gaining heavy audience interaction. Near the second bass drop, as the energy in the room builds up, he screams YEAHHH, and fire shoots out from the middle of the stage, and the audience goes insane for this. At the end of the show, he gives tribute back to Virgil Alboh for being one of the most influential people of our time and being the greatest minds of our generation. He closes out with “Legend” where he sings the ending which was different from the original song. It was entirely vocals and he sang it much slower which felt very intimate and made it seem unique to something that he would only do on tour. He then ends the show with a motivational speech telling the audience to take care of themselves, live their best lives, and most importantly, live a good life.

Written by Shrithik Karthik

Photography by Shrithik Karthik

Rouge Music Festival at The Sultan Room

On a hot, humid, and rainy Saturday, The Sultan Room hosted the second day of the Rogue Music Festival. And it is without a doubt that the festival is showcasing some of the best and underrated talent in New York and starting with Grandma, a singer-DJ soloist who amped up the crowds escaping into the AC on Saturday. Followed up by rock band Nihiloceros influenced the audience's head-banging. Bands brought their talent and merch, like Hard Nips, a Japanese girl rock band that hand-crocheted bikini tops for sale.

And the party did not stop on Saturday, with the festival continuing at 3 Dollar Bill the next day.

Starting the show, Megagonefree took center stage in a sultry red dress, ending up in only very thin lingerie, followed by talented backup dancers in bras and tiny shorts. We are so obsessed. Their set made everyone (and I mean everyone) horny. Goo and Leone's bands brought the audience to tears with heart-wrenching vulnerability following that stunning performance.

There was a musician for everyone at the festival. A wide variety of local talent that Rogue Music Festival is determined to help widen its audience. In between acts, people would bounce from the stage to the local vendors selling custom-made jewelry, festival wear, and even tattoo artist. The festival started in the late afternoon and ran late into the night, perfect for early birds and night owls.

To read more about the making of the Rogue Music Festival, check out our interview with the organizers.

Miss out on the festival? Check out our Spotify and discover some of the local talent showcased during this iconic weekend!

Written by Delfina Barbiero

Photography by @kiangannonn, Michelle LoBianco, @gannonpadgett for Rogue Music Festival