Masta Ace @The Shrine (Aug 13)

NoTryDo and Phee put on a great Respect the Mic jam at the Shrine featuring Masta Ace (@mastaace). Ace did all the tracks people wanted to hear and stay high-energy the whole time. More importantly, he stayed after to sign autographs and take pics with any and everyone who wants to give respect. That was too cool.

Wordsworth (@WordsworthEMC) joined Ace on stage for few songs but his freestyle was one that got everyone hyped. THe DJ and Soundman couldn't get on the same page, so Words just rhymed for 3 mins straight (starts at 3min: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJFYlFzrb9s) It was off the hook. Like Ace, he hung out afterwards.

NoTryDo.Sincere and Phee put on a high energy performance that was neat. I hadn't seen NTD in years and he's still doing his thing and is continuing to hone the craft. Phee musta been tired the next day, because his energy on stage was crazy.

Several other performer took the stage that night. The biggest surprises for me were The Survivalists who destroyed the set for every song. Check em out at http://thesurvivalists.bandcamp.com/album/the-survivalists-ep . They were a treat to hear live. Profound was also great on the mic (profoundmusicgroup.com), and rhymed the whole set with his mom in the front row. Kerron started strong with his own twist of B.I.G.

Other rappers that had skills included E. Jones and Johnny Awesome. Given the skills, I look forward to seeing them on stage again.

Others on the mic (some of whom forgot who comes to an Ace show) included: Wuntoo Checka, GoCity https://www.facebook.com/GOSITYENT), GBALL, and Smiley.

Nearly all of them showed skills, but my unsolicited advice: learn from the crowd you saw watching Ace. Strive to make music that will last - song people will still want to hear a decade from now. Talking about B****es probably won't go far... Especially after you "do something for the ladies"... IJS

Keep it real. Real Hip Hop.

Enjoy the Pix.