Crib Notes

On Tues., July 21 Lenny’s hosts the Crowd Control “performance battle,” which pits artist against artist in a battle where the applause determines the winner. Style, wit and skill are factors, but a strong song and performance are what push the winner to the top. The whole thing is set up as a single elimination tournament where each round is judged by crowd response and measured by a noise meter.

The first round features four head-to-head performances where each group plays a 3-minute song. The winner moves on the to round two and so on.

What’s at stake?
First prize:
$200 Cash
A Demo Trk From Mindzai Studios
4 hours studio time @ Mindzai Studios
$100 in CD Duplications
A 10 min. feature performance
at the next months Crowd Control

Runner-up:
1 Demo Trk From Mindzai Creative Studios
4 hours studio time @ Mindzai Creative Studios
$100 in CD Duplications

Contestants must register in advance by contacting Scott Weatherwax at 404-222-9337 or online. Early Registration is $40. Registration is open until show time, but if you wait that long you will most likely be an alternate. Cost for registering the nights of the show is $50.

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Dominick Brady, who’s been doing some wonderful Atlanta music scene podcasts as of late, recently interviewed Atlanta underground hip-hop head Dres tha Beatnik for an upcoming story in Art Noveau magazine. Here’s an excerpt Brady posted on his blog, DominickBrady.com, in which Dres reveals the defining — and most embarrassing — moment of his career:

“My first experience on stage was actually on a stage play in elementary school. The school had a production of the Wizard of Oz and I was the head munchkin. I had one line to say. My line was ‘we welcome you tomunchkin land!’ I practiced this for weeks- this one line. It gets to my scene and I won’t forget this (because) I was like seven or eight. I go to give my line, I turn to the audience and I froze”, he says. This is not uncommon. Stage fright visits veterans and novices alike. It is the next moment after realization has paired with a panicked reason that defines the performer, that shucks the wheat from the chaff. “Kids started laughing, parents are looking worried, the faculty is looking worried and all of a sudden this dark spot grew around my crotch and developed a tail. I was standing there in front of the school and I pissed on myself”, he admits, unashamedly. Moments such as this have ended the careers of most would-be thespians. For D.R.E.S it fueled his fire. “I started crying and called for my mom. My mom came and got me, carried me off of the stage and took me home. I got home, got cleaned up, got my tears wiped away and I told my mom that night that they’ll never scare me again- that I would never let them scare me again. That was my defining moment. That was the moment where I decided I would not be scared any longer. So far, so good. You’re supposed to have some sort of butterflies (in your stomach) or it will never feel real. I don’t know an artist or a performer that doesn’t have butterflies no matter times they go and do it, no matter how routine it is. If you don’t have it, this isn’t the job for you. If it’s that easy for you, you’re faking it.”

(Photo courtesy Zach Wolfe)

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Even in death, Christopher “Jax” Thurston affirms that the spirit of hip-hop lives and breathes.

This week’s CL cover story on Atlanta underground hip-hop legend and Binkis Recs founder Jax — who collapsed on stage and died while performing at Lenny’s Bar on the morning of Nov. 4 — is expanded online to include excerpts of exclusive interviews with:

• Craig “Flux” Singleton — Binkis Recs’ co-founder and Jax’s best friend
• Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest and DJ Rasta Roots — who collaborated with Jax
• DJ Drama — Binkis Recs’ first DJ before he went on to form the Aphilliates and create Gangsta Grillz
• Cognito of Massinfluence — who hired Jax at the now-closed record store Fat Beats and performed with him regularly as part of Atlanta’s late ’90/early 2000s underground massive
  
• Jayforce — host of 89.3’s (WRFG-FM) Beatz & Lyrics show
• Señor Kaos — Jax’s protégé
• Lisa Thurston — Jax’s newlywed wife of two and a half months
  
• Mr. and Mrs. Thurston — Jax’s parents of Queens, NY
  

Other features include:

• Exclusive music — Jax Forever King MP3 mix by Binkis Recs’ DJ Mafioso
• YouTube footage — including Jax’s video for “Who’s Jax”
• Links to Jax tributes — aired on 89.3’s Beatz & Lyrics show and 89.9’s (WKCR-FM in New York) Smash Radio

The story also includes quotes from DJ and underground hip-hop tastemaker Bobbito. If you never knew anything about Jax — or Atlanta’s other hip-hop scene — get familiar.

R.I.P. Jax Forever King. Hip-hop lives.

Download Jax’s solo catalog and Binkis Recs’ catalog at iTunes.

(Photo courtesy Craig Singleton)

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THE LAST STAND: Mic Club host/promoter Dres tha Beatnik (middle) says Mic Club won’t die. (photo by Zack Wolfe, taken from Mic Club’s MySpace page.)

After holding it down for 6 years at Apache Cafe, Mic Club — which won CL’s 2007 Critic’s Pick for Best Club Event — is calling it quits.

Next Tuesday’s show will be the last, says host and 4 Kings Entertainment promoter Dres tha Beatnik, who blamed the event’s sudden demise on failed renegotiations with Apache Cafe owner Asa Fain.

“They don’t want to give us what we need to stay,” says Dres.

According to Dres, his long-standing arrangement with Apache guaranteed him 60 percent of door receipts, but the best updated offer he says he received from Fain was a 70 percent take on door receipts on nights that net $1,500.

Fain counters that Dres “wanted 100 percent of the door and 20 percent of the kitchen and bar. I just don’t do those kinds of deals.” He admits the Tuesday night event was well-attended but disputes Dres’ average attendance numbers of 275.

“It’s a little bit insulting and disappointing because this show does mean something to a lot of people in Atlanta,” says Dres.

Fain says Dres let “pride get in the way” of what was originally a partnership that included the late Quinton “DJ Ox” Bradford Jr. and Fain’s own band.

“Now [Dres] wants to justify that it’s his thing, but now he’s made his bed and he’s gotta sleep in it. I’m not glad it’s over…. We had a great time. It was a blast. I’m sorry to see it go, [but] things change. It’s cool. I think people will miss it a little … but it’s time to get with the new.”

A monthly Mic Club event could be on the horizon, says Dres, who is looking at the Masquerade and Variety Playhouse as possible venues.

Meanwhile, Dres hopes other promoters in the city can learn from his experience.

“I wanna be able to have this serve as a lesson to up and coming promoters to know what to do and what not to do, and also for the general public to know how much this venue and this city [de]values independent hip-hop.”

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In case you don’t understand the relevance of this post, let me explain.

Afterlife … an 18-plus party at Masquerade every Saturday with resident DJs Preston Craig (creator of KissAtlanta.com and Decatur Social Club), Rob Rowe, Captain Crunk and Treasure Fingers. It’s pretty much like a rave minus the Ecstacy. Electro remixes of your favorite songs, old and new. Colorful lights. Kids wildin’ out.

D.R.E.S. … holds it down as the ambassador of underground hip-hop in Atlanta. In the CL Best of Atlanta 2002 issue, he was said to have the “rockingest esophagus in town.” He produces and hosts Mic Club, an MC/producer battle, on Tuesdays at Apache Cafe. Every Friday, he’s on the mic at MJQ’s hip-hop night singing lyrics, shouting out folks, rocking the crowd. Anything that has to do with “real” hip-hop in the city, D.R.E.S. is a part of.

I’m always down for a clash of cultures, and this should be a good one.

Here’s a taste of both:

Afterlife

D.R.E.S.

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