“A Hot Show on a Cold night”
--By Jeff Barthel

On a freezing cold Minnesota December evening, some hot rap artists were blazing up the confines of the Great Hall, in the Coffman Union at the University of Minnesota. Over 500 students and other youthful people strolled into the Hall for the Hip Hop event, sponsored by PRISM (a U of M multicultural student group) and HipHopClub.

The admission was free and the beats were loud, as the Great Hall’s high-ceilinged auditorium housed a variety of beats and rhythms from a diverse collection of cutting edge artists. Performers such as Träma, MC Golden, Kasper and Livewire exchanged respective sets of stage time in spitting out innovative rhymes and bringing their high-octane rap rhythms to the University of Minnesota’s campus Friday, December 4th. “I’m just wanting to bring my energy, take to the stage and into the crowd, throw it out and have it thrown back to us,” says Stuart “Casey” Golden (a.k.a. MC Golden).”

A graduate of Macalester College, Golden is a Jewish, Caucasian American whose been rapping since the age of ten. Golden was one of eight acts at the show, all of whom showcased their talents in twenty-minute segments separated by comedian/emcee, Boima Freeman. A resident of St. Paul, Freeman says his friend, “Wizdom,” (who works as the administer of the Hip Hop Club) summoned him to the event. Freeman arguably was the hit of the show, inducing laugh after laugh from the Hall’s audience members with witty comedy and satirism. When asked what made him come out for the event, Freeman responded, “Well, my boy ‘Wizdom’ asked me to come out and I was like, let’s see, I could either watch reruns of Oprah or come out an emcee a Hip Hop concert, the decision was pretty easy.”

Emceeing is something Freeman does frequently, but any audience member could tell he wasn’t your ordinary emcee; this guy was a comedian. The 27-year-old is also a very thankful young man. “It’s a nice opportunity,” says Freeman about hosting the event, “it’s nice to know there’s a multicultural group on campus here, it’s good to see such a diverse crowd out there.” This atmosphere included people with descent from India and Southeast Asia, to Oriental, Hispanic, Caucasian, African American, “Chinese, Siamese, Pekinese, Greenese, all y’all are in the house tonight.” In one break, Freeman took a “role call,” calling out different racial backgrounds represented among the crowd. “Oh, and “don’t forget the mixes,” one young man in the audience shouted. “Oh yeah, of course, the mixes, Hispanic American, Asian American, y’all know ‘Kool-Aid’ is my motherf***in’ flavor, mixed people definitely in the house.”

During another break between artists the 6-foot-6-inch, lanky Freeman, asks the audience if they’ve seen the new musical-turned-movie, “Rent.” “Y’all seen that, I don’t know about [Rent], but I got a better song, it’s called ‘Eviction’,” says Freeman. The self-proclaimed entertainer donned in loose-fitting clothes and a green knit cap veering crookedly off the side of his head, paused for a moment. He then shared his musical vocal talents, or lack thereof (but Freeman is charmingly shameless). “Ohh,Landloooorrrrd, please don’t kick me out of my apartment.”

Three girls who came out from Brooklyn Park agreed they enjoyed Freeman as the show’s emcee. “He’s hilarious,” says Becky Nolan, “he keeps the crowd involved and he also knows when to stop well.” Also keeping the laughs coming was Träma, a rapper from Queens, N.Y. “[Tráma] had a really unique performance,” says Nolan, “nobody else would’ve thought to do that.” Nolan is referring to Träma’s special guest, Chris Rock. No, Rock was not there in person, but his face-on-a-stick was. In “Public Housing,” fresh cut of his new album, Tramagnum, Träma incorporates some audio of Rock’s voice and imitates Rock as he parades into the audience and pokes his head toward audience members.

Trama, 30, has a full-time job as a film editor (he’s helped produce Incubus’ “Drive” and several TV commericals) says rapping is a passion he likes to follow in his spare time. Growing up in Queens, Träma says he’s been “rapping since day one.” He particulary likes being creative with his lyrics, aspiring to be somewhat similar to rap legends NaS and Rakim -- both of whom were natives of NYC. “I’m really serious with my lyrics,” says Träma. “With Rakim, he brought rap to a level no other emcee had reached, [he then] passed the baton to NaS in the early 90s, and NaS just ran with it.”

After the rhythmic rhymes Träma spit came a performance by a young, white man named Kasper. “Kasper’s the bomb,” says Brittany Simmons, an African American female female from Brooklyn Park, “it’s good to see white people who can rap,” Simmons, who came to the show with Nolan and their friend Kaitlyn Hailander, also shared her feelings on the night as a whole, and the sense of diversity and multiculturalism the show’s atmosphere provided. “I’m amazed at all the people from different cultures that are out here tonight,” said Simmons. “We are all different people, but we generally have the same ideas on things, and it’s great to share them [through rap] with each other.”

Kasper was one of three white rap artists on hand; there were also some black rappers and one man with a Puerto Rican background. Golden, in particular, seemed to revel in the importance of diversity and racial harmony. Originally from Reading, Penn., Golden moved to Minnesota to play basketball for Macalester College. After a short-lived career that came to an end with reconstructive surgery on his wrist, Golden focused his passion for rap. He paired up with Jay Escobar, a childhood friend of his from Lancaster, Penn., and formed the rap group, “S.U.S.P.E.C.T.S.” The two have since become solo artists, but Escobar joined up with him for the PRISM event.

“We went to school together from way back in fourth grade,” says Escobar, who, like Golden, resides in St. Paul. “I like to think we’ve got Minneapolis style with a St. Paul address.” In a backstage moment between acts, Golden spoke about his roots, New York, and the roots of rap. “The truth of the matter is, rap is a black art form,” says Golden. “It starts and ends with black, people need to understand that.”

In the Pennsylvania native’s segment, the white artist first made it a point to the audience that he is not Eminem nor tries to be like him. Golden says some rappers, white rappers in particular, need to understand and appreciate rap’s roots, not just doing it for show. “I want to change sh#* on a mass level,” says Golden. “I’m hoping that people are listening and bobbing their heads and enjoying dancing to the beat, but I also hope some of my lyrics will ‘hit’ them.” Some of the issues Golden raps on include depression, war, spirituality and love (i.e. “Where the drugs at, nah f#&% that, yo where the love at”).

The Macalester alum enjoyed particpating at the Hip Hop event and, as with many of the other artists, says he appreciates the opportunity to perform. All in all, it was a successful event. The show lasted three hours, provided free entertainment for several young persons and allowed for diversity to unite in harmony, at least for one night.

HipHopClub/PRISM
Presented

Performances By
Golden
Trama
GUARDIANS OF BALANC
LIVEWIRE
Big Jess of Unknown Prophets
and Capaciti
@ The University of Minnesota

Hosted By Comedian Boima Freeman
DJ MV on the 1's and 2's
Inbox Magazine was in the house giving away free Magazines and DVD's