• » Name: Akrobatik
• » Location: Boston, MA
• » Member Since: 07/31/07
• » Syndicate: RSS

• » Tour Blog: ROCK THE BELLS!!!
• » Tour Blog: New York, Act Won
• » Tour Blog: Day 1 - Chicago

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akrobatik • new york • paid dues • rock the bells

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Akrobatik's Tour Blog

Tour Blog: ROCK THE BELLS!!!

So, my time in New York started off... Well... Ok, the first night in New York I found myself playing poker with Slug from Atmosphere and Sage Francis, using multi-colored tic-tacs for chips. The fourth guy, Danny, beat us all.

Anywho...

Rock the Bells was insane. I don't even know where to start. In addition to all the Paid Dues artists, the festival of over 40,000 people had performances by Public Enemy, Pharoah Monch, Rage Against the Machine, Black Star, Cypress Hill, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, EpMD, and so many more. This weekend, we were part of hip-hop history. Before this, I had never seen anything of this magnitude outside of Europe. Truly unbelievable experience. And then, to see so many friends and acquaintances from the biz there, too.. Crazy

Here are some highlights from the 2-day event, the first of which was scorching hot, and the second a complete wash.

- The Wu-Tang Clan's performances. Yep, both of them. They killed it with two totally different sets on back-to-back nights. On Saturday night, Redman even hit the stage with Mef to do Da Rockwilder!! Yeah, even on a night with Public Enemy performing, the Wu staked their claim as the greatest hip-hop crew of all-time, in my opinion. Always buy the Tang!

- Flavor Flav's daughter handing me a sticker for Public Enemy's new album.

- Mudwrestling!

- I took a dope picture with Chuck D. and Pharoah. I'll try to get it posted up soon. Chuck has this secret three-way hand shake that he taught me and Pharoah that makes it look like all three of our sets of arms are linked in kinda like a chain. It was sick, I can't wait for Todd to show me the pictures from these two days.

- Finally got to thank B-Real face-to-face for his contribution to the album. Also met Cypress Hill percussionist Bobo.

- Met ?uestlove again.

- The crowd for our Sunday performance in the rain was even bigger than Saturday's!! Big up for that. I almost slipped and bust my ass twice during our set, because the stage was so wet, but I think I pulled it off and no one noticed. Or at least no one laughed. Heh.

- Bumped into Talib for a quick second.

- Finally got to meet the Green-Eyed Bandit Erick Sermon!

- Doooooooooooom!

- Boston was in the house! So many Red Sox caps during our peformance. The love was everywhere. Thanks for that. Extra super shoutout to my friends who were there, some I got to see, some I didn't - Johnny Love, Joselyn, Mawuse, DJ Jayceeoh, Celeste, man everybody! And oh, speakin' of Boston.. Just cuz I'm on the road doesn't mean you can't still hear me every weekday morning doing the Sports Rap Up on the Jam'n 94.5 Morning Show with Ramiro and Pebbles. Celtics get Garnett!?!? I'll take it. Thanks Kevin McHale!!!

I mean, everything about Rock the Bells was pretty dope, aside from the fact that the main stage and the Paid Dues stage seemed to be in a bit of a soundclash at times. Like, I really wanted to stay for Doom's whole set, but how can you do that when the Wu is doing "Protect Ya Neck" just a few hundred yards away?

My friends were a little mad Erykah Badu cancelled on Sunday, but you know how it is with sistas and the rain with their hair :)

Having backstage passes is always dope, but this might have tbeen the best instance of this EVER. Just to go backstage and see Flavor Flav buggin' out with Mos Def, RZA kickin' it with Erick Sermon. Pure craziness. And when Wu-Tang came out their trailor it was pure pandemonium. What a weekend. I can't wait for the Cali Rock the Bells shows!

So once the festival was over, we boarded the bus for the long trek out to the midwest, Minneapolis to be exact. We stopped at the midway point, South Bend, Indiana, for the bus drivers to rest and for us to stretch our legs. What happened next was great.

The Living Legends Crew threw us a true west coast-style BBQ! We had a nice area at the hotel, poolside, grill... More poker (I'm at -$60 if anyone's counting), Tupac, Skee-lo, and Snoop pumpin out the boom box. Yo... That corn on the cob was off the heeezy! So was the BBQ chicken, baked beans, salmon, peppers... Damn, I'm hungry just reflecting on that shit! On the real, ain't no party like a Livin' Legends party!

On a sad note, Lif and I are not having an easy time trying to win the National Championship with the BC Eagles on College Hoops 2k7. I hope it doesn't affect our friendship too harshly, haha. Damn we need some wins! If we don't beat Northeastern, we should consider quitting.

So, anyway, now I am here at the telly in Minnesota, about to venture out to find some food. The long road continues. Back-to-back shows here in Minnesota, the home base of Rhymesayers camp, who have an entire posse on this tour. That means the next two nights should be insane. I can't wait for the shows. I can't wait to win my poker money back.

The road is long and lonely, but these times remind me exactly why I make the sacrifice.

Shout out to Murs for putting this thing together. And shouts to Lif for inviting me. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

I'll hit y'all back after the Minnesota shows.

RESPECT!!

Ak

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Tour Blog: New York, Act Won

What Up!

So, I'm here in New York, where as soon as the tour bus parked, everyone scattered like roaches in the hood when the lights come on. Everyone went to go see their fam, friends, or whoever they know out here. I'm taking the time to rest up and fully recover from the assault on my immune system that I'm dealing with. Thanks to you guys reading, I decided to drink 55 gallons of OJ, 123 bottles of water, 11 pots of hot tea with lemons and honey, I'm wearing a garlic necklace, took Sudafed, ecinachea, vitamin C, Airborne, Alka-Seltzer, ate mad salads, sat in a steam bath, took a laxative, ran around the gas station parking lot a few times, meditated, got a massage, prayed to 4 different deities, and did some yoga. And you know what? I feel a little better! Thanks, y'all. Don't know what I'd do without ya.

The tour busses picked us up in Chicago, and I must say that the Def Jux bus is poppin! We finally got some decent XBox 360 games, so things are rollin' properly right about now. One notable part of the day had to be all of the artists sittin' outside havin a discussion about old school hip-hop. Ha, imagine me, Slug, Brother Ali, Murs, Therapy, Hangar 18, and Blueprint sitting outside of a hotel trading verses from old hits from Scarface, Ice-T, Geto Boys, Sugar Hill, and a bunch of other classics. I mean obscure shit!

Sittin in this hotel in New York all day will give me time to do some much needed office work, and also do some laundry (yes, already). Other than that, there is not much to report just yet... But, tomorrow is when the tour kicks into high gear. I'm looking forward to performing, but I'm also lookin forward to seein WU TANG!!!! That's gonna be the experience of a lifetime, not to mention all the other great artists that will be there. I was tellin my man Therapy earlier how much this reminds me of some of the music festivals that they have overseas. My favorite shit ever was seeing Busta Rhymes at the Splash festival in Germany rockin it for 40,000 people. Best set I've ever seen. That, and seein' Snoop and Ozzy play back to back for 100,000 people in Denmark.  I'm imagining that tomorrow and Sunday will be like that. Hope to see y'all out there!

Umm, what else, what else.... Eh, that's about it... Lindsay Lohan better do some serious jailtime. Let ME get caught driving drunk with coke in my car... Well, I don't do coke... or drink... or drive. So that shit ain't happenin, but you feel me! Umm... What else.. Oh, my video for "A to the K" is almost done, can't wait to show y'all that... Found some decent trimmers, so I don't have to look like a wildebeest on stage and scare Lif's fans... Shit, man, I guess that's it for now. Can't wait to see all my NYC fam this weekend, shit's gon' be dope!

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Tour Blog: Day 1 - Chicago

Aight, so I've decided to blog this tour. We'll see if I can keep up with it on a daily basis, or at least on the days of shows...

So we are in Chicago for the Paid Dues Tour, where I am traveling as a special guest of my homie Mr. Lif. It's a great opportunity for me, with my album coming out in October, to let the fans know, and to try out new material. Plus, I really just needed a damn break from Boston. Love the Morning Show, but I can't stay in one place for too long without feeling jittery - not even home.

So anyway, MAD heads are on this tour. It's like a who's who of the independent hip-hop game. Slug, Murs, Brother Ali, Living Legends, Sage Francis, Cage, Hangar 18, Blueprint, and the list goes on. Three tour busses; the Def Jux Bus (which we will load up in the morning), the Rhymesayers Bus, and the Living Legends Bus. 36 people on one tour; it's crazy.

I got in to O'Hare Airport yesterday afternoon, and was shuttled over to the hotel, where I had to wait an hour in the lobby because my room wasn't ready. To make matters worse, I could feel myself getting sick with every few passing minutes. I felt a little scratch in my throat back in Boston, but my immune system usually kills shit immediately. Not this time; the scratch in my throat erupted into a full-blown cold within hours, and as I write this I feel like shit.

The first show here in Chicago actually had a venue change, and instead of the Congress Theater (which I don't think I've ever played), we moved to the Abbey Pub (my favorite Chi-town venue!). The show was packed, but by the time I got there, my brain felt like someone was squeezing it like a sponge. Luckily, once I got on, all the water I drank, and all the sweating got rid of the headache, although my throat was sore as hell. Either way, I made it through the set, and bounced immediately back to the hotel. I have two whole days to rest now, since the next show, scheduled for Baltimore, has been cancelled. Hopefully there isn't too much more of that shit. Because anyone who tours will tell you that the toughest days on tours are the off days, because all you do is spend money, while not making any that night. Today's show was definitely hot (literally and figuratively), and the crowd seemed like they were really pumped at my surprise guest appearance.

Lif is pissed, as am I about the fact that we can't find a decent XBox 360 game to get a season crackin'. NBA Live 07 is the worst game ever. Compared to the games that 2K Sports dropped, there really is no comparison. And the damn Target around the corner has no decent games in it. Not sports games, anyway. Brothas is all about winning world championships over here, if you didn't know.

Well, now I'm just sittin' here waitin' on  the fellas to come back, about to order some food. Hopefully my throats not killin' me later on tonight, because I'm sure that the 420 situation will pop off tonight as usual (if you catch my drift).

I gotta get up mad early, cuz I definitely wanna make sure i get the sleeper that I want on the tour bus. Fuck all that sleepin on the floor bunk shit. The next shows for us are this weekend at Rock the Bells in New York, which are gonna be insane. Wu-Tang, Cypress, Public Enemy, BlackStar, so much dope shit in one place that it's almost surreal.

Well, time to find this food and relax for a bit, and hopefully be back at 100% by Friday. If anything worth talking about happens tomorrow, I'll be sure to let y'all know.

Respect

ak

PS - Damn, talkin' NFL with cats is pretty crazy nowadays. You shoulda heard Alaska from Hangar 18 in regards to the Patriots/Jets matchup in week 1. Cats are scared of the Pats, and rightfully so. The dynasty is just getting started!

1 Comments             

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