This past Saturday was electrifying seeing a sold out show at the famous El Rey Theater. Peas and Carrots worked hand and hand with Goldenvoice to bring us youngins a dope hip-hop show that will not be forgotten. Casey Veggies headlined with friends Niko G4, C-San, and Overdoz.
The crowd was wild from the beginning of the night that gave off a feeling of comfort with all the friends and family in the crowd. Niko was the first to hit the stage, coming out hard with a little tribute to Tupac (it was his birthday on the 16th). Niko G4 took control of the crowd and stage following his tribute with single “$moke Break”. Heads were banging and fans rushed the stage to get a glimpse of the young Los Angeles upstart. Niko was always interacting with the fans and kept showing his love for L.A. The greatest thing about doing a show is doing it in your hometown. The whole set was full of kids that were under 21 coming from different parts of L.A. and just killing it in the rap game.
Following Niko was C-San, who’s one of those young guns that have a mind and flow like an emcee that has been in the game forever. C-San had Skeme accompanying him on stage as they were bouncing rhymes off each other and you can see how the two were having so much fun. One of my favorite tracks that got some play was “What’s The Move,” which is produced by Uncle Dave off of Gametime. Dave sampled the classic sports theme and had the place hyped with this beat. C-San and Skeme’s rhymes were so hard the fans had no clue on what was coming at them. Speaking of Uncle Dave when he came out on stage with a bent up snap back, cut-off denim vest, the noise from the crowd elevated to a whole new level. He got down on the keys as C-San laced his velvety voice with sharp nimble bars. Adding to the madness Anwar and others from the PnC family were throwing copies of CG3, shirts and other show memorabilia out into the crowd. As the sets were short they were packed with insane beats, energy that had everyone in the clouds, and showcased the new young talent that is here to stay.
Walking around the venue you could see nothing but people talking, hugging, dancing, and they’re there to have a good time. Next thing I knew a very tall smoked out cookie monster fuzzy suit came out and my eardrums almost exploded from the eruption of screams from the fans. The first notes of “Before We Go On” bled through the speakers and Creemie, Kent and Sleezy strolled out on stage with fat blunts lit. As cookie monster was dancing around, the three emcees with their laid-back rhymes put the crowd in a trance. It got super hot with the smoke and dancing that cookie monster started to shake his head. Shook it so much it fell off and the gentleman in the suite was Tube with his outrageous Afro. OverDoz was finally all rapping and the crew kept the show bouncing with their lyrics appropriately light and breezy which invited listeners to leave their cares behind and just get well Dested. During their set ,there were people crowd surfing, Sleez and Creemie were running in circles, and at one point there was an infant in the crowd loving the music the most.
This wasn’t the end of the night, for it was only warming up for the act of all acts. When the curtains drew back there was a gigantic neon light fixture in the shape of a mermaid. Center stage was an artist of small stature. This blonde young woman had a violin and was ready to get down to business. I knew this would be a set that others and I will talk about forever. As the violinist Eliza James killed it playing hip-hop on the strings Casey Veggies came out charging. Hands went up instantly. Tonight was for the promotion of CG3 and there were a lot of new tracks that fans already knew word for word. CV being 18 and just graduating high school had his whole family at the show and just was thankful to be playing at a sold out El Rey. Casey’s style of rapping is straight from Inglewood and his tracks offer nothing but lyrical content that tells a story of the neighborhood. “Toe Tag” was only one of the few bangers this kid played. The track is the definition of trill by killing them with the raw swag. I have not gotten a chance to see OddFuture till this night. They have worked on a track “PNCINTLOFWGKTA” for the new album. Tyler, Earl, Domo Genesis, and Hodgy just went wild with Veggies. How does one continue a set after a guest appearance of OFWGKTA? Easily done when you’re Casey and have Dom Kennedy roll out to drop some bars on “CDC”. After the great surprises Veggies said thanks to his fans and family. He explained he had a one more special guest and this was the one and only Terrace Martin. He jammed on the saxophone while CV effortlessly rhymed “Garden”. Even though we all like to close the night on a relaxed note, that wasn’t the motto here. Young Veggies had to bring the house down with his single “Verified (Everything Official)”. Since the show I have not been able to stop playing CG3 and have flashbacks of the night. You can check out new releases from PnC here and you can get your digital copy of CG3 now.
– Crusty
All photos by Carolina Isabel
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