Style Factory 6 @ The Knitting Factory

“The ride from Manhattan to Brooklyn to Connecticut should NOT take four hours,” DJ Halo pointed out to me the day after we finally made it home from Style Factory Six. Of course, most everyone knows that the ride in question is a 90 minute jaunt at best, but thanks to a few detours and I-95 being closed only a few exits after we got onto it, we had quite the epic ride home, arriving back in CT at seven in the morning. Some may wonder if any night could possibly be worth such a tiring trek. Thanks to some fantastic performances, and a packed house at the Knitting Factory, the answer was yes.

For this particular event I was in full networking mode despite being handed drinks at a unconscionable rate. The early evening stop off at Caliente Cab for dinner and margaritas with my friend Ralph and his girlfriend not only netted us four glasses, which I still think his girl scammed from the restaurant, but also gave us a nice little buzz (I think the drinks were around 20 oz. each, so my friend and I basically had a 40 of margaritas each). Buzz be damned, I was working my butt off, connecting artists and producers with publicists and DJs. I knew damn near everyone and made sure that by the time the show started everyone else know each other, as well.

DJ Milk Money opened the show, and props to him for playing some old school Wu-Tang when I asked him to. Respect the classic Wu! My own DJ, DJ Halo, who had been the opening DJ for the previous two shows, was behind the ones and twos for the main event this time around. Not only did Halo do a great job but we scared the bejesus out of one of my friends when we recited the intro to Plastic Little’s “The Jump Off” in unison (“two elephants suckin a dude’s dick, with suicide doors… that’s the jump off!”). With Halo in place the show started with a bang with Written On Your Psyche. Written On Your psyche is a duo that I was really into. They obviously have been working together for a while and their stage presence was noted by all. Though it’s difficult to discern lyrical content at a live event I can say Written On Your Psyche had some dope flows and got the crowd hyped from the start.

Speaking of hyped, when I arrived at the Knitting Factory my friends and I were greeted by a massive bus that was bringing people, already inebriated people, in from New Jersey to see Break Fast Ent. Now, when I first heard that name I thought this would be a breaking crew, but they’re not, they’re a rap group, and one that, smartly, brought their own rabid crowd. I have absolutely no idea how well Break Fast Ent. performed because their fans were so hyper that getting anywhere near the stage involved more risk than I was willing to take on. I can say with authority that they were, ahem, energetic.

Following Break Fast Ent. was Butta Verses. Butta wasn’t bad, but after the overly hyped Break Fast Ent. set the scene calmed down a bit. I don’t think this was Butta’s fault, in fact it wasn’t anyone’s “fault” it was just a result of what happens when you put on a show with multiple acts. If there’s a middle act that’s hyper the act afterwards is always hard pressed to follow it. I think I’d like to see Butta Verses again sometime as an opener so I can get a better idea of what he’s really all about.

Whose Rhyme Is It Anyway, the freestyle competition that’s sweeping the nation, or at least the people who show up at the Style Factory shows, was up next and thanks to members of Break Fast Ent. being involved the crowd was even more crazed than normal. Inf was set to defend his title and the games this month included telling a new story of an 80’s star with both the star and the situation being shouted out by the crowd, making up a rhyme based on a headline, and imitating an artist based on the beat that was plying. Props to DJ Halo for pulling some lesser known tracks out for people to rhyme to. In a controversial finish A-Class of Break Fast Ent. narrowly beat out Inf. Both of these MC’s, along with Bisc1, will be back later in the year for the Whose Rhyme Is It Anyway champions competition.

Mindspray closed the show with a powerful set made all the more memorable by the appearance of Mason Lucas, who, in all the shows I’ve been to, I had never met. In fact, he was the only member of Mindspray I had never met. The team performed some favorites, including “Smoke A Joint,” which had the entire crowd singing along with the hook. As usual the Mindspray set was filled with tons of energy and a few interesting outfits. LEFTist came through with his trademark hat and C.O.N.C.E.P.T. was rockin a sweater vest, backpack and space goggles. Yeah, that’s why his picture is the one used for this article. I challenge anyone to find another rapper wearing this combination of gear for his or her performance.

At the close of Mindspray’s performance the show ended and our seemingly never ending journey home began. All in all it was another successful event and I have to say the energy level for Style Factory 6 will be hard to top.