In short: I like it.

So…what’s been going on with you all? The latter part of 2011 was quite eventful and trying but I have a feeling that this year will be one of the best ever for Eva Noslen Photography. I have ideas bubbling in my mind and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get them out in a timely manner. I’ll get back to you on that.

Stay tuned.

Just outside of Downtown Columbus lies an unassuming, small, dark tavern that attracts people from different backgrounds who’ve all come together for the sake of a nice drink.

Carabar is located at 115 Parsons Avenue and on this past Thursday the venue was the host of a free show to benefit an organization out of Dayton called For the Love Of Children, or simply FLOC.

The organization is a volunteer group which raises funds to provide enrichment and educational activities for children from newborn to eighteen years of age in throughout the Dayton area.

The lineup for the show included the likes of Dommy Styles, Mix Master Ice, the collective known as Smart People Music, DJ O-Sharp, J. Rawls, Dominique Larue, B. Yonest, Themidas Touch and the winner of Power 107.5′s “Are You Radio Ready” contest, Khil.

The show was hosted by Grant Gatsby and Garbs Infinite (one of the founders of the Ohio Hip Hop Awards).

At the top of the night, Dommy Styles of The Alliance DJs spun several hip-hop classics before giving way to Mix Master Ice of UTFO, whose set inspired impromptu breakdancing in the crowd. Smart People Music’s set included performances from Status Flo, Bless, Many Stylez and Ogre Fury. Before exiting the stage, the collective went into a short tribute to RJD2.

DJ O-Sharp introduced J. Rawls to the audience, reeling off his numerous accolades for anyone who might have been unaware. As it turns out, Rawls isn’t resting on the laurels of his recent Album of the Year victory at this year’s Ohio Hip Hop Awards. He’s been working on an album with Copywrite and tracks with the likes of L.e. for the Uncool and P. Blackk. Also the third Liquid Crystal Project recording is slated to be coming soon.

Dominique Larue made her way to the stage with BHB backing her up on the turntables. Larue, always an energetic performer, became so active during her set that some of her money came out of her pocket. After a high-energy a cappella introduction, B. Yonest decided to take his show to the crowd, as he jumped into the audience twice during his performance.

With O. Sharp on the tables and Catalyst on the mic, the two quizzed the crowd on their hip-hop knowledge. Eventually an impromptu cypher developed between Catalyst and Co City of The 3rd. The audience started to thin out a bit, but not before they were treated to performances from Themidas Touch and Khil, respectively.

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Originally published November 3, 2011 on Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/rap-music-in-columbus/hip-hop-does-it-for-the-love-of-children-at-carabar

As promised, there were two performance areas: the main stage outside under the tent and another area inside the much cooler confines of Icon where other artists had their time to shine.

The crowd was starting to fill in gradually as artists like Nate, Catalyst and C-10 of Omnibreed performed. Catalyst tested out a new song produced by Iyeball of Fly.Union and C-10 became so active during his set that his cell phone fell from its holster to the ground. B-Banga, who has produced songs for the likes of Cam’ron and Gucci Mane is now taking a stab at rapping, performing what he referred to as “Grown Sh*t”. James John made the trip down from Cleveland and joked his way through a slew of technical of difficulties, giving commentary on the weather and the Columbus Clippers. He took to delivering his flows acapella before the issue was finally remedied. Keilyn, another out-of-towner from Youngstown followed with a short set of his own.

Nes Wordz & Philly P along with A.U. took to the stage, providing the crowd with one of a handful of high energy performances of the night. After making an entrance to the opening track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album, Fabrashay A kicked a few flows and closed out his set with “Lil Penny” from The Art Show. Danielle (or Ella Starr, if you prefer) switched up the tempo of the show as she belted out “I Got It” and “Word Play” while being backed by live instrumentation from Carpe Diem and Selah. Before J. Osceola made his way to the stage, Bufalo Pete showed just why he is one of the best hype men in Columbus as his loud, boisterous voice commanded the attention of the crowd prior to J. Dot hitting the crowd with “Billion Dollar Dreams”, “Now You Know” and “You Can’t Stop Me”. Someone in the audience challenged him to do some push-ups on stage and much to the chagrin of the demanding concertgoer, he obliged.

Carpe Diem gave way to The Liquid Crystal Project who served as the backing band for the soulful Renee Dion who trotted onto to the stage to the sounds of Lost Boyz’ “Renee” just before going crooning numbers like the catchy “Slow Down”. She even took a moment to speak on the passing of Amy Winehouse and urged the audience to not keep anything inside and to give away their art, her main point being “If you have something to say…say it”. P. Blackk made his presence felt with a song from his upcoming Blackk Friday project and the popular “Concorde Rollin” as well.

Young Wise and the Take Over Gang literally mobbed the stage for a set that also featured Demari and YG. Blaze and Debonair performed a gang of songs in their own right, both together and individually. Toward the end of Debonair’s set, a violin player, identified as Adrian, emerged on the left side of the stage and drew a few notes to go along with the song. Searius Add, Sinatra, Trek Manifest & Snow (collectively known as Exec Gang) came out with an enormous amount of energy and performed several songs include “Who You Gone Find” and “Wut Dey Know”. Lima transplant, Hodgie Street held the stage down on his own before letting everyone know just how “Dope” he is and what he be smokin’ on. His set included appearances from A.U. and Rashad. P.A. Flex from The 3rd formally introduced the man he called Godbody Shaddy and he performed his Guy-sampling “Jam! (That’s My Sh*t)” and mentioned his upcoming album, Museum. The other members of The 3rd soon grabbed their mics and Co City, Blaksmif and P.A. Flex went to work.

Around this time, it started to rain and water was leaking through the tent, but the show continued. J. Rawls got on the wheels for L.e.for the Uncool’s set but there were a few problems with feedback. It was later determined that the problems were being caused by the storm, which now included thunder and lightning. Fly.Union declined to go on stage and soon thereafter 7even announced that the show had been called due to the weather and advised everyone to go inside for the afterparty.

Just as in the years past, Summer Jam 614 was a great platform to expose some of the city’s best artists to a large group of people that may have never heard of them before. By no means does is the Summer Jam 614 lineup indicative of these being the ONLY talented artists in the city, as that would be ridiculous. But it does give some sense of the variety of performers the town has to offer. It was refreshing to see such a large group of music lovers and partygoers come together without the report of any major incident.

A blurb on the official website of SJ2011 read: “A night for B-boys, soul singers and emcees; djs, photographers and bloggers alike to congregate, celebrate and build”. Most of the people in attendance would say that came to fruition, as a Who’s Who of Columbus was definitely in the house. One can only wonder what Elevator Music will have in store for next year.

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Originally published July 29, 2011 on Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/rap-music-in-columbus/the-hottest-artists-columbus-scorch-the-stage-at-summer-jam-614