It seems that the Inland Empire has began the complete take over. Spring Heat 2009 held May 23rd at the ASU Fox theater brought in hundreds of avid loving music fans. To entertain the crowd and help keep flow of the show, was none other than DJ Tos (well known in the IE for his affiliation with GBS and DJ'ing a party so that it's guaranteed to crack). The lines for those who were slow to get the memo to show up early, had people waiting in line for almost four hours, well worth a ticket only $25.00 dollars to see the most alluring young new rapper and hit maker, "Drake". Drake had the entourage in tow with sound engineer 40, Niko, Future and more. As Drake stepped foot on stage the audience began to roar with young girls screaming and young boys dropping their jaws in awe of the performer live in the Inland Empire. Drake might have stole the show claiming all he needs is a " good California Woman" before "Successful" having females pass out left and right but also set it off with the performance pushing young males to start thinking about how to make their own dreams come true. Audience members rapped every track with Drake, knowing each detailed lyric down to the syllable. How could the famous rapper soon to be great, be right here in the Inland Empire? Tip your hats off ladies and gentleman to 22 year old, Mr. Juan Young C.E.O of Hard 2 Please Entertainment, for your now satisfied Drake addictions. "I wanted to do something to provide quality entertainment and having Drake in the Inland Empire did that. He was great to work with and a blessing to have" said Juan Young. Not only did Drake fans get to see Drake perform but were also given a concert of the Inland Empires upcoming talent such as The Push, Perfect Harmony,Hi Hatts, Sunny Phoenix, Elevate Dance Team, Price, A.D and The Lost City, Finess as well as many more. The event included sponsors and vendors such as an urban clothing line Donut clothing (Do You Not Them) Nelson, one of the founders of the company described the line as "skateboarding with a street vibe, we want our clothing to speak originality, positivity and spirituality". Amongst the many people performing, there were also many big faces in the audience such as recording artist,singer,dancer,rapper and songwriter Teyana Taylor, Justin from Baldwin Hills Season 2,3 and soon 4, recording artist Steph Jones and Raz B of B2K himself. It seems that Hollywood is beginning to notice the Inland Empire and its self created hidden culture filled with the "jerk", colorful skating clothing, divas, beat boys, bangin house and club parties and underground rappers. Don't sleep on the IE take over, you just might wake up and miss out.
Credit:CMOORE Photos For interviews with Teyana Taylor, Steph Jones, Donut Clothing,The Push, and Perfect Harmony check out audio below.
This Spring ASAPP (Active Students Against Prisons and Policing) a student organization on campus will be hosting M.I.C./ P.I.C. week, we will be working in conjunction with various students orgs to help make these events come together and turn out successful. We are active students not only creating awareness of the social injustices within and surrounding the Prison System, but doing it through an interactive space in which the participants and the facilitators (Keith Harris and Dylan Rodriguez) are engaging in critical discussions around the issues and the ways in which we as students can address them.
Date:Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Time:8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:INTN 1020
Street:On Campus UCR Event
City/Town:Riverside, CA
The Voice is designed to be our (people of African Diaspora at UCR) own newsletter that will address issues that concern us as a people. This group is designed to be a forum for us to exchange ideas and discuss issues that are happening on campus, the community and the world. Leave a comment and let your voice be heard...if you HATE IT VOICE IT...if you LIKE IT VOICE IT......IF YOU DON'T CARE.....THEN BE SILENT.