[rating:5]
So how was it yo?
Last night I attended the first installment of Heavy Hitters, presented by Charlie Scott in association with LatinosNYC and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. To say that this was a good show would be an understatement and would not do the event justice. Let’s give this event the proper recognition it deserves. This show was without a doubt one of the best feature shows I have ever had the honor of attending. Period. Point blank. End of story. Llegamos!
Charlie Scott put together an event that featured some of the finest talent in NYC. The roster of featured performers, the open mic performers (including myself), the host, the crowd, the energy—everything was absolutely on point. It seems like everything Charlie Scott touches turns out to be a success. Many have tried to put together shows like this, but few can claim such a high level of success, especially on the first attempt.
The short open mic.
The open mic roster was as talented as any I’ve seen. One highlight for me was when David Rey Martinez performed a piece that humorously mimicked a more serious poem by Raul K. Rios. He poked fun at himself using the same dark soundtrack Raul used, saying “I’m a sandwich addict.” I was seriously cracking up. This was situational comedy at its best. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. My man Peach held it down with his piece “Stop and Frisk.” The Kriza (spelling?) as our amazing host Nathan P calls Eric Crow Draven, absolutely killed it on stage. Several other performers, including myself, graced the stage and we all brought our “A game”. Some I know, some I haven’t met yet. Since we all knew who was performing and how big the crowd was, there was no choice but to bring it!
But what about those features?
His set included moments of emotion, costume changes, and even some accidental water squirting on Inspired Word organizers Mike Geffner and Marvin Mendlinger. At least we think it was accidental. Ha! He really did his thing!
The band performed several of their songs and gave it their all. It’s all in a day’s work for this group as they are on the rise. Coming up on their radar is a performance on NBC and that’s all in a day’s work too. The band members were all on point with Sean on violin, Chris on guitar, and Ross pounding out the drum beats. This is live band music at its best. It’s no surprise they are top ranked on Reverbnation and headed to NBC.
Petey Deabreu did a stand-up set that had everyone, including me, laughing hard. That’s a funny man. What makes him even funnier to me is that we grew up in similar circumstances, so I can completely relate to his humor. He spoke about a sister getting a roach stuck in her ear, and guess what? When I was a kid, a roach crawled up into my ear too. It’s a Bronx thing, yo! No hate. Lol.
This brings me to Charlie Scott, the main event of the night. With every performance you see Charlie Scott improve. Yet during every performance, he consistently delivers nothing short of perfection. So figure that out. This dude has never had a bad night, yet keeps outdoing himself every time. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Charlie Scott is the real deal, a prodigy.
The only established artist I can compare him to is Eminem. Here’s why: if you listen to Eminem speak, his voice sounds exactly the same as when he’s rapping. So when you hear him speak, it’s almost like listening to music. That’s how I feel about Charlie Scott. When he speaks, it’s the same voice you hear when he’s delivering his amazing lyrical verses. It’s crazy to hear him sound exactly the same, and he’s not even trying. Most of us have to “sing” or try to match that. He might not even realize it, or maybe he does, but his voice is one of a kind and perfect for what he does. Some people tell me I praise Charlie Scott too much, but to them I say nay. This performer is amazing and I’ll keep singing his praises as long as he keeps making music.
Charlie Scott had an amazing turnout of personal friends and family. You could see him glowing with pride and joy, feeling sheer happiness as he performed his songs to applause and shouts of “I love you Charlie Scott.” In one of his songs he directly apologizes to his parents for past mistakes. During his song “Thank You” he says, “You’re amazing and I’m grateful tonight, thanks guys.” When he said that, I saw his mother smiling with pride.
Seeing this reminded me of when I performed “Dear Momma” as a poem for my mom at “Bronx Stories” about a year ago.
We have both been fortunate to share the words we wrote for our parents with them. That’s a blessing not granted to all, and I know we both appreciate it.
I made sure to meet Charlie’s mother this evening. We had spoken on Facebook a few times, and I wanted to say hello in person and shake her hand. His mom is hearing impaired, so when I performed my song medley, I kept the microphone away from my mouth and tried to keep my face in her direction, hoping she could read my lips and catch some of the lyrics.
When Charlie was performing, I could see the pride on her face. She was glowing and proud as she watched her son tell their story. I found it very touching. If you don’t know Charlie Scott’s past story, that’s okay; listen to more of his music or wait for the book to come out. You’ll have to wait a little longer though because the story is still being written. Congratulations to everyone involved with this amazing event.
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