My Winter Hip Hop Adventure
My name is Jeremy Lopez, but I’m better known as DJ Lochini at KSSU. On my show I play mostly underground hip hop, and I spend a lot of my free time promoting and going to different shows around Sacramento and the Bay Area. Over my break I made it to two memorable shows: Casual from Hieroglyphics at Cooper’s Ale Works in Nevada City and Talib Kweli at The Independent in San Francisco.
The first show I attended was headlined by Casual of the legendary Hieroglyphics crew, and opened with a few of Sacramento’s favorite artists. Among them were J*Ras of Soulifted, a hip hop/reggae artist from Sacramento who has been getting quite a bit of buzz. He released his most recent album, City of Trees mid last year and has been actively touring around the nation ever since. He brings together positive and meaningful lyrics over some reggae/hip hop fused instrumentals. He held the audience captive with the passion he put into his performance. J*Ras is a member of the Auburn Hip Hop Congress, which is a network of writers, photographers, and artists who all contribute to the Sacramento music scene. Another artist from the Hip Hop Congress that performed that night was DLabrie. His music has more of a party feel, which made the crowd move. My favorite track he performed was “Maniac”, of his album MR NETW3RK. He definitely brought a good vibe to the venue. The third Hip Hop Congress member that performed was Odapt. I’ve seen this guy perform in a few shows and freestyle battles around Sacramento, and every time I’m blown away. When his set began the crowd seemed a bit unsure of what to expect, but dispelled all doubts with an incredible performance. The Hip Hop Congress did a fantastic job warming up the mic for Casual.
