EDITOR'S NOTE: Hip Hop artist Ill Poetic developed his MC and production talents in the Cincinnati scene. When not touring or working on projects, the Dayton native lives in Columbus (and writes the monthly Hip Hop (Un)Scene column for CityBeat). With his Buckeye State ties, Ill Po was the perfect performer for the recently wrapped Ohio Takeover Tour, which showcased some of Ohio's top talent, including headliner J. Rawls, in venues across the state. Ill Po kept a journal of his tour adventures for us. His third diary installment is below. —-(Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here). Look for the Part 4 finale (with video!) soon.
Dayton, April 19
From an organizational standpoint, Dayton was a gimme. I’m from Dayton, so I go back a ways with a lot of the promoters and venues I work with there. We arrived early to catch a couple interviews with some websites and get set up.
Our dude Zerostar rolled up with us to grab a set as well, which means if our conversations in the van weren’t ridiculously “Hip Hop” before, they were going to hit overtime. Emcees talking to other emcees about emceeing is so nerdy and awesome. I would’ve thought I’d be tired of these conversations by now, but somehow they never get old. Having Rawls in the car is dangerous to my producer side, because as soon as an emcee conversation fades, I can just jump into a crate-digging, vinyl or production conversation with him.
As far as the show goes, there was a really genuine crowd and a lot of strong acts on the bill. And, on a personal note, I also got to hang out with some high school friends I hadn’t seen in a while. All in all a cool experience. No crazy stories, just another fun set.
Athens, April 21
One of the coolest things about this tour is that the shows felt like they were getting better and better each night. Not just the sets, but the crowd numbers and energy. Folks really came out to see this tour.
Athens was a great example of this. The venue, Casa Cantina, was really nice. Laidback feel, great location, good sound. Great acts all around, as well. From the (always amazing DMC Champ) DJ Sparechange riding up with us to co-spin with Rawls to the Athens-based DysFunktional Family who started the whole night off perfectly, Athens was definitely the biggest highlight of the tour thus far. That is, until we get to Cincinnati for the next show.
Random moment of the night: Rawls swags on us by calling Ed OG to tell him his song just premiered on the radio, putting into perspective just how little the rest of us have really accomplished in this game.
