Over the years, Ruin Your Day has continued to elevate the battle rap scene.  They’ve singlehandedly set the bar of video quality of battle rap across all major leagues, introduced a variety of series-driven video content on their Youtube channel, and have served as a platform for battle rappers to bring their music to the masses.  Taking things to the next level, the RYD team held their first Ruin Your Show concert event, primarily as a showcase for musical talent associated with the west coast battle rap scene.

In the RYD Artist Spotlight for the night was Eddy I, Frak, B Dot, Chase Moore, Illmac, and Compton’s own Geechi Gotti.  Lush One hosted the night while performing a few songs of his own in between sets.  Special guests on stage were guys like Pass, Fredo Algebra, Ron Compton, and Poppa Chop.  It really felt like a family affair when heads in the scene who weren’t advertised on the card still rocked the stage.  Notable guests also in the building to see the show were a few names like Nocando, Jaz The Rapper, Hollow Da Don, and The Alchemist.  Let’s hop into a few of my favorite moments of the night.

Frak hit his set out of the park.  I would be surprised if there was a single person in the venue who could say they were not at least a little impressed with Frak.  He brought along a white board and wrote down 16 audience picked words for a freestyle set.  Cleanly nailing rhymes on words like “hippopotamus”, Frak got through it like a champ and even professed his love to Jaz The Rapper in the process.  I completely understand why Lush One introduced Frak as one of the most underappreciated guys in the scene.  The entertainment value he brought to his set was top notch.  Kudos to Jontha Links who held down the beats using an MPC and a guitar.

Another cool set was Chase Moore.  Because this scene places such an emphasis on lyrical prowess, it was good to hear a guy who didn’t have to depend on it to keep you entertained.  The Sacramento native delivered a range of music throughout his set and moved the room.  Armed with carefully woven production, Chase Moore rocked the stage with guys like Illmaculate and Fredo.

The headliner for the night was Geechi Gotti.  He brought out Poppa Chop for songs such as “Blue Skies” and “Condolences”.  There’s something special that happens when these two guys hop on a track together.  By combining Geechi Gotti’s street-inspired story telling with Poppa Chop’s melodic hooks, these two took the venue for a journey through their collaborations.  Gotti also brought out the Left Side Connection members in the building to shut the venue down with a few songs. 

Props to guys behind the scenes at Ruin Your Day like Clayton, Ben, and Avocado.  The Ruin Your Show event was a success.  By putting on events like this, RYD weaves the scene in more ways than just one. Providing a live platform for these artists’ music is just the beginning.  RYD has been very vocal that they want to continue putting on these concert style shows, so I’m excited to see when and where we get Ruin Your Show Volume 2.  A little birdy told me they may be coming by a city near you.