"As you park your car and start walking toward the entrance,
you can feel it. Bass. That kind of subsonic pounding that you can feel throughout
your body every time it hits a beat.
When you ascend the staircase, you
can hear it. The roll of the drums, the samples, the urban poetry all woven into
an audio tapestry.
When you wade through the crowd, you see it. Break
dancers battling, MCs flowing, and DJs cutting it up like Ginsu knives. You can?t
help but bob your head as you are engulfed in The Shapes of Rhythm benefit series
held at Club Med (Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant on 21st Avenue) on the first
Friday of every month.
Shapes of Rhythm, whose name is taken from a 1960
Galt MacDermot album of the same name, is an all-encompassing monthly hip hop
event hosted by DJ Egon and Count Bass D, two artists accomplished in their own
right. The third integral member of this team is DJ Jon Doe, the resident hip
hop DJ. Formerly from Kentucky, he?s now representing Nashville.
This
monthly happening draws not only local talent, but also performers from all over
the country. The past few shows have featured Boston-based 7L & Esoteric,
who have worked with everyone from The Wu-Tang Clan?s Inspectah Deck to our very
own Count Bass D. Esoteric and Virtuoso are featured on "Piece of Pie,"
the B-side of Count?s next single. Other highlights of past shows include a rare
appearance by Brooklyn turntablist DJ Signify; Houston?s K-Otix Crew, who will
be releasing their Dec. 3 Shapes of Rhythm Performance as a 45-inch single; and
Cincinnati's Mr. Dibbs, the DJ that Spin magazine has ranked as the world?s sixth
best turntablist.
Each month, the music that spins is like a new journey.
There is a mixture of old and new, jazzy and funky, light and heavy. The crowd
is cool and just there for the love of hip hop and to support the local scene.
At any given moment, you can hear them chanting the lyrics or hook of a song in
perfect unison. Like a choir with a subwoofer. It?s definitely all about fun,
music and good vibes."
-- Venus Envy, from her cover story
"Rapping Presence" in the December 14th edition of In Review.
"The monthly
benefit series is bringing some of hip-hop and turntabling's hottest players to
Nashville - at rock-bottom cover charges, no less. If you wanna see Cut Chemist
or DJ Shadow in Nashville sometime in the next millenium, they'll likely turn
up here first."
-- Jim Ridley, in the Nashville Scene's
December 16th edition, Best of Music 99 look at the highlights of the past year's
local music events, "No Place Like Home."
