James Christos hits up Chi-town in the latest installment of his Engimatic Tour diaries.
Chicaaaaagoooo! I love this town. (Except for the winters.) There's something about pulling into a town at 11PM and getting the feeling the night is just starting. First we hit up THE WORLD FAMOUS UIC radio station (peep the live U-Streams at www.SNRadioonline.com). My man Stretch 1 is originally from KC, but has been holding it down in the Chi for about 7 years. Felt like some real industry type: You know...get buzzed in...the production assistant or intern meets you downstairs...escorts you up...introduces you to the staff. Makes me feel like I've done something with my life (insert chuckle here).
Got some spins for "A Beautiful Affair" and "Riot Room." When you're out here grinding sometimes you gotta get in a mother fathers' face. Doesn't matter if they're friends or relatives with a hook up to get you some play or pub; at the end of the day, if you're out of sight, more than likely, you're out of mind. Some of ya'll that claim to be out here grittin' for ya music need to step your live person interaction game up. Get from behind ya laptop and pound some flesh. Okay, off of my soap box, and back to my time in the Chi.
After the radio interview, we hit up the Crocodile lounge. It was a really dope venue -- surrounded by boutiques, record stores, and other little taverns. The whole neighborhood had a great atmosphere. Kinda had that, "Let's just do the show out here in the street" vibe. A lot of the really cool spots I hit around the country remind me of small lil nooks in K.C. Makes me wonder why the town seems so stagnant (maybe The Phantom can shed some light on that subject). I had the honor of sharing the Stage with 6 time 106 and park freestyle champ Sam I AM. His whole set was a freestyle. Its Dope to see that cats can still make a decent buzz off of good, raw, God-given talent. Shout to DJ SP1 -- he put the whole thing together. We're working on bringing some national acts to KC. Got some dope shows in the works. I must honestly say I was nervous about breaking my music in Chicago. Let's face it, its a huge city with a bubbling music scene and they don't need to let any outsiders in. But they showed hella love! Either they just that hospitable, or I'm just that dope...probably both! Well gotta go. Eyes feel like someone sprayed lemon juice in 'em. Next stop, Saint Louis! Oh yeah, and congrats to all the Pitch Award Nominees. See you at the Party (insert sinister laugh here)!
