The Sneaker Pimps tour made its way to DC Thursday, and thanks to a good connect with Cricket Wireless, I got complimentary access. 

The Cool Kids.

Before the show at Lux Night Club, there was a promotional with WPGC 95.5 FM and the Chicago rap duo The Cool Kids. At the in-store, I got to network with DJ Tony Redz and the rest of the Street Team. I got a few trinkets and giveaways including two tickets to the concert. Finally, The Cool Kids arrived and I got to talk with them. They were mad cool and down to earth. Chuck Inglish told me about his tooth ache as he ate a Dum Dum, how hard it is releasing albums independently, and Mickey Rocks told me a little about the transition from aspiring Myspace music artist to being nationally recognized.

Once at the venue, me and Travis with International AWOL got some pictures of the sneakers and set-up; there were arcade games throughout the lounge and a large interactive Cricket display where attendees could enter to win the designer Blackberrys. We waited until the crowd filtered in. Of course by 9:30 PM there was barely any room for all of the sneakerheads in the building. Skinny Jeans, snap-backs, and varsity jackets was the dress code for the evening. There were a few people selling sneakers in the crowd, and a vendor located on the second floor selling retro baseball caps and ski hats.

RA the MC.

On the main floor, the sea of people were ready to party. I made my way to the right side of the stage where I stood on a couch. It was the only way my little 5’2″ frame would see anything. It was a great view, and allowed me to talk with Tabi Bonney and RA the MC. The show was too dope! Black Cobain and Fat Trell set the mood by getting the crowd hype. “Tokyo Spinners” is my new favorite Go-Go-Hop song. 

Go-Go-Hop is a term I’m coining to describe the genre of  rap DC artists use, combining elements from Go-Go, and Hip-Hop. Think: Wale’s “Pretty Girls.” If there’s already a name for it, please let me know. LOL

Phil Ade.

Phil Ade was the next artist to grace the stage, and I’m totally a fan. Of course, he performed his radio single “Toast 2 Life” signing his own hook in the absence of Kevin Ross, and three other songs from his mixtapes. 368 music group was well represented; Tabi Bonney and Raheem Devaughn were on the side of the stage to show support to the up-and-coming rapper.

Tabi Booney.

Following Ade, Bonney took to the stage. His back-up dancers had everyone ready to “beat their feet.” He performed his old favorites like “The Pocket” and “Beat Rock,” and his latest “Nuthin But A Hero.” While clearing the stage to make way for headliners, RA the MC got on stage and did a couple of tracks to hold it down for the ladies.

Curren$y.

By the time the DMV artists finished rocking the crowd the time was 1 AM! It might as well have been only 1 PM, because everyone was live for The Cool Kids who did old tracks like “Black Mags” which was featured in the 2007 Rhapsody TV ads. Curren$y the Hot Spitta finally made his was to the stage, L in hand, at about 1:45, and the crowd went CRAZY. The New Orleans rapper was wearing a retro Redskins warm-up jacket and made it through three songs before the club owners cut his set short. They even cut his mic off to make sure he got off the stage, but in protest he finished the verse acapella. His fans held him down and continued rapping with him cheering.

Follow this link to see footage of The Cool Kids and Curren$y’s performances from Sneaker Pimps DMV 2010.

Here are some pictures I took from the night: