Wilmington welcomes underground hip-hop upstarts
This is underground?
If you’ve been to one of the alternative hip-hop shows in downtown Wilmington put on by the up-and-coming hip-hop collective Weird and Awful, the venue might not have been what you expected.
When the Newark-based group of rappers, bands, DJs, artists and photographers launched a couple of years ago, they started with alternative underground shows across the University of Delaware campus, whether it be in house basements, rental halls or fraternity houses.
The group founded by Rakeem Miles, 22, has been hosting shows at Film Brothers Co-op, which doubles as a video production house at Second and Market streets in the redeveloped LOMA district.
The urban space has large, floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at downtown’s well-manicured main drag, just blocks from some of city’s best-known music rooms like The Grand and World Café Live at the Queen -- a far cry from the sweaty shoulder-to-shoulder house party shows from their past.
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It is at Film Brothers that Weird and Awful will host its biggest show yet on Saturday night. The concert features a headlining set by Mike G of Odd Future, one of the best-known hip-hop collectives in the country today – a group that has counted performers like Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt among its members since forming nearly 10 years ago.
The Weird and Awful shows are hip hop-centric concerts for all ages, something that’s harder and harder to find in Delaware.
“Even if we only have a few hip-hop artists on our bill, which covers all genres, most venues won’t have us. They don’t really understand what we’re trying to do and they just push it away,” says Miles, of Elkton, Maryland. “We let people know before they come in that it’s a positive environment and if they want to be negative they can leave. That’s how we run our events. We take pride.”
A pair of shootings a few years ago at New Castle County clubs that hosted hip-hop shows had a bit of chilling effect on hip-hop bookings across the county.
In March 2012, a man was shot outside of a hip-hop show at the former Mojo Main in Newark. The victim survived and for a while, the plug was pulled on hip-hop shows. The venue closed two years later.
In December 2013, four were wounded when gunmen fired at least 20 bullets after a Meek Mill show at the Moodswing nightclub in Prices Corner. The club moved away from hip-hop bookings for a while before changing its name and welcoming rappers back. The venue closed last month.
Weird and Awful promotes open-minded, youth-based alternative performances that veer away from some of rap’s more violent and sexist lyrics, melding artists of all kinds in each show.
With the city’s Downtown Visions group keeping tabs on the crowd outside and organizers regulating music fans on the inside, there have not been any incidents at the shows.
Film Brothers’ Gordon DelGiorno says he told Miles and Weird and Awful co-founders Divante Rodriguez, Ben Robinson and Ben Rapkin that there were strict rules attached to using his space, including absolutely no alcohol or smoking.
Shows also start early, including Saturday’s concert, which starts at 6 p.m. and wraps up by 9 – a happy hour of hip-hop as DelGiorno calls it.
“It’s sort of tough love with our rules because one person can screw it up for everybody, but these are business entrepreneurs in the making and they have been very respectful. They have been great,” says DelGiorno, a filmmaker, who regularly hosts music and art at his venue, especially during the city’s monthly Art Loop.
While DelGiorno felt like he was taking a risk by opening his doors to Weird and Awful, he was willing to take a chance and fight against the stigma some have against live hip-hop.
And while he admits he could still get burned by bad behavior, it’s been a successful experiment so far with his studio filled with hip-hop hipsters every time they host a show.
“Why should I cut off these guys’ creative juices out of fear? Let it rip. Who am I to do that? I want them to have an outlet where they can get 150 people in a place and feel like it’s rocking, you know?” he says. “Plus, it’s good for the city. It’s all positive vibes.
“I’m not going to let what’s happening in other parts of town stop us from doing things like this. We’re not going to be held hostage by that.”
Rodriguez, 23, who lives in Wilmington and performs under the name Rex the Rager, was at the Meek Mill show at Moodswing when gunshots began to ring. He sees none of that night in what he does.
“We strive for peace and to bring a community together of young creatives. We want to inspire people to do something better than going out in the streets and selling drugs,” says Rodriguez, before turning to that night at Moodswing. “When you look at that venue and the crowds – what we’re doing is completely different.”
Weird and Awful uses social media – a cheap and easy way to spread word of their shows – as their core marketing tactic, posting about upcoming shows in Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. They also attend shows in the area and make face-to-face pitches.
Their goal is to help create a strong alternative hip-hop scene in the state and give young, outside-the-box Delaware artists a place to perform or showcase their work. With each event, they see themselves building an artistic community that supports each other and, they hope, steers kids away from the city’s sometimes-violent streets.
It’s already working.
A few of the Weird and Awful concertgoers, which generally range from teens to mid-20s, have already created their own hip-hop collective, Plug Worldwide, and have followed the Weird and Awful model.
Plug Worldwide was founded by Wilmington residents Duane Grimes, 18, and Justin Ellis, 17, along with Bear’s Phillip Harper, 17. They have teamed up with both Film Brothers and another downtown Wilmington Art Loop venue, the Chris White Gallery at the Shipley Artist Lofts at Seventh and Shipley streets, for their first two shows, starting in August.
Earlier this month, Plug Worldwide hosted its second event – a night of live hip-hop, video games and more with about 60 people paying $5 for the 6-10 p.m. show. The Friday the 13th-branded event featured nearly a dozen local performers, including rappers Rex the Rager and Ken Masters, both of which will also be at Film Brothers this weekend.
The trio, students at Howard High School of Technology and Christiana High School, have the same goal as Weird and Awful: provide a platform for young performers and build a music scene from the bottom up. And they plan on doing it the only way they can – by bypassing clubs for non-traditional venues like co-ops, art galleries and retail commercial businesses like Spaceboy Clothing on Market Street.
“It’s all about the scene, expressing ourselves, gaining exposure and being positive,” Grimes says.
For their part, Miles and the rest of Weird and Awful are welcoming the newcomers to their downtown hip-hop playground.
“I want the scene to be bigger. It’s not a thing where it’s all about us or one company. This thing needs to grow and that only happens if there are multiple groups,” he says. “If we get a big enough scene, then maybe club owners will be more lenient and open up their venues to us.”
IF YOU GO
What: Mike G with Rakeem Miles, Rex the Rager, Y Air, Ken Masters, Tre Squad, Dreemy Yoey, Val Strasser, Airospace. Hosted by Angelina Galvis and Franki Thorn.
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: Film Brothers, 205 N. Market St., Wilmington
Cost: $15
Information: facebook.com/WeirdandAwful
Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).