Written By SamWright
Photos by Alexander Just
Young Joey Bad headlined last night as Mill City Nights played host in the main room, with spcieal appearances from Pro Eras members CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, & Nyck Caution. Eagan Minnesota native and Rhymesayers up-and-coming artist Dem Atlas represented for the Midwest.
Dem Atlas as an artist and performer has grown greatly since my first time seeing him at the Pizza Luce block party. His poise and stage presence were on point, and he seemed to have grown into himself as a performer. The ambiance of his set was unusually hyphy, as well as the attendance. It was notable to me that Mill City Nights attendees were in most part there for every part of the set. I feel like this has some to do with the fact it was all ages, and also because Dem Atlas is raw as Sh*t on the mic. If your sleeping on him now would be the time to take a look, seriously though. Google “Charlie Brown” By Dem Atlas and you will have an idea of why this dudes set was unusually upbeat and Rowdy for an opening act.
Next up on the Mic was Nyck Caution, who brought it from zero to a thousand and it was all Brooklyn and east coast vibes and fast paced rhymes. His set was well received and more low key, appealing to the females and the hippies in the house. Especially when performing Pro Era Classic “You went to school, I went to School High” which also featured Kirk Knight, & Nyck Caution.
CJ Fly Played some of his new tracks that are unreleased, and they were amazing. Not knowing anything about him going into the night, after hearing i’m going to keep my eye on his new work. The lyrical content and ability to convey emotion with rhymes was evident, and a went out of his set ready to see my headliner to say the least. Other than Joey Bad, CJ was the most talented rapper and performer that held the stage.
Joey Bada$$’s work off of his debut tape “1999” and the “P.E.E.P The Aprocalypse” mix tape are already considered by many to be classics. He is the most lyrically complex and talented rapper to make name for himself hailing out of New York since the rise of Biggie and Hov. Not to mention, on his North America tour he had the one and only Statik Slektah on the ones and twos. It was all up in smoke- to put it plain and simple He held it down. His stage presence and character in front of a large crowd were mesmerizing, and his flow with tracks like “waves” was extra-ordinary. Joey Bad also turned up and brought out his PE companions to help shut the house down. It can also be said that he puts a lot of love and effort into every show in memory of Capital Steez, the co-founder of PE. He made sure to give a few shout outs to those in the crowd holding signs in memory, and as a true badass he left it all out on the stage- impossible to imagine he is such a poised performer and complex artist before the age of 20.
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