Letter to Show & Prove — A Retrospective

Dear Show & Prove,

Only a year old and you’ve already “put on.”

A quick peruse through the ever growing list of artists that have graced your stage is all thats needed to qualify your impact on The Underground — providing a platform for the next wave of hungry Emcees to…

well…

…show and prove.

You started as a three-part competition series awarding the right to rock the main stage of the 2009 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, and look at you now — a stand alone, reoccurring Hip Hop showcase hosting enough quality talent to rival any other.

Remember Children Of The Night taking home the inaugural victory last March, edging out Wordspit and Zyron Collective? Not only did Children Of The Night deliver with their solid 2nd Stage performance at last year’s BHF and drop this solid EP, but Wordspit had a big year as well — releasing the widely praised Coolest BBoi Stance and landing a McDonalds commercial with Joya Bravo and Dollar Van Demos.

Thats peace, right there.

Or remember last April, when Mr. Beatz and Cymarshall Law and the now ubiquitous Brown Bag Allstars went head to head? And that moment when the beat dropped on Beatz’s chest thumping “MC on the MPC” or when Cymarshall brought those 4 ladies on stage to assist on his ill extended metaphor “A King With 4 Wives”?

Or how BBAS bum rushed the audience exclaiming ““Step down, we step up / You let down, we next up / Who the best now?? / Brown Bag, GET UP!” and everyone knew they were taking the crown?

Thats Fam, right there.

And remember perhaps the tightest competition of them all, the May Show & Prove? Remember Sleepwalkas’s BHF flash back interlude mid set? “You should’ve been there! You should’ve been there!” Remember Brokn.Englsh’s old school dance break down at the peak of there anthemic jam “Make Some Noise”? Remember Those Chosen trekking all the way from LA to compete?

Remember 8thW1, rocking as the only solo artist on the bill, ironically kicking the grittiest rhymes of the night…and those rhymes were about the high sugar content in food??? “They claim we selling crack!!! / But you be doing that!!!” Yep, stuck in the dome for weeks.

Or back in August when The Crowd not only rocked right, but tossed in an unexpected marriage proposal?

Or Kalae All Day snatching the first all female Show & Prove title…

Or St. Joe Louis dread slanging set last December…

Or Homeboy Sandman bringing up Fresh Daily during his headlining performance…

Or that crazy cypher with Prezzure and FinaL OutlaW and Wordpit and P.SO and everyone else…

You’ve grown nicely Show & Prove, while always staying true to your mission: providing the platform for the next generation to show their skills; to prove that they are worthy.

As you venture into year your next year, as more and more hungry artists grace your stage, crafting a legacy of their own — I look forward to witnessing your inevitable maturation. I look forward to witnessing you continue to carry the torch for The Underground.

I look forward to your growth, while remaining the same.

Dope.

Happy Born Day, Show & Prove.

“These dudes up here, these are our Stevie Wonders. These are our Marvin Gayes. These are our Teddy Pendegrasses. All that shit that yall grew up with that yall parents listen to – we are creating it right now. This is history making right now.” – Wes Jackson at the May 21st Show and Prove

Videos provided by NattyNight, Ka5p, Lyriq2go, Madomoisselle, and The-Quotable Youtube Channel.

Live at the April Show and Prove – Video

Live at the April Show and Prove from Brooklyn Bodega on Vimeo.

Funky fresh interviews with Children Of The Night, Mr Beatz, Cymarshall Law, Homeboy Sandman, and Brown Bag All Stars

April semi finalist #3 – Cymarshall Law

Our third semi-finalist for the April Show and Prove is Cymarshall Law.
That’s Cymarshall – one word. Get it right.
Cymarshall gets the award for professionalism and perseverance. He has been getting at us for a while about getting involved with the Festival. For one reason or another it never worked out. For whatever reason we were able to make it happen this year.

From one perspective Cymarshall may be too big to be in Show and Prove. He’s been around. Put out several records but no one in the office has ever seen him live. So that is what we are gonna be examining. The live show.
We like the content and the brand just want to feel it live and direct.

Good luck to the brother

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Cymarshall Law -His Jamaican parents moved his family from his birthplace in United Kingdom to the U.S. in order to give their children greater opportunities. Across the Atlantic is where Cymarshall would first meet and fall deeply in love with Hip-Hop. Cymarshall Law represents what many believe is missing from Hip-Hop today, story-telling, the ability to against the grain with originality, style and a flavor uniquely all his own. http://www.cymarshalllaw.com/

April Show and Prove Semifinalists

Brooklyn Bodega announced today the three semifinalists for the April 16th edition of their ‘Shown and Prove’ competition to find the opening act for the 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. They are Mr. Beatz, The Brown Bag All Stars and Cymarshall Law.
The three acts will share the stage along with BHF Alumni Homeboy Sandman as well as DJ Parler and DJ C.J. Browne.

About the semifinalists:

Mr. Beatz - a Lyricist who tries to raise the bar with lyricism every time he gets in the vocal booth. His level of wordplay speaks for itself in each recording. He’s also an MC who is known for his “off the head” freestyle skills. In fact, his freestyles are way more complex than most MCs’ written lyrics. To watch him display this skill live on stage is an experience not to be missed. The Brooklyn MC has been DJ’ing and performing around New York City for years. After making the decision to become a full time artist rather than a full time student he has never looked back. www.myspace.com/mrbeatznyc

Brown Bag All Stars – In early 2008, eight artists employed by Fat Beats New York decided to form a rap group. Every day they sold records to customers who want good, honest music. They figured they knew enough to make it themselves. They
were right. The name they chose was The Brown Bag All-stars.
They consist of Audible Doctor, J57, Cold Codeine, Koncept, Soul Khan, E Holla, Element, and Goo.
“Brown Bag doesn’t believe in VIP sections. Everybody is welcome at a Brown Bag Allstar party.” www.myspace.com/brownbagallstars

Cymarshall Law -His Jamaican parents moved his family from his birthplace in United Kingdom to the U.S. in order to give their children greater opportunities. Across the Atlantic is where Cymarshall would first meet and fall deeply in love with Hip-Hop. Cymarshall Law represents what many believe is missing from Hip-Hop today, story-telling, the ability to against the grain with originality, style and a flavor uniquely all his own. www.cymarshalllaw.com

Special guest Homeboy Sandman is a pillar of the New York Hip-Hop Scene. He was one of the openers of the 4th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. He has released two critically acclaimed albums, “Nourishment” and “Actual Factual Pterodactyl.” His work has been featured in XXL, The Source, Blender, Hot 97, and Sirius/XM. He is a true example of what the Festival represents and the opportunities available for hard working artists. www.homeboysandman.com

On the wheels of steel once again will be DJ Parler and DJ C.J. Browne spinning the funkiest Hip-Hop beats and rhymes. http://djparler.blogspot.com/

Ebonie Jackson, General Manager, Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and Brooklyn Bodega, “After the success of our first ‘Show and Prove’ in March we are excited to return to Public Assembly and do it again. The vibe of ‘Show and Prove’ is so positive and empowering. It is unfiltered, no egos. Just a whole room full of people doing it for the love.”

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About “Show and Prove”
Up and coming MC’s and artists looking to land the opening spot on the main stage at The 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival get ready.
Brooklyn Bodega, the producers and creators of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and YUME Music have teamed up to create “Show and Prove,” a competition/showcase where artists who think they have what it takes to rock the biggest crowd in Brooklyn can show and prove their skills.

“Show and Prove” will take place at Public Assembly, 70 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The remaining two dates are April 16th and May 21st.
At each month’s event a panel of judges including Brooklyn Bodega staff will select a winner. The three winners will become the ‘Show and Prove’ finalists. On June 1st the winner will be announced via email, Twitter, Facebook and on BrooklynBodega.com. The winner will open the Festival as well as win a prize pack from YUME and Festival sponsors.

In order to enter artists should email their submission to showandprove@brooklynbodega.com . No mp3 files will be accepted. All music submissions must either be uploads (zshare, yousendit, etc.) websites, or Myspace pages. A robust Myspace page is preferred. Submissions should also include live performance footage (also via upload) and additional content including bio and images.

For more info for the April ‘Show and Prove’

For more info on the 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival

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BHF Bodega Vidcast #2

And now a few words from the Big Homey.
Wes breaks down the April ‘Show and Prove’ semifnalists

Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival / Brooklyn Bodega vidcast #2 for April Show and Prove from Brooklyn Bodega on Vimeo.