Thursday night was a release party for Ogun's
B-more Hero
mixtape at Sonar, albeit in name only; the CD has been available at shows and in stores for going on four months now. Pointing out the slight name discrepancy is not a knock, mind you. So many local MCs hype their upcoming releases, only to disappear from view shortly after it hits the streets, that it's refreshing to see Ogun mount such a persistent and prolonged promotional campaign, including radio appearances, a
, and
back in April. And he personally made everyone in the Baltimore hip-hop scene feel like the release party was a mandatory event, jokingly warning that anyone absent should "be prepared to produce a doctor's slip." DJ 5Starr got the night started on a good note by spinning a clutch of mid-'90s Biggie and Jigga, while host OOH from Brown F.I.S.H. introduced a few openers for brief, one-song sets, including
The show didn't really get going, however, until the ubiquitous Comp made his obligatory appearance, hyping up the crowd with his goofy, approachable charisma like a gangsta De La Soul. For the most part, it was his
, "Sunglasses" and all, but he closed with one intense, promising new song just to let us know he's still got some tricks up his sleeve. Another local hip-hop mainstay, Skarr Akbar, also put in an appearance, blazing through fast-paced favorites like "Bang," which he teased at first with a chorus over the beat from another local rap standard, Tim Trees' "Bank Roll." Skarr's spartan self-produced tracks always translate well to live performance, the pinging snare drum of "Da Business" sounding head-crushingly awesome on a big club's PA system in a way that it never quite does on record. And he let up on his usual unrelenting anger to, as he explained, "get my Bobby Brown 'Tenderoni' on," as he picked out a cutie from the audience to bring up onstage and serenade. But while the usual suspects rocked the house, the billed "special guest" opener, a rare local performance by the Jim Jones-affiliated local rapper
, was a disappointing no-show. The self-proclaimed "B-more Hero" finally took to the stage with the Foo Fighters' "My Hero" as his intro music, and ran through a 30-minute set--which, by Baltimore rap standards, is a marathon performance. Flanked by OOH and producer Wink, the usually humble and collaboration-happy Ogun appeared to enjoy his moment in the limelight, joined only briefly by Nik Stylz for her single "Cut My Check," and by XO for the hilarious ode to MySpace gangstas, "Cyber Thuggin'." In between songs, Ogun frequently addressed the audience at length, lecturing his peers in the scene like a motivational speaker, reminding them that he's been in the front row of their shows countless times before, and that he appreciated them doing the same. For a man who's given so much to Baltimore rap--spotlighting other artists on compilations, posse cuts, and mixtape projects--it was gratifying to see some of that same support shown back to him in return.
