Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "bueno"

One Scary Nite 3

2011-10-29T04:40:07Z

After a slightly flawed but excellent nonetheless One Scary Nite 2, expectations were high for the third annual installment of the "Deon Taylor Enterprises presents: One Scary Nite" Halloween party, which went down at the California Auto Museum Thursday night.

Familiar attractions returning this year included "Mad Scientist" Jack Sparx with his Tesla coil, huge propane fireballs and deranged laugh, stilt walkers, fire dancers, go-go dancers and many bloody, gory "staff monsters" and zombies who shuffled around the venue with a vacant look in their eyes, grunting at passing partygoers.

Absent this year were the red carpet and arrivals, the national musical act (last year it was Bell Biv Devoe), the haunted house, the massive 7,100-pound fire-breathing metal dragon and the long, snaking lines of people waiting to get in.

Notable attendees this year included filmmaker and emcee Deon Taylor wearing an inflatable ostrich costume, former Sacramento Kings player/current regional scout/player development coach Bobby Jackson dressed as Blade, NFL free agent Ephraim Salaam dressed as Master Chief from Halo, and comedian and co-host Tony Roberts in costume as Fred Sanford.

Entertainment included sets by DJ Charlie Ramos and former NBA All-Star Cedric Ceballos and live performances by Sacramento acts I2W, Kumandae and Bueno.

Maybe last year's party was a lot to live up to, or maybe it's the economy, but this year it just didn't come together to be "bigger, scarier and better than before" as promoted. At one point Taylor had to light a fire and get the party on track, grabbing a microphone and ordering the lights turned down more, the go-go dancers back on their boxes, and people onto the dance floor.

Whether it was the light attendance or lack of starpower, Thursday's party just felt scaled down and a little "dead."

Will there be a One Scary Nite 4? Let's hope so, and let's hope it's reborn in a big way. One Scary Nite 2 was a blast, and it would be great to have Sacramento's biggest Halloween dance party back in full force.

All photos copyright Steven Chea

Sacramento gets taken to the 'Dogg Pound'

2011-09-17T02:52:18Z

The sun was still hanging lazily in the sky as an enormous crowd filed into Midtown's cozy Ace of Spades venue to see hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg Friday evening. The famed indo-puffing, gin and juice-drinking rap veteran is no stranger to the Sacramento area, as just only seven months ago, the "Doggfather" performed at UC Davis' Freeborn Hall to an enthusiastic college crowd.

Now, hot off the heels of his 11th studio album, Doggumentary (which debuted at No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard 200), the rapper returned to show Sacramento he's still one of hip-hop's best in the game.

The small venue filled up quickly, with a diverse crowd ranging from young to old, longtime fans to curious new fans. One notable attendee was Sacramento native Abe Cunningham, drummer for Sacramento-based band the Deftones.

Local act Divided Allegiance kicked off the evening with an Insane Clown Posse-inspired set, complete with face paint and guttural rap/rock screams. Placerville native Optimiztiq delivered an impressive display of lyrical prowess, pumping the crowd up even more, getting serious love from other local acts sharing the stage that night.

Following act Quette Daddie of Memphis, Tenn., commented on Optimiztiq's performance, "Y'all keep an eye out for this one right here. He's a white MC from the country kickin' ass." Sacramento heavyweight Bueno kept things alive with an energetic set accompanied by live drums, bass and keyboards, paying tribute to fallen hip-hop artists 2Pac, Eazy-E and Mac Dre.

After an intermission filled with classic '90s hip-hop anthems like Ice Cube's "Today Was a Good Day" and Cypress Hill's "Stoned Is the Way of the Walk," the lights dimmed and a sea of digital cameras stood poised to get a snapshot of the guest of honor.

"Y'all smoke weed?" boomed a voice across the small venue. Guests roared in approval as the accompanying DJs on stage sparked a blunt and Snoop Dogg sauntered on stage and fired into the Doggystyle classics "Tha Shiznit" and "Gin and Juice," as well as the Dr. Dre produced hits "The Next Episode" and "Nuthin' but A 'G' Thang."

The crowd responded enthusiastically to Snoop Dogg's set, complete with Dogg Pound mascot Nasty Dogg dancing around the stage with the rapper, flanked by scantily clad dancers on each side.

"What do we do every day?" asked the rapper after performing "The Next Episode," prompting the crowd to yell back Nate Dogg’s line, "Smoke weed every day!"

Paying tribute to longtime friend and collaborator Nate Dogg, who passed away in March of this year from complications from a stroke, Snoop Dogg held a moment of silence before breaking into "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None).” Easily one of Nate Dogg's most memorable performances off the classic album Doggystyle Snoop delivered Nate Dogg's verse with whimsical fun and ease, while Dogg Pound member Kurupt accompanied to a frenzied sea of concert attendees young and old dancing and swaying to the booming, bass-heavy rhythms.

With a career spanning 20 years of critically acclaimed albums, collaborations and singles, as well as ventures into acting and endorsements, there's no doubt Snoop is one of the most recognizable faces in hip-hop and pop culture. Friday evening, however, Snoop let everyone in attendance know that, like a fine wine, he only gets better with age.

"What's my name?" asked the rapper to the packed venue. The crowd screamed in unison, securing his place in Sacramento fans' hearts and headphones as a West Coast legend for many more years to come.

Disclosure: Hip-hop music has always been my favorite music for as long as I can remember. As a writer, I love when rappers bend the English language to make it an authentic art all their own, and Snoop Dogg is easily recognized as one of the greatest today.

Hip Hop Congress Awareness Festival unites diverse crowd

2009-05-25T08:00:34Z

Watching the MC with the dreadlocks, the interracial couple, kids younger than 12, asians, blacks, whites and Hispanics congregated in the Washington Neighborhood Center all listening to the same music was a rare and inspiring sight.

Today was the third and final day of the first Sacramento Hip Hop Congress Awareness Festival. The day was dedicated to a showcase of performances by open-mic artists, b-boys, DJs and street, conscious and hip hop MCs from Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as art displays.

Bay Area musician Rahman Jahmaal and local musicians such as Skurge riled the crowd with their inspirational words. Jahmaal broke down the beauty in the art of hip hop.

"I want to encourage you to be a little more active in your community," Skurge said to the audience over the microphone.

The festival was heavily focused on bringing together the community and local artists with the different art forms of hip hop culture, in addition to introducing the local chapter of the Hip Hop Congress to Sacramento.

Yesterday included performances by Oakland's Simone Nia Rae and former member of Jurassic 5 Akil.

HHC co-chairs Vanessa Amarro and Aman Smith agreed that yesterday's featured music industry panel, involving a discussion between seven speakers representative of the hip hop scene and participants, was a main highlight of the festival. Smith estimated that there were 30 to 40 people present, ranging from 8 years old to 45 years old.

"A lot of people were happy with the total outcome [of the panel] because it was such a diverse group of people," Smith said.

According to Smith, the seven panel speakers included music supervisor Marcus Barone, professional bass player Kevin Cane, music attorney Christine O' Connor, professor Erik Chun, LA videographer Todd Strickland—who previously worked with Alicia Keys, Usher, and Jaime Foxx—Sacramento rapper Bueno and graffiti artist and b-boy (breakdancer) Taz Roc, who previously worked on the Sprite "Obey Your Thirst" marketing campaign.

Smith expressed his excitement about the discussion that ensued about the future of independent artists and being successful in today's market; he said the Sacramento chapter will continue the discussion once every month or every other month.

Twenty-eight-year-old Tatiana Turner, local music promoter and film short producer, said the panel was "surprisingly informative and very interactive."

"There was a little bit of each genre, and with a graffiti artist and a lawyer on [the same] panel, you could see the unity," she added.

In addition to the main stage, there was a separate room set up with microphones for kids to work on their music skills.

Twelve-year-old Sophia Marx, who just began volunteering for HHC over the weekend with the encouragement of her mom, said she really liked the sense of community at the event.

"I don't get to do a lot of this stuff at home—work, sing and dance," she said.

Rae, who said it was her second time performing in Sacramento, expressed her pleasure in being a part of the event.

"Hip hop Congress is always positive. It's all for the love of hip hop," she said.

To learn more about Hip Hop Congress, visit hiphopcongress.com