The 14th annual BMI Urban Showcase is now in the books. Over the last few years, the showcase has struggled not on lineups, but with the selected venues not being able to handle the overcrowding prompted by their big name headliners (Drake, Lil Wayne, Nas). This year’s move to the spacious Buckhead Theatre was done with the hope that both fans and industry figures would be able to enjoy the concert and network.
The event started with the competition between the four unsigned finalists: Chase N Cashe of Surf Club, FKi, Jus Nice and Saunders Sermon. Each artist performed a collection of their songs before a industry panel of judges that featured executives, managers, producers and attorneys. One of the big issues these BMI hopefuls face is the icy audience reception. Atlanta’s urban socialite scene is heavy on mingling and being seen over any type of sustained appreciation for the art of music. That left these unknown artists trying to their best to win over a crowd that was more concerned with talking with each other out on the lobby and observing the copious amount of eye candy roaming about.
In the end Chase N Cashe’s stage presence was able to win over the judges. For his efforts, the young rapper was awarded $1000 in cash, studio time, a photo session, image consulting, a 300 CD duplication package and a feature story in BMI Music World.
The crowd’s general apathy was slow to change even when more notable names hit the stage. There was little reaction when Atlanta executive DeVyne Stephens was presented with the Legends of ATL award. Host Lil Duval’s jokes could only muster a few chuckles. Sought-after songwriter Sean Garrett performed to near-silence (think Sexual Chocolate in Coming to America). Even a medley of his big hits for other artists like Usher, Beyonce and Mario only elicited sparse golf caps.
Things noticeably picked up when Miami’s Ace Hood hit the stage. Those in the lobby and VIP area made their way to the stage to hear tracks like “Hustle Hard.” Hood, to his credit, was able to keep the crowd engaged sans a hypeman. The momentum continued with surprise performances from Duct Tape Entertainment (with heavy entourage in tow) and Pastor Troy, who got the biggest reaction of the night thus far with renditions of his ATL classics “Vice Versa” and “No Mo Play in GA.”
Unfortunately, youngsters Travis Porter had to follow this. With dance music geared towards teens, the trio struggled to connect with the 21 and up audience that had just been whipped into a frenzy by the harder sounds of Troy. That didn’t stop their enthusiasm. The group didn’t phone in their set and gave admirable performances of “Go Shorty Go” and “Make It Rain.” By the end, the scattered dancing in the audience served as proof that at least some had been won over.
With venue time now running short, headliner Rick Ross had to be brisk with his set. The fans didn’t mind, as Rozay kicked off the proceedings with bass heavy interpretations of “John Doe” and “9 Piece.” The crowd sung these songs in unison as their energy finally picked back up. This was a set of bangers. The only smooth joint indulged from Ross’ catalogue was “Aston Martin Music,” a track the ladies in attendance enjoyed immensely. Expectedly, the two songs that obtained the biggest reactions were “BMF” and “MC Hammer.” To conclude, Ross took a moment to salute all the unsigned artists in attendance while framing his own career as a success model.
“I never had a Timbaland beat, a Pharrell or Dr. Dre beat to jumpstart my career,” Ross explained. “So when I say self-made I mean doing this shit from the ground up.”
Overall, the 2011 edition of BMI’s Urban Showcase was a huge improvement over the venue and time issues experienced in previous years. And while the organization likes to move every year to keep things “fresh,” keeping next year’s showcase at the Buckhead Theatre would not be an unwise decision.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 