Mad Real goes national

Local artists will now have to compete with national acts at Mad Real Monday's new location, Mojo's.

By Victoria Uwamarogie

Published Oct. 28, 2008

From the outside in, Mojo's gives off a spooky and quiet appearance to those that walk by. Encased in darkness near the end of Park Avenue in Columbia, the cold weather helps to make the local bar and venue seem lifeless and abandoned, but on the inside, the hip-hop scene is heating up.

With DJ Dr. Loomis spinning hits from OutKast's "Gasoline" to old-school favorites like "Paid in Full" by Eric B. & Rakim, Mad Real Mondays is on. The patrons are anxiously awaiting the performance of former Jurassic 5 member Akil the MC. A big name on the underground scene, the headliner brings more experience and enthusiasts with him than the local artists that come and go at Mad Real Mondays.

Mad Real Mondays, a bi-weekly hip-hop showcase in Columbia, is a favorite of many residents, but it's new to Mojo's, which acquired the showcase after it left its original home, the Sapphire Lounge, after three years of success. Although Mad Real Mondays were once a showcase that helped develop the skills of local emcees, with a change of venues came a change in practice.

"It used to be an open mic where you could have just come and signed up," says Bustrip, a former Columbia emcee now residing in Peoria, Ill. "Now it's a bi-weekly sign-up, and it's pretty much underground acts. Pretty good touring acts from around the country that come in to perform."

Mojo's has expanded the event's base. Some of the country's biggest underground hip-hop acts are stopping in. Akil the MC from Los Angeles and the Jiggywatts of Seattle performed on Oct. 27. Qwel from Chicago crew Typical Cats will perform Nov. 17.

"We book some of the hottest names in the independent hip-hop scene," says local hip-hop mogul Steddy P, who books the talent for Mad Real Mondays. "This is something people know about all over the country."

With the event bringing in major underground talent, the showcase, once known for its local talent, now offers less space for up-and-coming Columbia emcees. Local artists have been relegated to mostly opening acts and signing up for open mic slots has become a more selective process.

"It puts them (local artists) in a position where they can learn their responsibility," Steddy P says. "If you're going to be in the hip-hop scene, you have to support it. You have to pay your dues, and a lot of people don't want to pay their dues."

Steddy says the process helps local artists to work harder on their lyrics and pay their dues like their headlining counterparts had done before.

Although Mad Real Mondays do bring in big names for exposure, some believe that major headliners can make it harder for local artists to become well known.

"I did mostly house parties for four or five years until I got good enough to be able to do shows," says Dr. Loomis, the house DJ at Mojo's. "It makes it harder for local artists to stand out, but (headliners) stand out for a reason. You have to pay your dues."

Other hip-hop devotees suggest everyone gets a time to shine, and by opening for a headliner, local artists actually do benefit.

"Mojo's is an avenue where all artists are promoted, big or not", says Adam Hoffsette, a Mad Real regular. "I listen to more independent hip-hop than mainstream, and the big artists that perform here bring in more business, too."

Columbia native Julie Seeney agrees.

"I think people are happy to see talent. Local artists still get to be seen, and I don't think the big artists take away from that," she says.

Judson Ball bartends for many Mad Real Mondays. He thinks that because local artists will have to stand in the big artists' shadows, the local rappers will get better experience. The better they perform, the more artists they will get to open for in the future.

"I think it opens the doors for local performers because it gives them exposure," Ball says.

Also, rapping with bigger artists will help local emcees find more contacts.

So while some people might feel that the show has been stripped of its local feel, many still enjoy the big name acts and believe that the lucky local artists who get to open the shows get the chance to be seen and heard, which is enough for lyricists with minimal experience.

You can't please everyone, but the show must go on. And it did.

As the evening continued on, fans waited in anticipation for Akil the MC to take the stage. He's been touring solo since his former group, popular LA hip-hop act Jurassic 5, disbanded.

"I'm just trying to put myself out there physically," Akil says. "That is what the game is all about."

Because Akil doesn't have the name recognition on his own that he did with J5, he's back in the position of the local artists: struggling to get his name out. Akil says aspiring emcees should take advantage of technology and social networking sites like MySpace where their music and talent can be heard by many, while still performing in showcases where their talent can be nurtured.

"It's a combination of both doing showcases and using the Internet," Akil says. "It's taking the best of what's old, and matching it with what's new."

So just because the number of up-and-coming local emcees capable of performing at Mad Real Mondays has decreased, Akil says that no matter what, you still have to be able put your own self out there if hip-hop music is a real dream of yours. "If you're not willing to promote yourself, you're just waiting for someone else to do it," Akil says.

With local support, Mojo's keeps the records spinning, and the acts keep coming, with local artists opening the show, and opening doors for themselves. So what can people expect at a Mad Real Mondays show? "A lot of people are going to get to see shows they have never seen before," Steddy P says. "It may change their perspective on hip-hop".

And who knows, it might just be a local lyricist from down the block who changes it.