Rubbing it in

On February 16, the Colonial Theater was full. Wait, no, scratch that, it was the-girl-next-to-you-farts-and-there’s-no-where-to-run packed (true story, bros!). And a lot of good stuff happened that night, so we’ll start with Sacramento’s Another Rap Group, who stepped on stage and shared their rhymes with the crowd, causing some to scratch their heads as if wondering, “Who are these crazy rapping Mexicans, and where can I buy their mix tape?” And there was Cawzlos, who invited the entire audience on stage to share a special hip-hop moment—it was breathtaking to see how many faces actually represent our not-so-small community. And, of course, when the Living Legends made microphone contact, you could almost feel the old theater shaking in its brittle foundation under the weight of the bass and eight dynamic emcees.

So, yup, if you didn’t attend that show, you missed quite a bit of Sacramento music history and present and—since Sacramento’s the Cuf and N8 the Gr8’s son, Lil’ N8, briefly took to the stage for a surprise cameo—future. In a nutshell, some grand-scheme cosmic hip-hop shit happened that night, and some of us are still recovering from the experience.

Well, enough of SN&R rubbing it in; we’ll let Living Legends’ Grouch do some, too. “We get there and there are so many kids that are hyped, and it made me feel like, ‘Man, I’m glad we came to the Colonial Theater to do that. It was really fun.’”

And to think, the Legends were even a little sketchy on coming to Sacramento in the first place.

“Ooh, I shouldn’t say this, man, but sometimes it’s like, ‘Oh damn, the Colonial Theater!’ (We’ve had bad sound there before, and the people who run the place kind of give us a hard time.) But we went and played, and the crowd was so tight … ”

Yeah, it was. But don’t feel bad you didn’t go. Now’s your chance to make a new moment of history and join the Grouch as he performs with Zion I (Heroes in the City of Dope) and special guest Mistah F.A.B. with a host of talented Sacramento artists. The night is already proving to be an odd mix of elements, namely, the somewhat incongruous pairing of hyphy (F.A.B.) and underground (Grouch and Zion I).

“I don’t know what people think of Mistah F.A.B.,” says Grouch, “but I know as an artist, as an emcee and a hip-hopper, I recognize that he’s very much a hip-hop emcee; he can freestyle his ass off, he can battle, and he has this do-it-yourself work ethic. There is a common ground in there somewhere—[maybe it’s that] we’re all young people in this, trying to be creative and get our music heard.”

So maybe it’s not so odd after all, but the venue—a warehouse skate park on 28th and B Streets—certainly is.

“I heard that’s supposed to be a cool place. I like things like that. I’m excited to see what it’s gonna be like,” Grouch says.

So, for sure, it’ll be a special show. After all, Grouch, who is performing (again) with Cawzlos and friends, has a strong connection with our quaint city. “To tell you the truth, I don’t come there as much as I want to. When I tell promoters what shows to set up for me, I’m always like, ‘Don’t forget about Sacramento,’ because every time I go, I have a good show,” he says.

But seriously, he’s excited, we’re excited, your mom’s probably excited—so here’s another opportunity to fill up a venue, show your love, and see what it takes to make the walls shake like some truly historical shit is about to go down.