A celebration of rap

Madison Hip-Hop Awards draws a small but energized crowd

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It didn’t take long for the jokes and unflattering references to President-elect Donald Trump to roll out at the Madison Hip-Hop Awards.

“Whichever side [of the crowd] makes the least noise tonight — that’s the Trump lovers,” declared the event’s host, comedian Antoine McNeail, during his opening monologue at the Nov. 12 event.

McNeail’s jab at Trump and a few mentions by others — including a couple of “FUCK TRUMP!” interruptions from the crowd throughout the night — reflects the vitriol Trump now faces from rap fans. This new attitude toward Trump — brought on by his many racist and xenophobic remarks during the recent presidential campaign — is in sharp contrast to how the billionaire businessman was previously revered by hip-hop heads for his wealth and ambition.

But disgust for The Donald didn’t dominate the night. Though attendance was lower than years past, with only about 150 of the Barrymore Theatre seats filled, the seventh annual awards show was once again a testament to Madison’s hip-hop community supporting its own. The night was filled with expressions of love, great performances and recognition of up-and-coming artists in the local rap scene.

After McNeail’s intro, which included hilarious, rap-related material like spot-on impressions of so-called “mumble rapper” Lil Yatchy and a shirtless Gucci Mane (yes, dude actually took his shirt off to drive this joke home), there was the first of three breaks in the program for pre-recorded “cyphers” featuring a handful of emcees spitting their hottest lyrics over a sick DJ Pain 1 beat.

Borrowing this idea from the BET Hip-Hop Awards, these cyphers were a highlight. The first — and arguably the best — featured a young cohort of rappers, including Damian Isiah, RED the Bully and others. The Urban Community Arts Network, a nonprofit community group that promotes the local rap scene and puts on the awards show every year, needs to make all three of these cyphers available to DJs immediately.

The first award of the night went to 3rd Dimension, who won for mixtape of the year for Things Have Changed. Next up, Rebecca “Bo$$Lady” Barber, host of WORT-FM’s Universal Soul Explosion, got the nod for radio personality, while the teen duo Trend N Topic and Domi Lee nabbed the R&B group and artist of the year, respectively. Rookie of the year went to Trapo.

Following another outstanding cypher featuring Sincere Life, Chaos, Opal Elyse and AD (of The Crest), Willie Ney, executive director and founder of UW-Madison’s Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives and First Wave Program, was presented with the Most Influential Award.

Awards for videographer and photographer went to Niko Money and Hedi Rudd, respectively. Midwest Mix-Up grabbed the promoter award, and T Bone took the studio engineer category. DJ award went to DJ Pain 1 — who’s won every year except 2014. The five-member team X-Clusive Movement took home this year’s dance group award and offered a sweaty, explosive dance performance.

Producer of the year went to Victory, while best collaboration went to DJ Sixteen and Jay B Coolin for their track “Muddy Waters.”

The night’s last cypher featured Knowshun, Dot.Con, Black and others. By the time it played, however, the crowd had thinned out — many of them undoubtedly running home to catch Dave Chappelle hosting his first Saturday Night Live with A Tribe Called Quest, who had just released their first album in 18 years following the death of member Phife.

Picking up the year’s spotlight awards were two dance instructors, Erika Bozinovski and Rene “TurboRoc” Avila, both of Sweatshop Movement. Trend N Topic won for song and video of the year and gave a dance-heavy rendition of “Kick Back.” In the female artist of the year, fans chose Kilo (of Bloodline), while 3rd Dimension took home the plaque for favorite rap group. Album of the year went to Compound & DJ Pain 1’s The Cook up.

For the second year in a row, DJ Sixteen won best male rap artist and offered some tips for other artists before jumping into a dizzying, frantic four-track set that included his and Jay B Coolin’s “Muddy Waters.”

“We don’t get a lot of opportunities [here in Madison] because we can’t control our crowds,” said Sixteen, speaking about the fractured relationship between rap promoters, venues and police that has plagued the local rap scene for years. “We need to make sure we have a good ending to our shows, so we can get more shows and get this money.”