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I love Rap, but hate that Rapper hustle
Why I am continually disillusioned with seeing Rap artists live in concert
It was in the early 2000s, a dark and grimy evening in a small club in Frankfurt, Germany. The rapper known as The Game was in town for a single concert and there were rumours of an open Mic contest. Rap artists almost never toured here so we took our chance even with the extortionate $150 door price.
I took my son along (he looked old enough) and we squeezed into the venue with 120 other black puffa jacket, beenie wearing Rap wannabees all trying to look tough, even though their biggest daily crimes were shooting bland mayonnaise onto their lunchtime fries.
The Game spat his first bars exactly 93 minutes late. No-one was impressed especially in a German environment, but I couldn’t deny that once he started, he gave it his all. Unlike other artists, he stayed true to his fans, performing for two hours, even doing impromptu battles with three locals from the crowd. These guys were like disciples, chanting every word from his albums. It was impressive — until the night took a weird turn.
At the end of the evening we paid an extra $120 each for a “Meet and Greet” the artist. The ticket said it included time to chat/chill and take a few pictures, but we had to line up outside again with around 40 others.