So the highlight of my weekend was spent Saturday night at the Paradise over by B.U. where I attended the fourth annual Boston Hip Hop Unity Fest headlined by none other than Mr. Jay Electronica himself.

Those familiar with the scene here in Boston know the controversy that seems to surround the Unity Fest each year. The biggest issue most people seem to have is with the fact that so many acts get booked to open, that not every artist ends up getting to do their thing.

For myself as an artist, I feel that if we're talking about unity and support, than it shouldn't be about ME and MY spotlight. I understand people want the chance to do their thing, but I think its important to acknowledge the fact that a cat made an effort to do something to unite the scene. And honestly, I am glad I attended finally after four years. It felt good, networking, building with my peers, and enjoying some dope Hip Hop. I didnt care that I wasn't performing. Don't get me wrong, I think I deserved to rock, I think I could've rocked better then some of the acts I saw, but for real, cats need to stop bitching and do something. Anyone with a complaint about how it went down, who's never tried putting on their own show like that, should take a step back. I applaud the efforts of anyone trying to do something positive for the scene here. We need it.

Among the openers, I was especially impressed with Vice Versah and the team from AR Classic. Hope somebody got video from their set cuz them cats rocked it. Also gotta big up, Demo and Ebb & Flow who was holdin it down when I walked in. And thanks to Demo for the introduction to Omayga who I got to speak to during a quick back-alley-build session.

By about 1:15am, myself and I think most of the crowd was ready to see Jay Electronica. Right after a surprise appearance from the legendary Jeru the Damaja, Jay jumped on stage from the front row of the crowd and proceeded to tear shit up. Even if it was for less than an hour my dude literally put everything into his performance.

Shout to Marlene for the footage.. You really had to be there. And as if that wasn't enough, the scene outside the club afterwards was something else. Flanked by a crowd of at least 50 fans, Jay stayed outside the club building for at least half an hour before cops came and attempted to breakup the crowd....Jay wasn't havin it. I was in disbelief watchin an inebriated Mr. Electronica tell Boston Police to get out of his face as he continued building with the people. And the best part is no one left in cuffs. Lookin forward to more shows like this in the Summer. We'll see..