Last night, the first date of the Summer in the City hip-hop series at Headhunters went down amidst plastic tiki gods holding heads on sticks and a screening The Simpsons Movie. However, that hardly kept the crowd from focusing on the night’s event. MelodicScience top dog Mirage did his part, picking three of Austin’s best MCs to keep the crowd moving, from Young Nick’s twisting rhythms to Brokebread’s aggressive technique, backed by the versatile spins of DJ Berlin.
The night truly belonged to Zeale 32, though. The South Austin MC, adhering to the model of spitting over sped-up soul samples, led the crowd on a journey from the future to the past and back again, the middle portion filled with rips over Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” and Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.” Zeale added that the particular jam was from the King of Pop’s darker days, “when he had a fat nose.” Employing the hip-hop call-and-response, Zeale drew cheers when he switched over to “Obama!” “What!” “I don’t wanna get too political, but fuck Hillary,” he responded. His stage presence, along with his straight-up dope flow, got heads ringing across the bar.
Mark your calendars for June 19, when Summer in the City continues with Shanka D-Russ, Dred Skott, the F.L.Y, and Mirage.
This article appears in June 6 • 2008.