On Sunday November 10 Fools Gold Records brough theirFools Gold Day Off event to Los Angeles, CA after other successful stops around the country and turned the city out! Held at The Shrine Auditorium lot across the street from the USC campus, Fools Gold brought out thousands of young energetic Angelinos of all races who braved long lines in the hot sun for free entry (with prior RSVP) to party and dance all afternoon, evening and in to the night. The lineup was an interesting and weird mixture of EDM, Classic Gangster Rap, New Gangster Rap, and Molly/Ratchet Rap with the likes of A-Trak, DJ Quik, Freddie Gibbs, IamSu, and Danny Brown.
After a few DJ’s took the stage, IamSu from the Bay Area in California took the stage with his HBK gang. The official lineup read as “Nick Catchdubs Featuring IamSu and Jay Ant” (due to Nick being a Fools Gold Records founder) but IamSu was clearly in control of the performance and that’s who the crowd wanted to see and hear. The Richmond native got the early crowd going with popular tracks that he was featured on like “Up,” “Function,” and “Gas Pedal.” Gary, Indiana’s Freddie Gibbs theme throughout his performance was his clear distaste for the law as he repeatedly led the crowd with “F*ck the Police” chants. I’m certain the dozen LAPD cops stationed outside of the venue weren’t too pleased but that’s freedom of speech for you. Interestingly enough while IamSu’s music was more uptempo, Gibbs kind of slowed things down with his slower tempo of rap but after he was done the electronic DJ’s arrived on the scene to give the youth a reason to jump around in a frenzy. As the evening approached, West Coast rap and producing legend DJ Quik hit the stage and even though he was the “older Uncle” on the scene (as was I), the young crowd showed a lot of love and appreciation for one of the pillars of West Coast rap as he started off with “Born and Raised,” “Can U Work With That,” “Let’s Get Down” and “Tonite.” “If I knew the crowd was going to be this turned up, I would have brought my homie Suga Free with me,” Quik told the crowd as he jumped off of the stage in to the photo pit to get closer to the people. Quik left the thousands in attendance happy but they really were anticipating Fools Gold Records co-founder A-Trak to come out next as most of the people in the front row started to tie on their A-Trak bandanas. I braced myself for more EDM (which I don’t care for by the way) but with the crowd so hyped and pumped you would have to be a zombie if you didn’t start moving along with everybody. It didn’t hurt that A-Trak actually incorporates a super dope scratching technique while playing, showing that he’s got real skills and not just another computer assisted DJ, but that’s why he’s a former DMC World Champion. Soon after it was time for the headliner to hit the stage, Detroit’s own unique and eccentric artist Danny Brown. I’m not going to pretend that I’m the biggest Danny Brown fan but I’m not going to lie – he put on one hell of a performance! Rapping about drugs and sex with a voice that reminds me of Katt Williams at times, Danny Brown had all of the college kids on the lot and those in the dorms next to us (who had their own personal view of the show through their windows) to go nuts and chant “I got that income tax swag” as he performed “Lie4” and other songs. All in all, considering the energy of the crowd, it was one fantastic free party. If the Fools Gold Day Off event comes to your area, I suggest RSVP’ing for a free entry if you’re looking for a good reason to get loose and party with a crowd. Check out our exclusive AllHipHop.com pics below!
Pics by Tim Sanchez and additional images by Ural Garrett
