Violent Chaos Simmers On The Final Night Of SXSW

Throughout the music portion of South By Southwest the Empire control & garage room hosted a enviable list of talented artists. Rick Ross, Mastodon, Danny Brown, Sleigh Bells, Lil Yachty, The Drums, Talib Kweli, and Cut Chemist all graced one or other of the club's two stages.

On the closing night, the Empire control room held the greatest selection of upcoming aspiring stars. The showcase started positively with rising London grime emcee AJ Tracey, performing at 22:30. The English rapper was one of the most in demand performers of the week, playing a multitude of daytime and night-time showcases. He slowly sauntered on to the stage, with a satchel strapped across his chest. The 'satchel' look was adopted all week by various Grime musicians, seemingly introducing the tracksuit mafia look to a vast amount of uninformed American attendees for the first time. AJ's performance was solid. He wasn't too animated or engaging with the crowd. Unlike so many rappers who need a posse to join them on stage, he had only himself, a DJ and a mic to back him up. He let his flawless breath control, style and relentless bars speak for themselves. For rappers who can't recite 2 lines without a hype man or DJ finishing their sentences, you should be hanging your head in shame in front of the Londoner. Before unleashing his UK hit 'Pasta', AJ told the audience "this one is more for what you Americans like". The addictive tune went down a storm with first time listeners. The room instantly revved up with people bouncing along enthusiastically with the grime peddler's machine gun style delivery. By the end, he'd debuted new material, easily won over the crowd and exposed UK grime to a whole new market.

#AJTracey pic.twitter.com/W5ThWyMNS0

— Ed Murphy (@rockinfoed) May 14, 2017

From North London we moved to the sounds of the West side of Chicago. Saba, who featured on Chance The Rapper's song, 'Everybody's Something', from the 'Acid Rain' mixtape, followed Tracey on the bill. The 22-year-old is certainly a wise head on young shoulders. His latest LP 'Bucket List Project' is a thought provoking journey that reveals many of the horrors of his Chicago neighbourhood, without glorifying the violent lifestyle. Saba is a lively, warm, and engaging figure to watch in the flesh. His catalogue boasts numerous bouncy, up-tempo hits that easily get the crowd moving.

Next up was Jazz Cartier. To be honest, I had very little interest in watching the Canadian rapper and went to get some fresh air for the first half of his gig. I wandered back into the room at the perfect time to witness the last ten minutes of his show. There is a tendency to make it to the Saturday of SXSW and be left disappointed by musicians who literally have nothing else to give. To his credit, Jazz was going all out as if it was his final chance to shine. At first, he grabbed, and began to shake a rickety pole above the edge of the stage which had lights attached to it. Immediately you could see staff members were concerned it would come crashing down, as it didn't look any sturdier than a shower curtain pole. He then bunched the revellers together and asked them to put their palms up to support his weight. With some trepidation he stepped on to the waiting palms and began to walk on the crowd. With his feet balancing on outstretched hands, he grabbed an exposed beam on the ceiling, flipped, and wrapped his legs around it. Jazz Cartier, now hanging upside down over the audience, continued rapping the chorus to the track 'Dead or Alive', "they want me dead or alive, i'm just tryna survive, they want me dead or alive". Again, Club staff were visibly concerned that someone was going to get injured.

#JazzCartier pic.twitter.com/RQcsLOvKL2

— Ed Murphy (@rockinfoed) May 14, 2017

After a minute of hanging upside down suspended from the ceiling, the Toronto emcee grasped the beam with one hand and let his legs dangle down above the adoring punters. He again asked the attendees to put forth their palms, so he could use them as stepping stones around the mosh-pit. At this point, people were shaking their heads in disbelief. It was crazy, it was exciting, it was something a lot of fans had never witnessed before at a concert. However, by this time, Empire staff had had enough. Clearly worried somebody was going to get hurt, a staff member a little too over eagerly yanked Jazz from the Christ like experience he was enjoying, and pulled him down to the floor, where he landed feet first. Annoyed at his set being interrupted, pushing and swinging arms ensued from several people. The lights went on, the soundboard was covered up to protect it from flying drinks, and the music was instantly cut off. Staff rushed into the room from every angle to subdue the situation. A little whirlwind of people continued pushing and jostling, until eventually, the Canadian rapper was pinned down and wrapped up in an anaconda hold at the side of the stage. I personally cannot say if there were punches thrown. I saw no blood, no injuries, but very haggard looking Empire workers with an expression of "we really don't need this shit on the last night, after a grueling week of dealing with drunk assholes". Jazz Cartier was then fucked out on the street through the emergency exit door.
That should have been that. Lights on, music off, it's the universal translation of get out of the club. However, to the credit of the venue, they announced that the last act Denzel Curry, would be allowed to perform. The Floridian rapper then took the mic and told the crowd "we're gonna keep it positive, no violence, let's have a good time".
Indeed, the 21-year-old kept his word. His frenetic presence took over Empire shortly after 1am. Having seen Denzel earlier in the week, I can state that his boundless energy had not dwindled in the intervening days. Dripping with sweat after a few songs, Curry whipped off his shirt to try and cool down. His DJ soon followed suit. As the Floridian had promised, a positive set ensued, apart from towards the end of his performance when one of his hype-men tried to grab the same shakey pole above the edge of the stage. As well as, a bizarre moment when the rapper was presumably told this is your last song. Curry's DJ leapt off the podium, angrily marched towards the sound booth, before Denzel grabbed him in the middle of the crowd, around the waist and told him "we ain't gonna do that, we ain't gonna do that". What followed the power to the stage being cut was the Carol City emcee spitting bars, a cappella, in the middle of the breathless audience. The diminutive figure was instantly swallowed up in a sea of fans trying to capture the scene for their Snapchat timeline. As the lights came on, illuminating the dark intimate room, his growly, gruff voice could easily be heard, even if the Floridian couldn't be clearer seen. After a verse or two, he climbed back on to the stage to a standing ovation.

#DenzelCurry #SXSW pic.twitter.com/HRXZMOelCJ

— Ed Murphy (@rockinfoed) May 15, 2017

SXSW is a melting pot of every type of music fan. Stand next to the right person and you might be offered a conversation, a joint, a ride, or a bump. As one frat-bro announced in a graffiti strewn toilet, "I didn't come this close to the Mexican border not to try their coke".
South By may have shipped a fair amount of criticism this year, Donald Trump may have had more of an influence than any other American President previous, nonetheless, SXSW still feels relevant, it still feels necessary, and it still provides a massive platform to all artists to speak their minds freely and express their personal beliefs regardless of race, gender, religion or political leanings. To my mind, in 2017, any event that encourages such inclusiveness is more vital than ever.