With venues booked to capacity all week long for CMJs, Fat Beats was able to secure Don Hill’s last night for their showcase.  The 7:00 PM start time resulted in a smaller crowd than there should have been for the showcase of such an important label and store in New York’s independent rap scene but whoever made it over was able to catch a glimpse of the underground’s mainstay. 

Personally I was there to catch Akrobatik and Percee P but I was introduced to Brooklyn’s up and coming Torae who I really only knew through colabs with Skyzoo.  Torae came through hard though, showcasing his recent and upcoming works.  He’s got a smooth flow with crisp lyrics and sounds like he could fit right in with a crew like The Justus League which is a realistic possibility considering his latest production has been coming from Khrysis and 9th Wonder.  Spitting his verses off ’Merchant of Dreams,’ the track on 9th’s Dream Merchant Vol. 2, Torae came strong and convinced me his studio LP will be worth the buy.

Beantown’s Akrobatik was next up to bat and as always he held it down.  I’ve come to realize that his live shows have become so enjoyable because he’s not just an emcee in terms of being a rapper but also as a host.  While so many rappers spew garbage about themselves to pass the time and catch their breath, Akrobatik is a good story teller and a funny one at that.  Whether it is talking about how he grew up in Boston but was raised on New York hip-hop or how he has seen his name spelled 100 different ways, he keeps the crowd live which is always the sign of a true emcee.

The Fat Beats host kept mentioning that special guests were in the building and when I saw Boot Camp Clik holding down a table in the back it was a pretty safe guess that it would be something related to the Duck Down fam.  Smif N Wessun took the stage to an amped crowd running through ‘Bucktown’ and the usual classics.

The headliner for the night was the one and only Percee P with family in the club, fresh off tour with Common and Q-Tip.  This was a Fat Beats showcase and Percee did just that, running through material from as early as the 80’s to recent Madlib produced track’s off of Perseverance.  Before and after the show he was selling his mixtapes and records, showing that its a never ending hustle for the man who has and always will stand by his DIY work ethic. 

A good lineup for just $5 from the people at Fat Beats, respect.