CONGRATULATIONS.....
....to Chef Lowe, winner of the 1st Annual Hip Hop Karaoke Championship, January 25, 2008.
For those keeping score at home, Chef won the title with Big Daddy Kane's "Warm It Up, Kane", Tribe Called Quest's "Check the Rhime" and Dead Prez's "Hip Hop." We have more thoughts and thank yous after we get some sleep, but sincere thanks to those who came through and helped SELL OUT the Highline! And a equal thank you to the 12 competitors who poured their hearts into their performances.
- The HHK Crew
For those keeping score at home, Chef won the title with Big Daddy Kane's "Warm It Up, Kane", Tribe Called Quest's "Check the Rhime" and Dead Prez's "Hip Hop." We have more thoughts and thank yous after we get some sleep, but sincere thanks to those who came through and helped SELL OUT the Highline! And a equal thank you to the 12 competitors who poured their hearts into their performances.
- The HHK Crew
posted by Hip Hop Karaoke :: NYC at 5:11 AM
30 Comments:
Last night was amazing. Still can't believe how insane that show was.
let the results of last night's final round be a symbol to all those who question the geographical hierarchy. manhattan and jersey must bow before brooklyn - the dutch hath commandeth as such.
and yes, last night's show was special.
All I have to say is, Brooklyn stand up!
Some pictures from last night... halfway thru, I gave up partially because the lighting wasn't working for me and because I was having too much fun.
http://www.flickr.com/gp/98114544@N00/A44mzj
Brooklyn was certainly in the building, but all of HHK was in the house. Chef, you put together a performance that was ridiculous. A well deserved champion. Everyone did there part to put together an amazing night of HIP HOP. Thanks again and congratulations to all.
oh yeah video and pictures will be coming very very soon.
Choice is yours....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuFb283cbhw
Thanks Kev. And thanks everyone for an unforgettable night.
I don't know what the f*ck ur talking about kev frum brooklyn! Ur pics are amazing, thanks.
HH Karaoke is the bomb! The championship was of the chain! I had a blast. there's nothing like being in the same space with a bunch of people who share a passion for hip hop. Congratulations to Chef-HHK King. He wears the crown. He holds the mic. Cant wait till March 8th. Bring it back!
i saw some of the contestants after the show looking dispondant. i mean, they looked bad.
and fact is, on the big stage, some people rose to the occasion, and some shrunk. i found myself surprised, both positively and negatively, by somebody in every round. by some people who perform consistantly at a much higher level at the knitting factory than they did friday. others shined brighter than i've ever seen.
both ways, you know who you are.
but, to everyone who did not come out on top, no matter how good or how bad you (or i) feel you did: NOBODY had a chance after chef ripped Wrath of Kane. i'm sorry to say it, but it was a wrap in the first round. that shit was outrageous. top to bottom best single HHK performace EVER.
and to be honest, i dont really believe chef had the best performance in the third round. but he still deserved to win, i believe that's how the judges saw it too. before that round even started, he had already won. HUGE props go out to scooter & doni d. you guys seriously did your thing, but "there can only be one king."
word? chef did wrath of kane? damn, i must have been in the bathroom.
Somebody need to check their Hip Hop textbook... clearly Chef set it off in the first round with Warm It Up Kane.
Saying some contestants "shrunk" is being a little critical. All of the contestants did their thing, and none of them should be down on themselves. Now maybe if you were standing in front of 700 people getting judged, you'd be a little dispondant afterwards, too. We're human, and nobody likes to be told they aren't good.
Now lets get back to what this blog was about. . .
Congratulations to Chef, you are the man! Shout out to Doni D., and Scooter for also representing in the final round. And thanks to all my fellow constestants. . . I enjoy getting on stage with you every month, and Friday night was unbelievable. From the time we arrived at the venue, to the time we headed home, I had a blast. I love you all, and there couldn't have been a better group of people to experience this with.
March 8th!!!
Congratulations to everybody on the incredible performances! It was no fun hearing the judges be harsh on some of the crew, though. You all had the crowd on your side regardless. Looking forward to getting back to hhk as usual on March 8!
i'm seriously proud of all 12 of the performers. there wasnt a single weak performance of the night (despite how picky the judges were) and i really enjoyed watching everybody bring their a-game in front of a sold out highline ballroom.. it was really big for hhk and was really cool to show THAT many people how talented everyone is. much respect.
march 8th is going to be really fresh, me thinks.
The boys and I will be coming on to give our recap of the festivities, but I felt like dropping some science here.
I've hosted this event for three years, often in front of some big crowds.
Prior to running this event, I was in a rap group (what up Rick!) that played in front of crowds as big as 2200 people (opening for LL Cool J..Not headlining.. I wasn't that large.. : ) )
Why am I telling you all of this?
Because in the days leading up to the HHK Championship, I couldn't sleep.. I couldn't eat.. I was pretty much a nervous wreck.. And backstage, night of show, it was these 12 contestants calming my nerves.. Point is, even I - someone who has SOME experience in front of crowds - was shook like a halfway crook..
These 12 men and women, took that stage in front of a sold out HighLine Ballroom, with 3 legends critiquing their every move, with no hype men or partners, forced to rock full songs on their own (why do you think rappers do the first verse, cue a sound effect of shattered glass and, keep it moving to the next song??? it's damn near impossible sometimes to keep attention for a whole song live), and MURDERED IT. Think about it... 21 performances. Not a single person f*cked up... And people weren't doing "I Got It Made" like my simple simon ass... Hahaha...
Papa Diggedy couldn't have been more proud of the people that took that stage.
And that's one to grow on.
Speaking of One to Grow on, does ANYBODY have the UMC's instrumental to that or Blue Cheese?
Congrats to all...solid performances...
i feel Charlie shoulda made it to the next round tho!!!
i apologize if my last post was worded too harshly.
my points were just that (1) it was very interesting to see how differently people reacted to the change in platform. I'm always nervous getting up at the regular hhk's and when i first walked in and saw the size of that crowd, i didnt envy the performers at all. And (2) Chef was a juggernaut, there's no shame in losing to him no matter what you did on friday. BDK is tough to do, and he was impeccable.
and, yes, i should also have said that every body really did a great job. nobody blew a single line, it was very impressive. regardless of criticisms by myself or the judges, everyone of you did better than any of us could have.
michele - thank you.
I was so excited and proud to be in the house Friday night. I was incredibly fun and i was so impressed by all the performances. I'm proud to be associated with all of you...including wex, j and diggedy.
thanks for all the hard work everyone!
Can I vent on March 8th? I got some things to say to the crowd....
If by "vent" you mean show the crowd another one of the ill Shawn J. performances we all love, please do. Otherwise leave the venting to Kanye ;)
But now I'm curious as to what Shawn J has to say...
shawn... i agree with K-Dot.
if you need to vent, you know my cell, call me.
but as for march 8, let's keep it moving forward and keep it positive.
I'm all for moving forward. I have to admit that I've been replaying my first-round performance in my head all weekend, speculating on what I could have done differently so as not to offend Uncle Ralph...
DON'T DO IT!!!!!
Friday Night is over. . . grab the mic March 8th. . . kill it like you've never killed it before, and you'll leave asking yourself, "Uncle Ralph who?"
There was nothing wrong with anyone's performances. You did your thing in front of a sell-out crowd. . . replay that in your head!
again, couldnt agree more with K-Dot.
downey. you are so extremely talented and well-grounded. don't you dare let friday night effect any of that. the judges were putting on a show in the same way that you were. please don't take their comments as a substantive evaluation of your talents.
absolutely.
to rdj, k-dot, shawn j., everybody who got knitpicked by the judges: don't sweat it.
that is behind you, gotta keep it movin. DO "replay your performances" and DO "speculat[e] on what [you] could have done differently" but not to impress uncle ralph or anybody else. opinions are like assholes (i should know, i got a lot of em, and i am one). If your performances are something you take seriously, then do your best to improve them every month. and do it because you love it.
you can take the criticisms, but you don't need to take them to heart. their comments were not a "substantive evaluation of your talents." they may be an analysis of one isolated performance judged at a very high level. you were up there because you are the best of the best. nobody bats 1000.
certainly booing and chastisement are not constructive (fortunately the vast majority of that was directed at the judges, not the performances), but objective criticism and analysis are. if you think the critiques are out of line, then fuck em. do you. we're all big boys and girls here. but if YOU feel there's something lacking from your performance, then do everything you can to improve it.
a lot of us put some work into this thing and we owe it to ourselves to be the best we can be.
i love this shit, yall, i cant believe we have to wait another month. cant wait for march 8. (that rhymed, sweet)
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