They're here for us, but we're here for them, so he should show love to us, because we paid the money." "I don't believe (artists) should do that. "Everybody was mad, not just me, the whole crowd," said Holder. In fact, Nickatina left the venue, canceling the concert, and leaving the audience high and dry. "(Nickatina) said, 'Oh we need five minutes for our DJ to set up right' and he didn't come back on." "(Nickatina) did one freestyle, one free style, that was like 30 seconds long and then cut out," recalled Holder. That was until last Friday, when Bay Area rapper Andre Nickatina came to perform, though concert-goer Jake Holder wouldn't call it performing. "One was bigger, one was smaller, one was 80 people another was 250 maybe 300."īaranowski has had hundreds of musical acts perform with no problems. "Every weekend, for years and years, we used to conduct the shows," said business owner Jerry Baranowski. For the past 18 years, Jerry's Pizza and Pub has been serving up slices and sounds to downtown Bakersfield. Tickets: $20 advance, available online at $25 day of show at the box office all ages, dress code strictly enforced.Where: Fox California Theater, 239 Main St., Oldtown Salinas.Stalin, Jacka and Salinas rapper Mic Quin perform live What: Rappers Andre Nickatina, San Quinn, J.All sealed in the circle of the game.”ĬONCERT After he finished playing basketball, he might want to coach, or he might be a general manager, but it”s still going to be in the notion of the game. It all comes down to his passion for the rap game, much like a former NBA star. “Booty Star” is accompanied by a DVD with video of “pretty girls dancing,” as he puts it. Next up for Nickatina is movies, although he wasn”t specific on any plans. “For real, I just want to throw a little more artistry up there so people can say, ”Maybe I like this picture, or maybe I don”t like this picture.” I definitely try to give a little more face value when it comes to artistry on the album covers.” I don”t want to see my face,” he said jokingly. “The reason for the imagery on the album covers comes from the fact that (pause) don”t nobody want to see my face. Whether depicting a crucifixion, using an innocent, school-age self-portrait, or a stark illustration of an evil-eyed eagle, Nickatina”s album covers give interesting representations of his unique talent.Īs mysterious as they appear, his reasoning for the artwork is equally frank. To tell you the truth, I”d rather be up on stage somewhere, kicking it, than working some job.”Īs much a part of his game is his minimalist marketing strategy. He plays basketball and I”m sure he put in a lot of community stuff out there. If you a rap cat or you a musician, you just go and you do shows,” he said. He regularly packs The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, where his high-powered shows are a hot ticket. His constant touring has earned him a devoted Central Coast fan base. So that comes across in the rhyme, I guess.” “Growing up, I was a reader and a writer, not necessarily schoolwise, but growing up I was a reader and a writer. That”s just it,” he said, sounding very much like the confident, slick-talking MC that shows up on records. When pressed, he is reluctant to lay claim to any sort of creative process. That is part of his appeal - fans know that Nickatina is not interested in presenting one side of the story. His signature songs, including the street anthem “Smoke Dope and Rap” and the woozy, psychedelic “Ayo (For Yayo),” make passing reference to cocaine abuse that set his style apart from typical Bay Area street rap. Nickatina”s raps are filled with super-charged pimp talk and aggressive tales of sexploits and elicit drug use. Local rapper Mic Quin is also on the bill. Nickatina, along with fellow San Francisco rapper San Quinn and Pittsburg-rapper Jacka, will headline the Fox Theater Friday night in Salinas. “I just don”t do interviews because they”re boring,” he later told me with a laugh, after a brief interview during which he downplayed the symbolism and messages in his music or the imagery on his album covers. On the phone, he”s just Andre, rap cat with an affinity for reading, writing and Michael Jordan references. The paranoia he conveys so expertly in his music, from his 1992 debut “Meet the New Jim Jones” to his latest release, “Booty Star,” may be more than high drama on wax. I assume that Nickatina is a man of principle, weary of media outlets twisting his words around for the purpose of sensationalism. I don”t want you recording that (expletive)!” When I first ask Andre Nickatina for permission to tape an interview, he responds with a serious “Hell naw.
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