Outside Spirits, Caroline Street was covered under a few feet of snow, but you wouldn’t know that by the attitude on Spirits 3rd floor.  The scene was more reminiscent of a LA backyard BBQ circa 1991, with numerous DJ’s and MC’s making appearances throughout the night.  The early to mid 90’s seemed to be the tying factor between all of the night’s acts, spinning jazzy afrocentric tracks in the vein of Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.  

Sandwiched between the strong DC/MD scene and the Norfolk/VA Beach scene, Fredericksburg and Richmond often get lost in the shuffle when it comes to regional hip hop acts.  Mainstream recognition has been brought to those areas by vocal mainstream stars like Wale in DC and Clipse in VA Beach.  This lack of scene identity allows local artists to not be bound to any local style, sound, or trend.  Instead, artists have the freedom of exploration in their production, sampling, and how they put together a live show.  

The show started with DJ Skruff spinning while people streamed into the 3rd floor area.  DJ Skruff described to Magazine33 how hard it is for local talent to find venues willing to host their particular brand of jazz infused hip hop.  “The venues don’t really like anything besides mainstream.  Richmond and DC accommodate us for what we want to do”.  It was apparent throughout the night that the crowd at Spirits was excited for a night of impromptu live hip hop. DJ Mordecai and DJ Skruff are known for their "My Prerogative" dance parties that take place every first Friday at Cous Cous in Richmond. 

DJ Ragz then stepped behind the turntables, wearing a brightly colored Humpty dance T-shirt, exemplifying both the jovial mood of the night and the theme of celebrating early 90’s hip hop.  Their set was an eclectic showcase of the heyday of hip hop fused with modern sensibilities; with beats sampled from both jazz and other soul influences.  Mudd’s flow also was on display, killing it both off the top and with prewritten material.  At one point during the set, Magazine33’s camera flashed, causing Mudd to pause for a split second and respond into a few bars off the head about the flashing light.  The feeling was loose as the mic passed around between MC’s in an impromptu cipher, with DJ Ragz fueling the beats. 

Ragz, originally from California, was flawless on the turntables as different MC’s traded off the mic.  “Being from Cali everyone’s like, 'everything in Cali is so dope, why would you stay out here?'  But when I moved back here originally I was a battle DJ.  Once I came out here and I saw the talent I was blown away.  I’ve met some of the most talented guys in the rural area.  It’s a great thing."  This California style fused with early 90’s sensibilities is on display on his CD with The Unknown, which has cover art showing an airplane on it, where the beats were originally conceived.  “It was a hobby.  It was one of those things where we’re going to put this out for ourselves, make mid nineties hip hop again.  It kept reinventing itself.”  No better analogy for their sound can be found than the actual flight from California to DC, showing their bi-cost sensibilities and their laid back sound.  While Fredericksburg may not yet have a well known identity in the regional hip hop scene, the show proved that there is not only an audience, but more importantly the talent in this area, to put Fredericksburg on the map in a substantial way. Check out Deep Crate Reconstruction every second Friday of the month at Spirits 3rd floor.   

By Author: John Hart

John Hart was born in Arlington, Virginia in 1986.  Since purchasing his first CD at the age of seven (Coolyhighharmony, Boyz II Men), John has had a love affair with all things music.  After two failed attempts at a young age to play the piano, John engulfed himself in listing to, discussing, and enjoying all types of music.  Making the trip across the Potomac was easy, and so from his early teens on, John spent as much time as possible in Washington DC taking in live shows.  He attended the University of Mary Washington where he co-hosted the show "Title Track" for WMWC.  Currently John is working and taking classes in Fredericksburg.