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HIP HOP heavy-hitter Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels rocked the weekend with a three-day spectacular featuring a meet-and-greet session, a motivational speech and a mighty performance (plus a surprise visit from a superstar friend).
While many musicians stop in for a show and fly out straight after, the global hip hop hero took the opportunity to make a deeper connection with his fans, as Assistant Editor Nawaar Farooq found out.
Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels gave an inspirational speech to music fans, provided a history lesson on hip hop and an insight into the music industry at Red Bull’s Creative Space, Malja in Amwaj.
Arriving last Thursday evening in none other than hard-core rock fashion, a line of Harley Davidson motorbikes revved through the parking lot and lit up the night with their headlights. Men in leather vests, bandanas and rocker attire waited for DMC’s car to pull up and again, he walked out into the crowd with lots of energy and a genuine smile.
In a backstage chat with GulfWeekly, he said: “My favourite part of being in Bahrain so far is this facility; it makes me feel at home with the decorations, the interior, the artists, the studio and the stage. It feels very friendly and community driven.”
The art of making music has been revolutionised through waves of technology and DMC enjoys studio recording and live shows equally and views them as two parts of the same process. He also feels that one of the most important factors of growing an art form is building a connection with an audience.
“Make the best music that you can possibly make. Before you ask someone to buy your music, give it away for free, so you can develop a relationship with the audience.
“It’s different now. People can make their own music at home with the technology around today. Like in New York City, guys will make their music and then go out and try to hawk it on the streets. They’ll try to give you their CD and then they’ll ask for 10 dollars and you’re like, ‘I’m not paying you for that.’ I want to know if I like your music first. When you put your music out for free, you create a relationship with the audience, so when you do put up something for sale, they’ll be happy to buy it.”
With all of the industry changes between the technology and talent, DMC pointed out what he feels would strengthen the genre. “In the past 20 years what has changed about hip hop is the lack of creativity. Hip hop has become lazy and the young people have to challenge themselves to create presentations, works of art, stories and impressive works,” he said.
“There was a time when everybody rapped and it was good. Now everybody raps and lot of people shouldn’t be rapping. For real, there should be regulations. I don’t know how some of these guys get a record deal. That shows you the mind-set of the people controlling the industry. They need to change the leadership.”
As of now, DMC is keeping the sounds of rap-rock alive by collaborating with fellow Jam Up artist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal of Guns N’ Roses. A full-length heavy metal LP collaboration with former Exodus singer Rob Dukes and his new band Generation Kill is in the works, which will be produced entirely by Bumblefoot.
“Working with Bumblefoot is like Walk this Way on steroids. Imagine all the original sounds. It’s going to be a lot of fun when it’s finished,” he said regarding the upcoming album. “That’s what it’s all about. Connecting with other artists and musicians and sharing experiences.”
Following the interview, local comedian Ali ‘Fingerz’ introduced the visitor to the audience.
DMC pounced on stage enthusiastically and heartily welcomed everyone. Fans were comfortably seated on soft pillows and cushions that were scattered across the room. A giant chalkboard with a sketch of Run DMC was illuminated behind him and the environment was relaxed and opened up the door for a very conversational tone.
He gave an interactive 90-minute speech, which included topics such as the evolution of hip hop from disco, a chronology of his career with Run DMC, an explanation of the comic book series he started and advice on how to elevate art and music and create progress and change not only within individuals, but the world. While he gave the speech, he also broke out into song a few times, which made the presentation even more entertaining and engaging.
Director of Talentfreeflow, Rawia Beyhum, 37, from Janabiya came to watch the presentation, and said: “I’ve been listening to Run DMC since I was nine and I found his speech to be totally inspirational.
“If he was staying here longer, it would be awesome to get him into the public schools in Bahrain. The best thing I think he said was to ‘just be’. A lot of people try to please everyone else around them and that just takes them away from themselves.”
US Navy colleagues Simone Odom, 37, and Laresa Buxton, 32, also came to see one of their favourite stars that evening. “We grew up with Run DMC and to get an artist like that here in Bahrain is an opportunity we couldn’t miss,” said Simone.
“I thought it was awesome and a great cultural experience to showcase what true hip hop sounds like, looks like and where it started is great,” added Laresa.
The night ended on a fun-filled note with DMC’s official DJ, Charlie Chan Soprano, spinning late 1980s and early 1990s hip hop hits (with his head, even), and a performance by a group of break dancers, which kept the energy flowing throughout the evening.
