Week 4: Open Mic Night
WEEK 4: Open Mic Night 🎤
This was the week I was both excited and scared about.
Performing is something that I have done all throughout primary school, college and also for gigs. However at this point, it had been a few months since the last time I performed and I was nervous about not being able to impress people at the Otara music arts centres open mic nights, hosted by one of my rap idols, King Kapisi.
The hall was dimly lit. I signed my life away on the performers list. Then, As I began rapping, I was soaking in all the nerves and gave what I thought was my heart, on the microphone. When I performed I was considering my next three steps, beside the limited time to get out a clear message. I also have to be ready in case I forget my lyrics, and then how I will quickly adapt to overcome and fix the changes, in case I may need to freestyle.
The first song I performed was a Son of Polynesia. This was where I was most nervous as this was the opening song of my set. A lot of time and effort was put into this song and especially for the demographic I was singing in front of (dominantly Pacific Islanders and Maori), I wanted the message and bars I was spitting about to resonate with the audience. I wanted the people of my culture to relate. The reaction from the crowd and King Kapisi, was awesome and it really boosted my confidence, setting the bar for the rest of my performance.
The next songs lyrics that I performed, Confessions of a broke rapper, were still fresh in my mind. I attempted to just rap over the backing track, which I did, and had instantly forgotten the first few opening lines. I kept pushing on, and freestyled the whole first verse, as my nerves came back in. I decided to move around the stage more, instead of being statue-like, bridging back the memory of my second verse, finishing off the song and still moving the crowd.
I changed the course of my performance by reciting some poems that I had kept hidden in my notepad. This ended off my night quite nicely, regaining full confidence. All I needed to do was keep the momentum going. And I did. In the end I walked off the stage, with a new found passion for getting on stage and sharing my story with people, who can hopefully understand the picture my words paint.
Ill be on next week to perform again and network myself as an artist and almost a brand. The MosWavey brand that is.
The next songs lyrics that I performed, Confessions of a broke rapper, were still fresh in my mind. I attempted to just rap over the backing track, which I did, and had instantly forgotten the first few opening lines. I kept pushing on, and freestyled the whole first verse, as my nerves came back in. I decided to move around the stage more, instead of being statue-like, bridging back the memory of my second verse, finishing off the song and still moving the crowd.
I changed the course of my performance by reciting some poems that I had kept hidden in my notepad. This ended off my night quite nicely, regaining full confidence. All I needed to do was keep the momentum going. And I did. In the end I walked off the stage, with a new found passion for getting on stage and sharing my story with people, who can hopefully understand the picture my words paint.
Ill be on next week to perform again and network myself as an artist and almost a brand. The MosWavey brand that is.
Come check me out every Monday evenings between 8 and 9pm at the Otara Music Arts Centre.Come down, if you are also keen to jump on and perform. Details in the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/events/951926228340869/
To also celebrate New Zealand music month, below is the videoclip of Screams from the old plantation by Polynesian rap icon, King Kapisi.
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