Mannie Fresh

Byron O. Thomas, aka. Mannie Fresh, has been blowing me away since I first saw him live back a few years ago. I didn’t know his music at all really, and saw him perform a short hip hop set at a charity street show. From those few tracks, I was compelled to go and buy his music, and I’ve been following him ever since, and the recent show I caught was something else entirely. It’s evident from his performance the Fresh has been performing and creating music for a long time, and the way that he commands the stage with ease and grace is remarkable.
He walked out on stage with his microphone in the air to catch the screaming and cheering from the crowd, and power it out through the monitors. He introduces himself innovatively with a rap, and then launched straight into the title track from his second solo album. Return of the Ballin. I, along with everyone else it appeared, knew the track really well, so everyone was singing along at the top of their lungs.
He played a great selection of his music, and worked really well with his DJ working the decks behind him. He maintained a high energy throughout the show, and had everyone cheering for an encore at the end, which he provided in style.

Rapper/songwriter Terius Gray, aka Juvenile has been recording raps since the age of 19, and released his debut album way back in 1995. I’ve been following his music ever since, and hearing the maturing process and the music progress over the years has been wonderful. He encountered troubles in early 2000s where he had several run-ins with the law which unfortunately have continued over the last decade, but he has luckily ben able to keep producing his fantastic music regardless.
Hearing him perform live was incredible. He opened the show with Back that Thang Up, which everyone knew and was singing along to. He came down off of the stage and started dancing with everyone, Although the bouncers made sure we couldn’t get too close, it was great that he was actually interested in being down in the audience with his fans. He played through his new album The Fundamentals, and absolutely smashes it. He taught us as the audience little sections of the rap and got up to sing back to him, which was really cool. The show was nearly 2 hours long, and he maintained his energy and enthusiasm throughout which was great. He put on a wonderful performance I’d definitely watch again.