After a hustlin' hard or go home type of a week, I was dancing in antsy anticipation for Shoctoberfest, only one of the biggest concerts on campus! This year, it was featuring Matt Costas and headlining 3 Six Mafia. Neither really interested me, but I was just excited to see all the crazy Asian kids at Irvine get buck.
Friday afternoon, I was about 40 minutes early to get my wristband (a mandatory ticket to entrance for the event). Before hitting the Mesa Bridge, I noticed one of the Face Aids posters was asque so I slowed down to fix it. I started walking towards Bren Events Center and was asked by a nearby walking stranger where the Bren Event Center was. I told her I was on my way to that place and "are you getting a wristband too?!" We shared some small talk about the craziness of the Shococterbest. I learned she was a freshman and I got a bit jealous. Grrr. Haha.
When we approached it, I took in a "Hells no, is it really THAT long" kind of glance. It snaked through about 300 or so people, and we reluctantly got in back of the line, avoiding the temptation to cut in line with one of my friends who I found was a bit ahead of the line.
Fast forward about 1 hr. And I just had a "fuck it" kind of attitude and went over to one of my friends saying "Omygoodness. I have stories for you" (I didn't really). It turned out though that I got the third to last ticket while my friend got the LAST ticket.
On receiving the last ticket, my friend goes:
"I don't want this kind of luck.. I want to win the lottery."
Haha. My new friend, Eileen, got a standby ticket. How dramatic was that. I heard a few bitter remarks that made me giggle: "You know what?! I don't even like three six mafia" (who does?)
When the night sky spread across the sky and my entourage of ten was huddled nicely in line with smelly, drunken fools, we rushed to get some seats near the stage. Matt Costas did an "okay" performance. Not really the type of music I listen too, but it was the kind of soothing medley with a guitar you'd much more appreciate in a small club, rather than the arena of Bren Events Center.
Three Six Mafia came out and all havoc was released. Not the good kind of havoc that you love to swim in like Rock the Bells-esque, but the kind where you go "What am I doing?" The first thirty minutes consists of "throwing your hands in the air" and yelling some sort of chant that goes "Fuck it!" (repeat 3x) or even the "I say dumb ass" you say "bitch"
3 six mafia: "Dumb ass"
crowd: "Bitch!"
me thinking: What's going on?
I gave them a couple songs to redeem themselves, but this particular outburst basically made me lose all hope in the outcome of the night:
3 six mafia: "Make some nosie if y'all have sex without condoms!"
Crowd: Noise
Wow. Ok. Let me just take a moment to absorb this: it's one thing to shout about weed everyday, but to promote AIDS? Maybe it's because I was fixing the Face AIDS posters I saw asque before the bridge.. but if this is the message people are hearing who could in turn, affectively change the world.. And you have them screaming "dumb ass bitch"? Shocktoberfest, all right. I can't believe I'm actually standing up to this piece of music.
Turns out I wasn't the only one who wasn't enjoying myself. K-Town, Britney, and I headed back to Norte. Aida learned I left and told me "I thought you were black?" And I responded: "If being black consists of yelling "dumb ass bitch" I guess I'm not."
Gangster music in its most organic form should talk about struggling hard, being the best, and no matter what: no situation can bring you down. No gunshot. No hood. Can tear you down.
And yet- here it is degrading woman, promoting unprotected sex.
Adios, mothapucka, I'm going to places. And it won't be listening to this kind of downgraded music.
P.S. this is what organic gangsta music is. And yeah, they can't even touch it:
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