I felt like Banana Republic against a backdrop of Fubu and Wu Wear.
Until Friday night, I didn't know a thing about hip-hop, and even now, I don't know much. I know that Wu Tang Clan ain't nuthin' to fuck with, and I know how to raise my hands in the air like I just don't care, but outside of that, I'm lost.
So I enlisted some help.
I spoke with the members of Hellrazors, one of the opening acts for Wu Tang Clan last Friday, in hopes of better understanding the "scene."
"Hip-hop is life," Prinze, one of Hellrazors' rappers, said. "In one word, that's it — life."
Chris Roc, another member of Hellrazors, said hip-hop couldn't be defined in simple terms.
"Hip-hop is so many things, it's got so many facets," he said, "but it's why we're here."
The Hellrazors had quite a journey getting to Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix for Friday's concert. In fact, they didn't have confirmation that they would even be opening for Wu Tang until they had already flown to Arizona from Fairbanks, Ark., on Tuesday.
The group has been together for "a few years," the members say, and it started when they met in a music store in Alaska.
"We're from a small town in Alaska," Prinze said, "but we rule that town when it comes to music."
Phoenix, however, is about a million miles away from Fairbanks — whose population is 30,224, about 20,000 less than ASU's student body population — or so it seems to Hellrazors' five members.
"We can't believe it," said Joe Downey, vice president of Hellrazor Records. "They're all backstage going, 'wow.'"
"I feel the knot in my stomach," Prinze agreed, taking a swig of Hennessey five minutes before going on stage.
Roc said he was more nervous than he had ever been, even though he was not even performing. Roc mixes beats for the group, but was unable to set up turntables for the group's 20-minute set.
Nonetheless, he was chain-smoking Newports the entire time we spoke, from about 6 p.m. Friday until after they got off stage.
"I don't even smoke," he said. "Except when I'm nervous."
Tim Dogg, who mixes beats and does some vocals with the group, said he was excited to perform with his idols, Wu Tang Clan.
"I can't believe I'm going to be on the same stage as them," he said.
Tim Dogg has strayed from his musical roots, since he is trained in classical piano.
Downey said part of the appeal of the Hellrazors is that there are no limits to the music and no real demographic.
"This music is for anyone," he said. "Anyone who loves hip-hop will appreciate this because it's all about all kinds of people coming together who love hip-hop."
The group members, however, remain realistic about their future success in the music industry.
"We're pretty much underground," Roc said. "We're never going to be on MTV, we're never going to be on BET, but we're doing this because we love it. We love this so much it's ridiculous."
Prinze is cautiously optimistic about his future in hip-hop.
"It's this or bust," he said. "It's all or nothing. There is no other alternative, and I'm not even thinking about what will happen if I don't make it. I have to make it."
Downey said that though the Hellrazors are not well known nationally, they are well known in Alaska.
"Prinze has been at this for four years, and they're rising to the top of the hip-hop game. We need to get known in Arizona and go from there."
The group plans on going to Los Angeles in a few weeks to talk to record executives about a record and distribution deal.
Prinze has three albums out on Hellrazor Records, which is an Internet record company Downey hopes to make mainstream in the next few months. Downey hopes to record tracks in MP3 format and release them to an Internet audience rather than only having CDs.
If they don't get a record deal, Roc said, they will continue making music, even if it's just for their own edification.
"We're nervous," he said. "Obviously we want validation, but no matter what, we'll still keep doing what we're doing."
The Hellrazors say they have more of a mass appeal because they're different from the rest of the acts in music right now.
"If they make it big, they'll be the only major music group to come from Alaska," Downey said, "and Prinze is the only Asian rapper I can think of."
At the beginning of the evening, I felt like a piece of a puzzle that just didn't fit. By the end of the night, I realized that I don't have to be exactly like the others. I don't have to be straight out of Compton, and I don't have to stop shopping at J. Crew just to enjoy hip-hop, and the Hellrazors are no exception.
Reach Lindsey Holder at lindsey.holder@asu.edu.
