It had been too lengthy because the sidewalks and streets of Fountain Sq. felt so alive with the irresistible sensation of Cheers and Peace.
After a three-year absence brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chreece hip-hop competition returned to the southeast Indy neighborhood on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, showcasing a various lineup of native, regional, and nationwide rap expertise. Unfold throughout eight completely different venues, the fest’s 2023 return was additionally devoted to the late Ron Miner (a.ok.a. DJ Indiana Jones), who performed a serious position within the progress of Chreece previous to his tragic passing in 2020.
With just a few new venues within the combine together with the Hello-Fi Annex and Atomic Bowl, Chreece introduced a formidable lineup of Indianapolis artists from day’s begin to day’s finish. In step with custom, I made my strategy to the Fountain Sq. Plaza stage to hear to some DJs within the open air prior to creating my manner right down to Atomic Bowl for a formidable set from Blxck Kxng and Rhetoryk. It was throughout this set that I additionally caught my first glimpse of the visible aesthetic curated by Unhealthy Boys of A.V., which was current in any respect however one Chreece stage and added a brand new layer of attract to the fest.
n typical trend, I spent the remainder of my day at Chreece hopping from venue to venue, whereas shaking up with a slew of pleasant faces alongside the way in which. As native torchbearers like Flaco, Maxie and Sirius Blvck held it down on the bigger Hello-Fi Annex stage, the town’s subsequent era of rap expertise proved why they’re equally deserving of consideration as properly. At Sq. Cat Vinyl, for instance, artists like Robin Raps and Child Ebony stepped as much as the plate with electrifying units, leaving the viewers fiending for extra as they handed the reigns off to the night time’s later acts.
As is all the time the case for me when attending a competition of word, I used to be compelled to make some tough selections all through the day when it got here to which acts I’d see. Maybe essentially the most tough of those selections got here when selecting between ninth Marvel and Redveil, who I ended up splitting time with. Though the latter provided up an lively set highlighted by his track that includes JPEGMAFIA, ninth Marvel’s efficiency on the Fountain Sq. Plaza was in the end what Chreece goals are manufactured from, with tons of of hip-hop lovers getting down in essentially the most jubilant of the way.
Whereas watching the gang at ninth Marvel that night time, I couldn’t assist however assume, “Rattling, that is what DJ Indiana Jones would’ve needed.”
It was Cheers. It was Peace. It was hip-hop euphoria.
On the finish of the day, these are the pillars Chreece was constructed on. And on the finish of the day, these pillars had been current all through the competition’s 2023 return.
Let’s hold it rollin’ Indy.
Cowl photograph by Will James. For a full slideshow of Chreece images from Will, you should definitely go to this hyperlink.
