Recap: Fresh Island Festival – Day 1

After we had announced the 0 day at Fresh Island Festival‘s Kalypso stage and had an amazing time there, the morning took us to the first official day of the Hip Hop-on-the-beach fest. With numerous parties in the afternoon in Papaya and Aquarius, the vibe was well lit for the rest of the festival. Aquarius saw the Czech and Slovakian crême de la crême of their Hip Hop scene (DJ Wich, Vladimir, Kontrafakt, Majk Spirit) perform, while Papaya was on fire with the amazing Swiss Ladylicious DJs, followed by DJ Ewon from France. With both after beach parties ending at 8 and the festival doors opening at 11, everybody had enough time to get ready for the evening’s chaos. And by chaos, I mean truly amazing, energetic shows by Joey Bada$$, Statik Selektah and Danny Brown.

As the doors opened at 11, DJ Maxxx from Switzerland was warming up for the rising Brooklyn star. Joey was set to perform at 2am, which he punctually agreed to do. Papaya was packed, hot and absolutely ready for Joey Bada$$, his DJ Statik Selektah and Joey’s partner in crime, Nyck Caution. The crew blew out on stage performing several songs from his new album B4.DA.$$, followed by the classics from his 1999 mixtape. Classics in a sense that these songs broke out into the Hip Hop world, blessing us with the presence of the Pro Era crew!
But let-leave my personal opinion (I daresay most of the Hip Hop world’s), we’re gonna hook you up with some sweet details from the very show.

JOEY BADA$$ + STATIK SELEKTAH

Joey’s interaction with the crowd was amazing from the very start. Constantly motivating them, talking to them and the good ol’ skool “when I say Oooh, you say it too”, got the Pro Era protagonists to capture everyones attention at every given moment. On his super dancy hit record Teach Me How To Dance, he called up a big group of girls on the stage to come and dance with him. The song itself is very soulful and upbeat, so the overwhelmed girls sure did not stand still. After the song finished, he helped the girls down like the gentleman he claims to be. Some of these ladies surely had the time of their life. Another special moment in this gig, that got everyone yelling Steeelooo and putting their two fingers in the air, was when Joey performed Like Water and Survival Tactics in the name of Capital Steez. Truly moving, with lots of love for their fallen soldier, going both ways, from the crowd to Joey and vice versa. At the end of his show, Joey calls for a successfully ‘organized’ mosh pit, ending in his and Nyck Caution‘s stage diving. Oh, and everyone was shouting F*** the police. Everyone.

His DJ, the legendary Statik Selektah also played beats from other artists during Joey’s show for added content to display. Among those were Kanye’s Niggas In Paris and 50 cent’s Rowdy Rowdy. At the end of Joey’s show, Statik stood to continue and take matters into his own hands with his 2 hour set. The set was filled with old school classics, ranging from Smif N Wesson to 2pac, blending various old school boom bap tracks and new school fire, along with several songs from his own albums. All in all, the Boston DJ kept the fairly large crowd going through the whole night with his skillful DJing and excellent selection.

DANNY BROWN

As anticipated, Danny Brown would have an energetic show. His lively character, colorful humor and charismatic figure were definitely a trending topic among the fans and Fresh Island Festival crowd. At first, the show was slightly delayed, as a lot of people from the Papaya stage where Joey Bada$$ just had ended were still moving to the Aquarius club. So, when everything was ready and packed, Danny jumped out in front of a euphoric crowd and started his show with Break It (Go) from the Old album. From the very beginning, Danny Brown was very wild on stage and as many have witnessed, it only got crazier towards the end. At the start, he performed rarer songs, yet the crowd was still overwhelmed by his presence. After several songs, Danny Brown called for a cut and a bit of silence from the DJ so he could speak out to those present. Funny and natural in his stage presence, Danny B greeted his fans, said he loves Croatia and is happy to be here, and announced his big hit – Drinkin’ & Smokin’. As you would expect, the crowd was buggin’ out. His most famous songs, Grown Up, Kush Coma and 25 Bucks were rapped from top to bottom by all present, with at some times, the fans being louder than Danny himself. Another hit record, also known as the Molly Anthem, Dip, brought the folks to euphoria. So to recap, Smokin & Drinking and Dip, definitely had the biggest impact throughout his show. The show ended with Danny Brown kicking his stage monitors off the stage and ramming the mic into the floor. Peace signs and kisses to his fans followed, accompanied by loud support from those present and the show was officially over. Danny nailed it.