While most of northern Manhattan placed a cap on their night, the arts and flavors of Uptown were brewing in a special movement in Negro Claro Lounge as "WHIN 3: By Any Means" took center stage. It was historic and a beautiful event that saw many from all over Washington Heights and Inwood share the same stage.
WHIN, which stands for Washington Heights/Inwood, had over 30 artists perform in one night. The talents ranged from the hardcore hitting sounds of The Machine aka the Washington Heights Wutang to Karen Rodriguez's mesmerizing voice while also featuring Tess' eclectic fusion of Hip Rock n B. The performances didn't only cater to an English speaking crowd as guys like Dale Duro provided their own Spanish lyrics over G.O.O.D. Music's "Mercy."
Though there were multiple artists hitting the stage, Eman, Mike DP Jones and Jaylah Sandoval did a great job entertaining the crowd as they moved from artist to artist. Some performances, like Remeedee's opening act, required coordination as the crowd had to be a little silent to hear the poet's words.
Of course, getting hundreds of people to quiet down in a packed venue could be a little troublesome, but the show eventually got on the road to a practically full house.
The doors opened at 7 p.m. and by 8:15 p.m. the place was jammed. By 9:30 p.m. the hosts had officially declared it overcapacity.
What does this mean?
The people are as hungry for the music as the artists are when they make their art. Fans came out to support in bunches and apparently, most of them had to wait a very long time to get in. People showed up to listen and support their homegrown talent.
Among the crowd, though it was kept secret from those who attended the performance, music industry gurus like Chris Gotti brother of Irv Gotti and Vic Medina, who is affiliated with Def Jam. Director and Producer, Ulysses Terrero was also present in the crowd.
As everybody enjoyed and documented the multiple performances, guys like Gee, Stalin and Gabo from "Mad Ciphas" could only feel joy after seeing the turnout and success of the event.
"It's a great feeling watching all these guys come together," said the guys from Mad Ciphas. Back in 1999-2000, these guys set the platform for events like these as they featured multiple artists from the Uptown Manhattan neighborhoods. Their idea was to evolve the mixtape from just a sound people heard on their boom box to rap sessions recorded allowing listeners to place a face on the voices they commonly heard.
When Mad Ciphas came to an end, there was a void in the uptown music movement. However, with Thursday's event, by providing a stage for all of these homegrown talents, WHIN is now filling that void left by Mad Ciphas' absence. Events like these will allow MCs and singers to share their talents with a broader public and not just their friends and family.
Mr. Peralta, an NYC Based artist and graphic designer, built on these thoughts. "You know what's amazing?" he began, "As a community, the most amazing part is seeing people from different areas: the 160's, 170's, 180's and Dyckman come together. Unity, that's the most amazing part of this."
It wasn't difficult to quickly see what Mr. Peralta was referring to. Throughout the night, chants of "IOD" and "YBG" rang throughout Negro Claro. Both groups were on opposite sides of the lounge, but when artists dropped great lines, neither side hesitated to show love and support. Dubwork was one of these guys that had the crowd going. Ever heard Nas' "Braveheart" chant? Well Dubwork's name was chanted to this rhythm and his name bounced off the walls of Negro Claro as the crowd vibed in unison.
Talking about "WHIN 3: By Any Means" is impossible without giving credit to the WHIN Committee. Because of their innovative vision and hard work, artists from Washington Heights and Inwood will have a stage to perform on for many years to come.
Their vision down the road is to grow as a community and take the Uptown talents to the world. The WHIN Committee was founded by Tellie Floyd who also performed and kept the show going late into the night. The other members behind the scenes included Mike DP Jones, Juan Miranda, Iran Ortiz, Euricidis Bonilla, Sasha Inoa and Led Black.
Washington Heights is gaining national attention after MTV began airing the reality series. The cast of Washington Heights was present at Negro Claro and saw Reyna and Audobon take the stage as well. Another mainstream personality that showed up as a surprise guest was Mims. He stepped on stage to close the show along with Washington Heights veterans Dark ATM and Ty Hayez.
WHIN could feed off this opportunity as Washington Heights and Inwood continue to gain recognition proving that they're not only a great place to party on weekends, but a place where talented artists also exist.
