There are a lot of curated hip-hop shows in NYC. You’ll definitely get some good performances, but if you’re lucky, you’ll discover someone very talented who the crowd gets behind from start to finish. Last Thursday at Gold Sounds was a little bit special because there was definitely more than one artist who exceeded expectations. At Uni-G & Friends, every single performer was worth staying in the room for and listen to carefully. The format was well done – there were nine listed performers, each on stage for no more than three songs, aside from the headliners who did a few more. Once the show got going, there was little downtime between acts so you weren’t tempted to leave/take an extended break.

Nile Alexander kicked off proceedings with his unique style of hip-hop with a poet’s edge. Coming down to the floor to be with the crowd, we were definitely warming up. Luggage was next and surprised us with his stage presence and flow. Brooklyn’s Elite brought out some radio-worthy hooks, and sampling Biggie in Brooklyn will always go in your favor. Next was the soulful Rina Glover, bringing some femininity and melody to the proceedings. King James followed and dominated the room completely, bringing out a few other artists for a track made to turn up to. I’m not sure of the next artist’s name as she wasn’t billed, but she did a very strong remix/cover with Luggage of Regulate, which honestly I was not expecting and was by far my favorite performance of the night.

Then we got the headlines. Grafh held the stage like the seasoned artist he is, performing tracks like "Lord of Mercy" and "Trap Phone Ringin’," to much love from the crowd. He was followed by Smoke DZA who brought the level up one more and made it quite obvious that he’s been doing this a while. Uni-G closed out his own show with a short but great performance. He made an interesting entrance with sparklers hidden behind a mask. He ripped the mask off after his first track and engaged with the crowd like a good artist should. He finished with his hot single "Swerve" as the crowd vibed along.

Overall a very impressive line-up, organized so artists showcased the best of their tracks to an enthusiastic and welcoming audience, just looking for some good music and someone to support.

Photos by Matt O Instagram.com/BoardinOgilvie