Photos by Jon White www.jonwhxte.wix.com Instagram.com/jonwhxte

July 1st 2016. The day before Grand Khai’s birthday and the night of the Everything Grand event hosted at the Sherman Showcase in Stroudsburg, PA. Featuring11 artists Eli, Sam C, River Miles, and of course, Grand Khai. I arrived about 30 minutes early to get my camera ready, meet some people, and just settle in. Everyone, including the artists, were extremely friendly and I immediately felt comfortable. There were few people in the building upon my arrival, but as the show began this quickly changed. Eli was the first to hit the stage. A song of his that really stood out to me that night was titled “95 Freestyle”. Draped over an old school boom-bap beat, the word play and lyricism were absolutely mind blowing. It sounded like it could have been straight off of Joey Bada$$’ debut mixtape 1999. Coming from an artist I had never even heard of before, the delivery and word play was unreal. I’m undoubtedly looking forward to hearing more of him in the future.

Next on stage was River Miles. Another artist I had never listened to or heard of before the show, I was pleasantly surprised. He brought Grand Khai on stage for a song they have together called “Never Seen”. The energy in the room during this song was phenomenal. The crowd had their hands in the air, and everyone was rapping along. You could tell everybody was having a great time. Sam C was next up. Although he had a short set, he made up for it in his performance. Donning a white hockey mask and dimming the lights, he had the room absolutely shaking.

Last up but certainly not least, Grand Khai. The moment he took the stage you knew it was his night. The room was filled some of closest friends and fans, and the crowd engagement was incredible because of this, it really felt personal for the duration of the show. At a point where you wouldn’t think the energy level could get any higher, Khai still managed to raise it. Two of my favorite songs performed by him were “Love Be Like” and “Is It Good To You”, both of which I had come across a few weeks before the show. He closed with an incredible remix of Katy Perry’s hit song “Birthday”, marking the end of a great night. This was my first time seeing any of these artists, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them again in the future. If I had only two words to sum up the whole night, they would be “Everything Grand”.