Hot 93.3 and Baby Bash at Antone's

Thursday night at Antone's, Austin's own hip hop radio station Hot 93.3 put on a concert showcasing some of their featured artists. You couldn't just buy tickets to this show, you could only win them on the radio. Thanks to my trusty Sidekick, I can text in to win faster than people with other types of cellphones. Anyway, so I won and I went. Truthfully, I was really only there for headliner Baby Bash and crossing my fingers Frankie J would make a guest appearance.

As I arrived at Antone's, one performer was just finishing up and radio Hot 93.3 personality Boogie was hosting the showcase. Shortly after he was done with his drunk speak, West Coast rapper extradonaire Lil' Rob came out. Lil' Rob is best known for his smash hit Summer Nights. Anyone who listens to hip hop radio in town knows of that song, as it was on every hour during its initial popularity. The crowd loved him and it was evident that he has lots of fans in Austin. People were singing along with him and Lil' Rob was loving it.

I have to admit I haven't much of a fan of this sort of Chicano, Lowrider style Hip Hip in long time. Not since Lighter Shade of Brown or Delinquent Habits have I really payed any attention to this niche market genre of hip hop, but Lil' Rob is alright. He holds it down live and I really enjoy the (strip) club jam Bring Out the Freak in You. His set was short, maybe just under 30 minutes. It was long enough to be good and short enough not for me to get bored. Check out this Lil' Rob clip here:


After Lil' Rob was finished with his set, Boogie came out with Houston rapper Rob G. He had a show with Pitbull the next day, so he must have showed up early to party. He didn't perform, but it was fine as I was wanting to see Baby Bash and go home after a fight broke out in between sets. It never fails. At every Hot 93.3 concert I have been to, there has been a fight break out. I just expect it now. It is not something that happens at other Hip Hop shows I go to, but then again those are shows for artists not on major Austin radio stations. Those shows are about the music and the true spririt of hip hop, not about being hard or fronting like you are. No worries, though, once the brawlers were kicked out it was back to the fun.

The crowd was at its largest for Baby Bash. As soon as he came out with his crew, the energy immediately went up and the party got started again. Baby I'm Back was the song he came out with, one of his popular hits and a personal favorite of mine. I was really hoping Frankie J would come out with him and perform as hey have a lot of songs together, but instead Paula DeAnda cam out and sang the Frankie J parts. I would have preferred Frankie J, but Paula actually did a good job holding it down for him. She could actually sing, something I didn't know. She was great on the Baby Bash and Frankie J collaboration Obsession (No Es Amor). Good for her.

Baby Bash came out with a crew of hypemen as he always does, the Stooie Bros. He came out with them last year at the Hot 93.3 Winter Meltdown. Usually, too many hypemen are annoying as they serve no real purpose, but Bash's crew dances with him and is always high energy. They also do a good job of not trying to take away attention from him. I don't know how many bad hip hip shows I have been to where the hypeman is trying to get all the attention. They get down crazy with Bash on his hits What Is It? and Cyclone. The only thing bad I can say was that the set was too short and the show eneded too early. Oh well, I am sure I will see him again soon. Bash isn't going anywhere. Ladies love him too much and the fellas respect him. Check him out here on this clip and check out what you missed: