Puma Simone owned the stage. With DJ Lokash behind her, she delivered a fast, ricocheting flow over a fleet-footed beat to a crowded house at Stella Blues. She finished to claps and hollers. And that was just the first act.
Drawing from African, Cuban, and pop music, the New Haven-based Simone has been everywhere from the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival to SXSW. As a performer, she was a shape changer, switching from partying to contemplation, and rapping to singing, on the fly.
She also doubled as the master of ceremonies last week at “Something 2 Do” at Stella Blues on Crown Street, an event she put together because, as she put it, “people kept complaining that there was nothing to do, so here’s something to do.”
Following Simone was Medusa, who recited poetry into the microphone while hula hooping. Only she herself broke the spell once, apologizing for the rhythmic clicking. “It’s my belly button ring,” she explained.
Something 2 Do is a bit of a variety show. It’s also explicitly a community-building exercise. But it’s mostly about hip hop — New Haven’s own.
Ibn Orator was born and raised here. He said at first that he didn’t think he would be performing, a bit of modesty that belied how accomplished he is. He did his songs, a cappella and with Lokash, first from the stage and then from the floor — dense, allusive, polyrhythmic, and hard-hitting stuff, swerving from the streets of New Haven to full-blown prophet mode.
After a quick set from Lokash — Simone invited everyone there to introduce themselves to everyone else—The Quantum, a team from New York composed of Bill Cosmiq and Salvador, took over.
Loose and direct, The Quantum brought big energy to the room as Cosmiq and Salvador traded verse after verse.
Simone came back after another break to perform a couple numbers — the upbeat “Unconventional” and contemplative freestyle “East Rock.”
Simone then introduced Siul Hughes. Born and raised in Bridgeport and now living in New Haven, Hughes started off seated on a rickety stool that he squared with his feet.
Soon, though, he was standing and the jacket was off. Hughes was a dynamic performer, his hard-edged material interspersed with stage patter about hip hop as therapy — for us and for him. The audience gathered in close to hear it.
The night ended with Ghetto Guitar, a shy, self-deprecating man who transformed himself into a hypnotic soloist as soon as he played his first note.
It was a fitting end to a great night of music. For those wondering how New Haven’s hip hop is going, how it’s doing, Something 2 Do is something to hear.
The next Something 2 Do is happening again at Stella Blues in just a few weeks. Keep an ear out for it.
Ibn Orator will appear as the featured performer at Free 2 Spit, an open mic at 37 Howe St., Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. Free 2 Spit will be celebrating its 10th anniversary.
