Review: Slick Rick Live at The Shrine

On Friday night The Shrine kept the Halloween festivities going as it hosted one more celebration of the holiday with a special appearance from the incomparable Slick Rick.

The night was already high in energy so it was only that much better that the house DJ added to that momentum by spinning partying tunes from the likes of Tupac, Biggie, and even Vanilla Ice, among others. Given the festivities, the club was filled with plenty of people in costumes like Hulk Hogan & Super Mario characters, but it was especially cool to see those who took inspiration from Hip Hop and R&B artists. In the house we had people that dressed like Eazy-E, Tupac, Jam Master Jay and even Slick Rick, right down to the gold chains and blinged out eye-patch. Some of the highlights of the night included the times when the DJ spotted people dressed like these icons and played their music. Je like playing “The Humpty Dance” for the guy dressed as the Digital Underground lead singer, playing “What About Your Friends” “Scrubs” and “Waterfalls” for the 2 sets of women dressed as TLC, and “Push It” for the ladies dressed like Salt-N-Pepa.

When Slick Rick’s DJ took over control of the speakers, the club was treated a short Michael Jackson medley to help introduce the legendary Slick Rick “The Ruler.” His appearance was just about an hour long with a set that included all the hits. Fan- favorites like “Mona Lisa,” “The Show” and “La-Di-Da-Di” were all part of the set list and The Shrine really start to move for these classics. For the final song of his performance, Slick Rick took off his glass and switched to his signature eye-patch to perform “Children’s Story.” Although the set was a bit shorter than we’re used to, the hits-packed performance that Slick Rick put on sure delivered on everything long-time fans were hoping to get.


Photos by Quayvo Shots.

Review by Oscar O (via Pursuit Of Dopeness)

Review: Jeremih live in concert on Sept. 27th, 2013

Last Friday night (September 27) The Shrine hosted a great night of music with performances from Marwan (Soulflow), Runway Bella, Assata Jones and the man everybody was there to see, Jeremih.

The ladies were dressed good enough to catch the eye of the show’s headliner, and with Heineken on hand to help fuel the night, the show was set to be a great one. Jamal Smallz was the DJ in control of keeping The Shrine alive and he did so in great fashion by mixing tracks from the likes of Biggie, Kanye, The Weeknd, and Jay Z.

The first artist to hit the stage was Marwan (Soulflow), a Decatur, IL native who brought his R&B sound to Chicago and got the party going. His neo-Soul stylings were a good mood setter for the night, bringing energy to the stage and getting the crowd grooving.

The next act to the stage was Runway Bella, a tall beauty from our city who provided a good change of tempo and livened the club with her Hip Hop set. Her attitude and stage presence was felt throughout the crowd, helping build the anticipation for the headlining act. Performing as the sub-headliner was another Chicago act, Assata Jones. The songstress brought us back to the R&B sound, slowing things down and filling the club with a sultry vibe.

Finally, it was Jeremih’s turn to light up The Shrine. The hit singer performed with a live band, which made for a stronger set and added more energy to his show. The R&B star performed his hit songs such as “I Like,” “Down On Me,” and “Birthday Sex,” all of which got the club moving. He finished his set with “You Know What I Like,” a track that will appear on his new, Diddy-produced album titled Thumpy Johnson.



Review by Oscar O (BKA @PursuitOfDopeness)