Concert Night in California - House Of Blues @ Downtown Disney
Have you heard of Rittz? Not the boxed crackers, the red headed M/C from Georgia, that cracker—heard of him? He did a song back in 2013 called My Interview and when asked how he came up with the name ‘Rittz,’ his response: “It’s obvious I got the name from a cracker because I’m white, please next subject.”
There’s more talented M/C’s than I can count, some I haven’t even discovered yet, I won’t argue with you about who’s the best. You have your opinions, I have mine. I can tell you some of the names at the top of my list, though, these are the guys I’m listening to the majority of the time. I’ve seen each of them perform live, some more than others, in no particular order—my top 5 M/C’s these days:
- Eminem
- Tech N9ne
- Mac Lethal
- Yelawolf
And last but not least is one of the best lyricists/song writers I’ve ever heard and depending on my mood; my favorite M/C out of all of them:
iPhone 8+. House of Blues. Anaheim, California, Nov. 17th, 2018 #curate #art
Rittz aka Jonathan McCollum celebrated his 38th birthday on August 16th, this year. Born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, Rittz and his parents, along with his siblings, settled in Gwinette County, Georgia, USA when he was eight years old. That’s where he calls home today.
Having parents who were “intensely interested” in rock and roll, Rittz and his siblings were surrounded by musical equipment and had access to recording studios since childhood. He began rapping in 1992 when he was 12 years old. He performed at various competitions as a kid and continued into high school competing in local talent shows where he would be laughed at and unappreciated. The more he developed his own style, the less accepted he became. For the next eleven years, the majority of his performances consisted of local talent shows and busking.
After writing lyrics for more than 20 years; entering rap competitions anywhere he could, receiving exposure from local radio stations and opening for popular acts, Rittz’ career hit the brakes. Between 2003 and 2009 he experienced one set back after another. With so many ups and downs in the music industry and having spent two decades negotiating and renegotiating contracts with different managers, his career hit a stopping point. In a 2013 interview, he said he supported himself by “working various nine to five restaurant jobs.” However, 2009 is the year all of his hard work began paying off. That was the year he was contacted by Yelawolf, another M/C and, after that phone call, he finally had the financial support he needed.
For the next few years, his career was evolving, Rittz was performing various gigs and opening for different people, still in search of his big break. He was 20 years old in 2010 when the rapper from Gwinette County, Georgia, was finally heard by everyone (myself included). That was the year Yelawolf featured him on Box Chevy, a single from his Love Story album and the rest is #history. In 2011, Rittz released a mixtape called White Jesus followed by The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant. In 2012, his phone rang again, this time it was another established artist/producer: Tech N9ne. Rittz accepted the invitation and signed with Strange Music where he would spend the next five years recording and producing.
Tech N9ne (left) Rittz (right)
Between 2012 and 2017, Rittz fulfilled his contractual obligations to Strange Music by releasing three albums and featuring alongside fellow Strange Music artists such as Krizz Kaliko, Mike Pozner and Big K.R.I.T. The last album Rittz released before parting ways amicably from Strange Music is Last Call, released in September, 2017. If this is your first time hearing about Rittz, can I talk you into trading your reading glasses for a set of earbuds for three minutes and 48 seconds? This is a 2016 release called MVP (one of my favorite songs across all music genres) from his Top Of The Line album. You’ll have a better idea who I’m talking about, too, take your time—I’ll be right here when you get back...
@puravidaville and I caught one of his shows in Los Angeles last year in October—his first tour on his own label: Cli-N-Tel Entertainment (CNT). He was not the opener that night. It was a small little venue with an upstairs stage and a downstairs stage, Rittz performed upstairs, the ventilation was poor. It was pretty hot up there, the air was stuffy, the sound was half decent at best, no fancy lighting and the music from downstairs bled through to the top floor all night long. All things considered, Rittz didn’t disappoint at all and further solidified my loyalty as a fan. He explained to all of us how thankful he is for Strange Music but he’s excited to finally be doing things on his own. Equally as important, he put on a great show! Well, we went and saw him again the other night—great show? Not so much.
It was at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California, at downtown Disney. When I saw his name on the line-up I was excited for him and impressed he was able to score such a state of the art venue! The sound, the stage, all of the special effects and electronics, it’s the House Of Blues—a performing arts venue known world wide for pristine quality. He was performing with someone I’ve never heard of, though, I thought that was interesting, an M/C from South Los Angeles called King Lil’ G. When I saw the line-up, I’d never heard of the headliner but Rittz will be there—we’re in!
House Of Blues box office image
I’ve been to several House Of Blues venues and I’ve been to this particular one probably five or six times. I’ve seen reggae there, hip hop, some DJ’s, etc. I’ve never walked through a metal detector. Granted, it’s a strange world out there right now but still, I’ve never had to walk through metal detectors at this venue. There was three lines for this event, three temporary metal detectors were in place; two for the fellas, one for the ladies. Just like an airport: empty your pockets into the plastic tray, remove your belt/shoes, walk through the scanner. I set the alarm off and was stopped by security, he waved the wand over me and patted me down. I forgot I had the GoPro in my pocket! The security guard eventually waved us through, we showed them our tickets and went inside.
The first thing I noticed was the merchandise table—we kept walking. We continued down the hallway toward the stage, we walked inside the main doors to the venue, nearly everyone is wearing blue Dodger shirts. They all say Dodgers on the front and King 47 on the back. 47 as in assault rifle.
I’ve been following Rittz for a long time and I’ve seen him perform live, I’m a big fan of his. I was happy to learn he secured that stage, whatever he did to get a spot at House Of Blues deserves applause—congratulations! It’s only the second time I’ve seen him as an independent artist and he’s already performing at one of the best venues in Southern California—impressive! But I’m not sure about the crowd, we’re surrounded by a bunch of gangsters and I’ve seen the crowds Rittz draws—this crowd is different.
source: https://mobile.twitter.com/kinglilg
We watched the tail end of a third group, I didn’t catch their name, they were on their last song as we walked in. Within 15 minutes Rittz took the stage and by the 15th and a 1/2 minute everyone around us is booing and cursing at him, being totally disrespectful, screaming the typical curse words yelling “you suck!” “Go home!!” Stuff like that.
Rittz had a cordless mic in his left hand and a glass of whiskey in the other, the first thing he said is “Ima get drunk with you tonight, is that cool? Is it cool if we just get drunk together and have some #fun?” He was already slurring his words and it’s obvious he’s been partying pretty hard before the show.
He began performing and the boo’s intensified. By the second song, all of those gangsters are throwing full cups of beer, cups of ice, whatever they could get their hands on, it’s all flying over our heads toward the stage. As Rittz was performing, he kept drinking and messing up the words to his own songs—it was a mess. I felt bad for him and I was disappointed at the same time. I was disappointed in the crowd for treating him like that, their disrespectful behavior made me feel uncomfortable, and I was disappointed he partied hard enough before his performance that he could barely #rap his own songs.
But he did stand up for himself against that crowd in between each song. He pleaded with them to give him a chance and eventually it got kind of hostile. He began calling people out in the crowd, flipping everyone off, just being pissed off and showing his frustrations. It was dark where we were, we saw things flying through the air at him but we couldn’t see the people in the front row other than a bunch of middle fingers in the air. Rittz finally said “Look! I only got 2 songs left and then I’m outta here, just let me do these last two songs and King Lil’ G is next!” But the crowd was relentless and wouldn’t let up, they got even louder, now an occasional water bottle is flying at the stage. He did his last two songs while exchanging middle fingers with everyone in the front. As soon as he finished the second song, he cursed everyone out, slammed the microphone down, flipped everyone off and left the stage, leaving behind several memorable gestures.
source: idotaxsdotcom
Pura Vida and I left shortly after that, I wasn’t interested in seeing King Lil G at that point, I’d seen enough from his fans. We were confused and somewhat disappointed thinking ‘what just happened??’ We kind of talked about it on the way home while rocking some Yelawolf, “well, at least he got to perform on a cool stage.” By the next evening I was able to form an opinion.
The tour is called The Top Shelf Tour and they’re performing at 35 locations in 45 days, between Nov. 1st and Dec. 15th. We caught their ninth stop on the tour. I think I know what happened.
For the previous eight shows, Rittz has probably been receiving the same attention from King Lil G crowds, it didn’t matter what state the venue was in. He’s anticipating about 30 more hostile venues with screaming and yelling, middle fingers, objects thrown at him, he’s probably sick of it. At first I thought ‘don’t do that anymore—don’t perform for a crowd that doesn’t like you ever again.’ The more I thought about it, though, the more I applaud him for doing exactly what he did.
It’s easy for him or me, you, anyone to do what we’re good at when we know the people in front of us. I think it’s a little more challenging to perform on a platform like #steemit where I don’t really know any of you but I kind of do. But I may begin to question myself if night after night, from one city to the next, everyone directly in front of me hates me and is screaming at me to get off the stage, throwing their trash at me. I’d probably start counting down the days on the calendar, looking forward to the end of the tour, even though it just started. Not Rittz. He went a little heavy on the whiskey, sure, but he stood in the center of the stage, on top of a speaker monitor and performed about eight songs. Bravo, Jonathan McCollum, who cares if they don’t like you! Do what you do anyway because I was there, Pura Vida was there and I saw a couple more of your fans there, too, we appreciated your rhyme slurring, pissed off, stumbling performance—thanks!
And in case someone reading this right now has attended or plans on attending one of the shows on the tour and you’re one of those people throwing beer at him, you should’ve given him a chance—you missed out! You don’t just collaborate with artists like Tech N9ne or Yelawolf for five years on a fluke. He’s top shelf talent, just like any of the other names I mentioned in this article. I have one last track I’d like to show you before I split—it’s a video. If you haven’t listened to the other three songs I’ve shown you, please help me #curate this artist and at least listen to this one. This is Rittz, the guy all of those King Lil G fans from South Central L.A. missed the other night:
This was so good babe! I listened to all three songs all the way through and read this post with such interest. I was captivated. Way to paint a picture for all of us. Next we see him, he’ll be on a stage in front of people who hype him up and appreciate him. That always makes for a better show. That Yelawolf and Rittz video you found is dope too! Young and happy looks good on Yelawolf.
I heartu and am proud of all the work you put into this piece. It’s a great shout out to Rittz!
He did look happy huh? He’s smiling and dancing enjoying himself, more pleasure not so much business like today.
Thank you so much! AlI I really need is make you proud, everything else is bonus.
I’m thinking get this one over to Gene at speak easy and actually put it in Rittz hands. Is that too much, should I pull that card? Don’t ‘wife sugar coat’ it. What do you think of that, yay? Nay?
iheartu all the time @puravidaville.
Just see what happens organically! Really cool that you did a write up on him. Congratulations on getting curie’s attention. You deserve it more than it happens :)
I sure am glad you think so. Muah!
I wasn’t the only one 😉
Man I completely sleeped on that post , it was beautiful. The dude was all drunk and slurring his shit and you still managed to give him props for going on stage and standing, that's true support right there!!!
You were so looking forward to that show, you still made best of it with a killer post!
✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
...whoops, wrong section.
First, thanks for noticing, Ed! I put a lot of effort into this article, I was rewarded kindly from the community but it’s what’s said, the actual strategically placed vowels and consonants written by a follower that makes its mark.
I was SO looking forward to that show, I was even telling you about it prior, remember I was all stoked cuz you’d heard of Rittz?! Yeah, that was the results. Poor guy. I’m glad you got to check out this article dude, long time no chat.
I assume you’re just packed down with obligations. Pura Vida and I have talked about you a few times outside Steemit like “it must be stressful..” “raising kids on it and the market is..” stuff like that.
You’re probably on multiple sites now, possibly approaching each of them, Steemit included, as a business. Man, I hope everything is working out well for you and yours, from what I know, you don’t deserve a struggle.
Thanks a lot for stopping by @edprivat, God bless you and ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️ Yours!
Your Story reminded me of something similar that I witnessed at the Garance Reggae Festival (that stopped in 2015), it was one of the oldest festival for that type of music!!Lot's of purists!
The first year Sean Paul got big, he came to perform for the festival which that year was at one of the biggest venue in Paris
Anyway he got on stage and let's say that the atmosphere was all of a sudden very different, but people didn't boo like what you are describing.
I remember being one of the "purist" that were only listening to Roots Reggae and I didn't enjoy much the Dance Hall scene but I was quite young too, so you just follow the people trying to be too cool for school.
Sean Paul didn't care one bit, he went to do his thing, jumped on one of the biggest sub woofer.
Yeah it's all good bro, we got few months to see where we bounce, so some pressure!
And you guys are you ready to move?
That’s for the links! I like reference points.. they help me remember. Thanks for the story, I could visually see the crowd outside Accorhotel.
Bro, are are we ever! This process began December 7th, 2016 <- That’s not a typo, nearly 2 years to the day. They make it really tough on you over here to leave. I had no idea.
(Lets do a countdown) 36 days! “Yes!!” I’ll turn in our 30 day notice on the apartment Friday, Pura Vida sees her family at the beginning of January, I’ll go meet up with her and next stop.. Central America! I have a tough time staying anywhere longer than 1 year so I’ve already made a deal with myself - Minimum 2 years, period.
We actually just got back from San Diego late last night, was down there since Sunday. I have a handful blood friends (that’s what I call’em) down there. Exciting!
Like anyone else, I can talk about myself forever, so enough of that.
Where ya’all moving to? I didn’t know there was a plan to move. I know you’ve always wanted to get back to Paris, what’s the latest? God bless you guys, Ed, happy hump day.
Posted sooner than I expected. I 'm resisting the temptation to dive into this post right now.
I know that this is going to be a great one, but I need to step away for a while, in order to recharge, and be able to appreciate every morsel.
I would like to keep this one tucked in my back pocket until the morning.
Nothing like a great read, with a couple of laughs first thing in the manana, with the accent mark placed over the second n. Good God, you guys have me using Spanish, what's next a #fff post making Paella? 😊😊😊
lol
No problem, I completely understand, the fact you dropped me a line to tell me you noticed me is awesome, thank you! “Take your time...” (you’ll know what I mean by that later) I hope you enjoy it in the morning, it’s got some distance, I’m not gonna sugar coat it, Pura Vida spent about 35 minutes on it.
As far as Spanish.. why not, right?? Pura Vida is a good start (I’m sure you already searched it), and that dish, sweed, that’s awesome! I’m happy you’re excited about #fff, it’s a great group of people and we’re getting attention now... like I needed to tell you that. First time to the plate and going... going...
Gone!
Thanks for stopping by @thebigsweed.
Thank you for sharing this story, I have never heard about Rittz before and thank you for explaining that is a good biography post and you have done it in such interesting way so it is easy to recognize that you are his fan for a long time. I find in general it is not a good attitude to behave yourself like the crowd of King47 fans, may be they do not lie the music of Rittz but they should respect him as a person and give him time to perform. I really appreciate for this video you attached, I must say I was impressed with the voice of Rittz, it is crystal clear and high, the Rap part is absolutely perfectly done. From music and performance point of view he deserves to be heard and he is really good.As yourself I really hope that some of those people can see and read this post so that they know that as every human being we all deserve to be respected and heard first before judging.
@stef1, this was such a nice response, thank you! You added pleasure my day.
I’m glad you liked it! I’m a big fan of his and I want to help curate him. The fact that you listened and appreciate his talent as an artist tells me it’s working. “Yes!” I didn’t expect that night to go down the way it did, here’s to hoping the rest of his shows aren’t so negative. 🥂
You said it so well: “we all deserve to be respected and heard first before judging.” <- perfect.
Thanks for stopping by @stef1.
Hi dandays,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
You already know I love it when you guys say hello! Great to be seen again.
Thanks for stopping by @curie.
That is pretty Intense,😳. Just for the record i would never throw my beer lmao. Man just crazy. Yeah that took guts no matter how you slice it.
“It’s obvious I got the name from a cracker because I’m white, please next subject.” lmao
What a great read and respect to Rittz
Awesome, I’m really glad you liked it. The other day you mentioned Twista and I was already in the process of working on this one. I wanted to make sure you got a chance to see it.
Thanks for stopping by @weirdheadaches.
Yes😁, thanks for the reminder. Didnt realize he was a Georgia boy. Definitely spitting some talent and i really appreciate when artists can stick to genuineness wo getting caught up in pooh. Great post again dude.
Pura Vida wanted me to run this track but it just didn’t fit in my article. But that don’t mean she and I ain’t running for the volume knob when this one comes on.
Turn it up, @weirdheadaches.
Head Turner -Rittz
I can understand him but I can understand the crowd as well. I understand that you're judging his behavior based on his prior performances but this doesn't make it right that he got drunk before performing in front of people who paid for it. I would obviously not start throwing anything on him but I would leave. I think also a lot of these people wouldn't throw anything on him normally but they were just following the crowd (don't forget humans do behave like sheep very often) I like how you analyzed the situation and formed your opinion. I can see that you did a lot of thinking here :)
I have listened to the song that you posted but I have to read the lyrics separately as it's too fast for me to understand (like any other rap song as I'm not a native speaker). I liked the music and the video though :)
I normally don't listen to this kind of music as I think that they are using their fame to promote wrong things and they use bad words too often. Just imagine how it would be if they would capture issues like wars, hunger, poverty, equality, etc. Maybe there are such rappers, I don't know.. but the ones that I know are definitely not rapping about these issues.
My husband however discovered one rapper like this recently. He is a vegan rapper and he is pointing out real issues. He likes him a lot. I don't remember his name but I'll check it :)
I hope this comment doesn't sound negative as this is not what I wanted to achieve :)
Oh and before I forget.. I really like how you write about his career. I always enjoy seeing how the artists built their careers.
Thank you for sharing!
Trying to follow rap in a language other than my own is a challenge I’ve never anticipated, bravo to you for taking the extra step. Not only a language that isn’t yours but Rittz is so fast... Yeah, I understand having to read along. Don’t give Twista a listen, he’s even faster.
The last song of his, the one you mentioned, I figured “I’m only human” is just as real as “hunger, poverty, equality, etc.” The more you pay attention to me, you’ll recognize the people I listen to all have messages that I can relate to. I have no doubts they all think about the media... war, poverty, etc. (the things you mentioned) but they rap about their back yard... no parents, struggling to eat, living on the streets. <- “hunger, poverty, equality.”
I really appreciate you taking the time to read my post, it means a lot. Whenever I get a visit from curie, I know that’s the only time I’ll hear from you as well... your consistency is noted. 😉 a big huge thanks!
Congratulations on dolphin status. I, personally, am getting so close to jumping! I’ve been ‘going to’ trade off some BTC when Steem gets to my price, it’s so close now. .00007901 is my number.
Thanks for stopping by @delishtreats.
We have some rappers in Slovakia too and I struggle to follow them even though it's my native language, lol. They are always so fast.
You know, there are so many people and posts to support that I have to be selective. I've chosen curie as a great indicator of excellent posts and I try to focus on them. BUT I think about you anytime I see a post from your lovely wife. I will try to visit your account more often, I promise :)
Thank you! It's so exciting! I hope for you that you'll cross your price very soon and be able to join our group of mammals in the Steemit ocean ;)
Nah.. maybe I came across wrong. I’m a big fan of curie, between me and you... it’s just us here, right? They earned that number 1 spot! All I meant was, when I am visited by curie, I know I can expect you. @audreybits, too, both of you are consistent and it’s really cool to count on both of you, at some point, preceding curie. 👍🏿 (Where you at Audrey?)
About my wife... thank you so much, she’s a God send. she’s the only real rockstar I follow. 😉
Happy Tuesday from Los Angeles @delishtreats!
Of course it's just us and our private discussion. So you should make sure to get the curie votes more often so that I can pay you a visit more often :) It's a good deal, isn't it?
I love both of you guys! You are such a great couple!
Happy Tuesday to you too! (it's from Schaffhausen but I assume you don't know where it is as it's not as popular as Los Angeles :) )
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STOP10 thousand Upvotes, are you sure you counted that right, 10,000? 10k? I don’t know much about real estate but that’s a lot.
Thanks for stopping by @steemitboard.
Dang, that’s a pretty ruthless crowd!! I guarantee the best of the best have had a night like the one Rittz had. Looking at the way he took the harsh criticism, he should be back on his game in no time!! Excessive use of some aubstances can cause you to do things you wouldn’t normally do, I can attest to that. LOL
I felt really bad for him as I was reading this. He let his inner party animal get the best of him on this round. Hey, you will have that every now and again!!
My best response is to quote you.
“Guilty!”
Thanks a lot for stopping by @jlsplatts!