Saturday Night at Lehman College Freestyle History was made yet again! For those of you that loved 80’s music then Lehman College was the place for you. A packed house enjoyed performances from some of the best names of that era. The night started with DJ Whiteboy getting the crowd ready with freestyle classics.
Then DJ Lucho took over as he set the tone for the legendary music man himself Sal Abbatiello along with radio veteran who 35 years later is still rockin the radio mic, Speedy. Everyone in the packed house by their cheers and applause showed that the night was starting right!
For those of you who are not familiar with Sal Abbatiello, he is the founder of Fever Enterprises that encompasses all areas of the music industry including; his own record label, artist management company, publishing company, concert promotion, and night clubs. Seeing how we are celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop its only right to tell a little of Sal’s long history within the music business. He started as a bartender at his father’s bar. Then in 1972 while Studio 54 was hot Sal opened one of the first disco clubs in the Bronx called; Playhouse.
Yet in 1976 when he and his father opened DISCO FEVER that is when his career blew up. Sal knew he needed the hottest DJ to make his spot hot! So in the summer of 1977 he signed DJ Grand Master Flash to play at the Fever. That’s when history was made! Sal had successfully taken rap music off the streets and into a real venue all within the walls of a small club in the South Bronx. By 1979 Sal had the biggest DJs in hip hop history playing at his club. Along with Flash he had Luv Bug Starski, DJ Hollywood, Eddie Cheba, DJ Jun Bug, Brucie Bee, Sweet Gee and Reggie Wells just to name a few. In 1982 after being persuaded by Russell Simmons, Sal founded Fever Records. Which leads us back to Lehman College.
Once again creating history, Sal’s Freestyle Night began with the Pretty Poison. Each act rocked for about 15-20 minutes. Yet their sets were so tight you were singing along not paying any attention to time. Next was C-Bank and then Soave. Not only were their voices still sounding like their records, but their outfits were Floss! Next was Cynthia. I was able to chat with her backstage and we talked about how great it is to see people still enjoying their music and how they created catalog and with each generation enjoying their magic of music. After her was The Cover Girls. Everyone enjoyed their show and couldn’t wait to hear, Show Me. And the beat went on from there to the lady herself… Brenda K Star. She talked to the crowd and let them know how much she appreciated them and then showed off her outfit while stating; 56 still looks good! The crowd agreed with a loud applaud. Next, no one expected… she said that she loves the BX so much that she debuted a song she wrote. “Always Remember” drops March 31st and everyone in the audience heard it FIRST! Now ya’ll got it first here, so allow us to Floss that we are breaking music continuing our legacy and history! In the middle of the show after Brenda’s performance Sal and Fever Records gave awards to artists for their gold and platinum certification.
Adding yet another thing to the history books! Next was Judy Torres. The surprise Judy gave the crowd was that she sang her first Salsa record. She explained that she never did a Salsa record because her Spanish wasn’t, “so good.” Yet, the crowd caught on and sang along. Next was George Lamond like everyone else on the show he also did his thang. Yet the man that turned us all out was none other than Rob Base. When he performed, “It Takes Two” the two that rocked that song was not only Rob and his hype man Kyle Rifkin DJ Capone but also the audience. They sang every lyric and at times did a counter with him that filled the whole auditorium.
Ending the night was TKA. Their routines and choreography made you feel like time had stopped as well as appreciated the artist development of old that is missing in most artist performances. Shout out to my peeps Surge, the “Make it Happen” man!
As everyone left the building many were saying how much they enjoyed a moment in time and how they want more. Well be certain to go to The Fever Website www.feverrecords.com and save the date May 6th because their line up to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop is Bronx certified and Hip Hop approved. You know Floss Magazine will be there, to bring it to you as always! Cuz… IF, you can’t FLOSS… why bother? PEACE
