BET Rap-It-Up Tour

So I was asked to perform at the BET Rap-It-Up Tour last weekend which is crazy in itself, but it was only by the grace of God! The coordinator had never even heard my music!!! Based off heresay she agreed to let me perform in front of what I feel was the most important audience I ever performed in front of. So this is how that weekend went...


It all starts on Thursday at the sound check. I had just discovered some new mixing techniques in Pro Tools with a little help from PuzzleSmart S&R so I was testing them out in the Auditorium sound system and they sounded great! I got a text from Klarc Shepard while I was there that said "Atlantic Records is here. Bring cd's now!", so I finished my sound check, hopped in the car with T Coop and went to that meeting. The guy's name was Yance, a younger looking gentleman with a confident swag and looked like he was expecting my music to be garbage. Apparently they had been talking about me all day so I had a lot to live up to. We met at Klarc's crib and I put my album on. He started vibin' immediately and with every track I played, his head started bobbing harder and harder! He asked if I had any beats on me so I went to the car and grabbed 3 cds (ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING!). He was feelin the beats and then I put on the beat for "I'll Be A Habit" and started spittin the lyrics over it. At that point it was over. He loved me. He wanted me to package that and get it out to the people as soon as I could and told me that he wants me to meet his people in Atlanta! Crazy right?!?! Here comes Friday...

So Sammie, Universal recording artist, was in town on Friday and the coordinator asked me to meet them for lunch at Juniors in Gainesville, so I show up, eat for free, and politic with the young man for a couple hours or so. We talked about the industry and managers, trust, lawyers, albums, history, etc. then I had him leave a message for my niece on her voicemail. I felt sort of funny askin him to do it, but he was more than happy to. Nice kid. I left there and went to school (I hate school) to take a test. A test that I ended up doing very well on I might add. Then I went to the mall to make sure that my outfit for the next day was complete.

Saturday morning, the crowd had no idea what was coming. They held a small forum about HIV and safe sex and all that. Then came the performances. I started the performance acting as if I was one of the workers there helping to set up the stage for whoever was coming on. I started putting out these African drums and messing with DJ Terrah's equipment while I was up there. People were slightly confused as to what was going on, but I made sure I had their attention. I started to mess with the drums like I wasnt supposed to be playing them but they were just so different that I had to! The I broke into a full out African drum solo! They ate it up!!! By the time I was done, I hadn't said one word, but was already getting a standing ovation! LOL.

I pulled a Drumline-type finish, held my stick in the air and as I dropped it..."BOOM! Just stand still, and Don't Do Nuttin!" The crowd went bananas! I didnt know that many people knew my music until a girl was like "
OOOH GYRL THATS MY JAM!!!!". I was amazed! I did "Don't Do Nuttin", "Get Outta My House", and "I'll Be A Habit" and received a standing ovation. On the last song I had to bring out Meka on the sax! He killed it!!! That's the secret ingredient to J. Dash's music...don't let anyone tell you any different. It was a wonderful feeling. BET didnt expect me to do that well and George Huff (American Idol) asked me to send him some music for his upcoming album.

Afterwards we had a photo session with my family and BET and everyone was askin me, George Huff, Chello, Fleezy, and Mincey for autographs! It was a crazy experience that I wouldnt trade for the world!!










Praise God for the platform that he allowed me to have that day and may my performances forever bring glory to his name. Amen.