Honestly, this won’t sum it up nearly as well as just being there, but I’ll try.
Get Money Kicks hosted a Sneaker Show at American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 16, 2022. Along with all the vendors, there was also a Concert Crave competition showcasing local musical artists, and the amount of talent that pulled up was absolutely insane.
First, let me mention who I was there to support, Jay Valeyo. He had a three-song set, including a brand new song teased earlier this year, Wrong One. Along with Valeyo classics like Favorite and Happy Never After, he musically told the narrative of a doomed relationship. Valeyo pulled out all the stops for this performance. Favorite featured backup dancers Dominque and Eliya, with the former choreographing the piece. Fellow artist, King Trippy, rocked out on the guitar with Valeyo on the finale song, Happy Never After. Valeyo dominated the stage, completely exciting the audience with his unmatched energy.
While I supported Valeyo, flaunting his new merch, I’ve clearly been missing out on the sheer amount of talent hidden in the small state of New Jersey. Roughly twenty artists performed as part of the competition, each performing two or three songs. One of my favorite songs was Turkey & Cheese by Holli Wavy. The song instantly makes you want to get up and dance along with the beat. Wavy’s performance had him wearing a mask and ripping it off, throwing it across the stage as soon as the beat dropped. It was immensely captivating.
Other noteworthy performers included Choof, T Hawk, Sauce Babyyy, Smoke NH$, Dinero3x, Matt Andru, Dayyy$hiesty, The Real AG, and BBQ. There were many more artists with unique beats and intelligent lyrics, but these stood out to me. Choof had probably the largest entourage cheering him on and produced the entirety of his first song. T Hawk brilliantly combines gospel, hip-hop, and rap. Sauce Babyyy had a clever batman lyric in his song 1 Take. Smoke NH$ had the entire crowd chanting his name. Dinero3x had catchy beats. Matt Andru hopped off the stage doing his entire performance in the audience, warranting a ridiculous amount of dancing. Dayyy$heisty’s song Cut Ties had one of the catchiest hooks. The Real AG was exceptionally energetic on stage. BBQ had the most memorable name, jacket, and single lyric “Baddies on me like Hugh Heffner, like who like huh.”
Without a doubt, Jersey artists are incredibly talented and whoever wins the competition deserves it.
Make sure to follow all the artists and listen to all the spectacular music you missed if you couldn’t witness such greatness live.