If you are one of my seven subscribers then you know hip-hop shows are something I rarely review. The sad fact is most rap shows are not compelling to the audience (for various reasons) and therefore a challenge to cover. Atlantic Records' Snow Tha Product proved to be an exception to that notion akin to previously mentioned acts, Devin the Dude, Jurassic Five and Wu-Tang Clan. I know that is heady company for a relative unknown but this artist has worked with notables Tech N9ne, Too Short and Lupe Fiasco. The latter cut short his Fun Fun Fun Fest set (when his mic failed) before I could see enough to give him a real review.
On Friday last week at The Parish, Snow and Audio Push entertained over 200 fans on her Rest Comes Later tour. A good portion of those fans made their way over to her "WOKE" merch table after the set. WOKE is Snow's brand. Her fans are called Woke Nation and they grab anything the rapper from California (now Texas) puts the logo on.
Though the Mexican-American rapper born Claudia Feliciano has stunning good looks, it is her chop style of delivering verses and a rough and tumble aesthetic that she uses to propel her career. She refuses to exploit her own sexuality. Not only does Snow challenge the notion of what a Latina artist is, but she brings an awareness of the glass ceiling every woman faces with her.
“There are two sides to me. I want to go hard with tracks
like “Holy Shit,” but there are female subjects that I want to talk about too,”
Snow says. “The only thing I’m not rapping about is sex. There are plenty of
other rappers to do that.”
Before she began her set, Snow let the crowd at The Parish know her voice was failing from the rigors of the tour. So she went as hard as she could for as long as she could with her hype man, dancer and DJ behind her. She lead the audience in sing-a-longs, crowd surfed, got her dancer to crowd surf and fast rapped her way through a roughly 45 minute set before her voice gave out and she laid down her microphone.
The subject matter in her songs is real but not with the pseudo-gangsta attitude so many hip-hop artists employ. Her message feels real because it IS real. The tracks have an edge to them. Snow flows in both English and Spanish, staying true to her roots while exploring themes Latinas (and others) can relate to. Atlantic likes to compare her to Lauren Hill but I think she has more in common with Frida Khalo with her self-deprecating demeanor and sharp wit.
Check the track below. I think you might like it.
Special thanks to Kim Sorin.
