ALTON - The Riverbender Community Center was filled with music Saturday night.
The Sounds of Downtown concert featured five artists chosen from 135 suggestions on the event's Facebook page. Those five acts happened to be rap, hip-hop and R&B artists. Each competed for a $200 cash prize or recording studio time. Event organizer Daniel Nosce said the artists were chosen by the "618 community." The event was MC'd by Cahokia comedian, Romey Rome, who was selected for his comedy by friend and fellow organizer, Mikeith Teague.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Performers included: Marlon Lee, L Mo, Jordan Croft, OTF Block Boy Dinero, Zac Lovett and winner, Randy Ray.
OTF Block Boy Dinero and L Mo said they had been rapping since they were small kids. They respected the talent of everyone performing.
"Everyone is here for a reason," he said.
OTF Block Boy Dinero and L Mo's music can be found on Soundcloud by searching "Neverfitinn."
Madison rapper, Chino, said the vibes of Alton were much different than Madison, despite being very close geographically.
"It's real different, the vibes are different here," he said. "I like it. It's a cool place."
Winner Randy Ray said he listens to mainly local artists, but admitted to enjoying cuts from popular musicians such as Drake and R&B crooner Frank Ocean, whose new album is promised by the end of summer.
"I like local artists a lot," he said.
Randy Ray and L Mo spoke about listening to local rappers to hear their competition. The spirit of competition in the Alton rap scene did not have a malicious or mean-spirited connotation, however. Each rapper seemed to be challenged by the other. That challenge was less of a threat to these young men and more of an opportunity to push themselves higher.
"I'm glad to see something happening here," Ray said. "We're constantly trying to make things happen."
Nosce and Teague said future Sounds of Downtown would hopefully be coming soon. Nosce expressed a want for more genres to be included in the next friendly competition as well.
More like this:
