The Crocker Center at New Hampshire Technical Institute was taken over by some hardcore hip-hop last week. Artists from Manchester's Frunt Runnaz Productions banded together with rising star and NHTI alumnus Ahntwan Harris, better known in the rap community as SIG, to put on what they called the first in the “SIG Concert Series.”
About 100 fans and NHTI students piled into the tiny concert area to hear Harris perform. The show was partly a showcase of Harris's Frunt Runnaz label-mates and partly pre-release party for his upcoming release, “I Am SIG.” The album is due out sometime next month.
Harris, a Compton, Calif., transplant who moved to Concord to play basketball at NHTI, described his rap style as “something very unique.”
“I know this sounds bad, but I really try not to listen to too many other artists,” Harris said. “I just try to do what I do.” In an era of hip-hop when it seems like almost everything has already been done, he does an excellent job of embracing the best aspects of the current scene and making them his own, without succumbing to the mimicry that seems to be the norm from most new artists.
Frunt Runnaz chief executive officer Josh Brett echoed SIG's sentiments about his unique flow.
“Everyone out there is trying to sound like Lil' Wayne, sound like Drake,” said Brett. “SIG's got his own sound.”
Rappers Mr. Versatile, C-Side the Miracle, and Lyfe Gang all performed as opening acts. They were followed by a team of breakdancers who whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their rhythmic gyrations. They even broke out of the performance area and started dancing right out in the center of the crowd.
Of course, the whole night was about SIG. He took the stage amid chants of “S-I-G! S-I-G!” and proceeded to give the fans what they came to see.
“I have verses in the holster, no gun fits it/but I will kill it, check the vitals when I'm done with it,” he spit on his track “(Rock)Star.” “Never sleep nor rest, and I ain't even nappin'/ I think it's unnatural to steady be called average.”
SIG is quite versatile for a rapper; he seemed equally comfortable ripping through a fast-paced verse, talking directly to the crowd with a calmer, more contemplative flow, or dropping an auto-tuned croon on the hook. The crowd was certainly eating it up at his performance; they were chanting his name, rapping along with his songs and busting funky moves on the dance floor.
NHTI Student Life Director Chuck Lloyd called the event a success.
“If the worst thing that these kids do tonight is stand in a circle, dance and listen to rap music, then this is a good thing,” Lloyd said.
SIG's next scheduled performance is on March 22 at the Evans Way Auditorium in Boston, Mass. For more information, visit fruntrunnaz.com.
