Saturday night January 17th, my homeboy Donnon Johnson called me and told me to come to the Hip Hop Lounge on Raleigh-Lagrange Road in Northeast Memphis because he was going to be playing drums for a live band. The event was called a “kickback” sponsored by a local charity called Always Give Back, and it featured hip-hop performances from JaiTee, Jay da Skreet and Saint Courts, as well as my old friend DJ Kojak from Club Fantasia days. Memphis is better known for what is being called “drill music,” but there is a small clandestine hip-hop scene based around lyrics and battle. With a live band and a more mature audience, the event was just good fun, unmarred by any kind of rowdy or disorderly behavior.