Hip hop artist, podcaster and Bloomington native Brandon Beck — known to fans as DaZ Exotic — is in the Twin Cities for the weekend. And he has arranged a homecoming bringing local artists and special guests together Saturday at Nightshop.
The one-night-only event heavily trends toward hip hop, rap and R&B, but this something-for-everyone evening features sets by DaZ, Ryan Byfield and Sane 2x, to name a few. Painters and podcasts will be on hand creating content in real time. Plus, DaZ placed intentional focus on female representation with Jersey Meg and Glo the Female Voice on the bill, among others.
Now based in Atlanta, a big motivator for DaZ in returning to Bloomington was giving back and bolstering the local scene.
“There’s not a lot of musical leadership out here in this town,” he said. “So to come back and book local acts, and to support and be supported by my home town — right when the sun’s coming back up — that’s how it needs to be.”
Titled “Spring Awakening” (no relation to the 1891 German play or 2006 Broadway musical), the show celebrates longer days and, as his first big gig here since the pandemic, being together.
Atlanta has taught DaZ “how to hustle” and market himself as an artist.
“You learn how to generate business,” he said. “You learn how to be yourself a little bit more.”
The move also created chances to be in company with major stars in the hip hop industry.
“I’m five minutes away from Little Five Points. You can see André 3000 walking down the street. I was with T-Pain out there shooting a music video. Accidentally pulling up on Tyler Perry’s studios—it’s so big.”
Perhaps the most significant shift is in DaZ’s confidence.
“There’s a lot of doubt out here and it really stinks,” he said.
“When he went to Georgia, he didn’t stay there,” said Ray “Milk” Gilmur, a local podcaster scheduled to co-host the evening at Nightshop. “You cannot put this man inside a box. He’s not just hip hop, he’s not just rock and roll. He’s everything in between.”
“I try to influence art in general,” DaZ said. “I’m excited to be back here because I consider WGLT to be part of my community. We’re all trying to do the same thing, which is make our world and the world a better place.”
LKhari Pridgen, A.K.A. Dolomane, will act as hype man for the show, a new role for the local music producer that stems from a longtime musical partnership with DaZ.
“He’s made a lot of my Bloomington music with me,” DaZ said. “To really give back, I like to do a little bit of everything.”
“I go to all Daz’s shows and we’re cool; we’re homies,” said Dolomane. “He said he liked my energy when I’m in the crowd. When I hear good music, I turn up—I enjoy myself.”
With hype man Dolomane in tow, DaZ intends to bring his full “bag of tricks” to the table on Saturday, but crowds will definitely hear songs from his latest record, “When Was the Last Time?,” released in 2022.
The short-and-sweet album mixes sharp commentary on celebrity with intensely personal samples of voicemail messages from DaZ’s family and friends—nearly every-other-one.
“You always want to grow what you’re doing, but you never want to forget where you came from,” DaZ said.
Beats like “Set Me Free (The Selfie Song),” Tom Macdonald (referencing the controversial right-wing Canadian rapper and former professional wrestler), and “Keep My Wife’s Name Out Your Mouth!” (a play on Will Smith’s slap heard ‘round the world) point to ridiculous extremes in fame and fortune.
“There’s a lot of mocking or challenging the celebrity culture," he said. "It’s kind of to tear down the false idol and build a real boy.”
"Spring Awakening" takes place Saturday at Nightshop, 517 N. Main St. in Bloomington. Doors open at 8 p.m., with an all-ages set at 9 p.m. (adults 21+ after 10 p.m.) Tickets are $10-$15 at nightshop517.com.
