Bammas came, bammas saw, bammas got rocked

DJ Stereo Faith is known throughout DC as a positive force for quality events throughout the city, from the Black Cat, to DC9, to Napoleon, and beyond. Even by his typically high standards, the Feedback curated by Faith this last Saturday at DC9 was an exceptional evening indeed.

Splitting deck time between himself and hardworking DJ notables Jackie O and Lil’ El (who likewise can be found bouncing all over the district, but we’ll point out the night at DC9, KIDS, that they both share, as a reference), it was clear that all three felt the intensity of the night and were hell bent on bringing their A game. In a nightlife genre that has reached a point where its end is beginning to be argued in select media, the crowd responded with a great appreciation to the earnest sets, pounding across the dancefloor with an intensity that is not often found in DC clubs these days. Even though it was not their job, all three made certain that the place was more than warmed up for the special guest of the evening.

Togo born, DC raised, Tabi Bonney has been in the hip-hop game for more than a minute. An over-achiever across the boards, from his music, to his fashion label, to his masters degree in Biology and Secondary Education, Tabi has laid down the concrete foundation for the hard sought notoriety for those involved in Hip-hop. Beyond his solid rhymes and catchy DJ style backing beats, it’s truly his talent as a performer that brings him to the front of the pack. An individual used to opening for the likes of Outcast, and LL Cool J might feel it’s beneath him to perform in a small club with three DJ’s, but instead Bonney seemed to give 100%, bounding across the stage and making sure everyone was part of the show.

The room seemed to shrink to a third of its size the moment he hit the stage. Bodies packed around the space like it was a heated cockfight, and hands flew up left and right forming a chorus of organic metronomes. As the room kept time, Tabi Bonney sailed through a list of his hits, such as Rock Bammas, Rich Kids, and The Pocket, taking time between tracks to make sure the fans were still right there with him. Shrewd move or happy accident, he played long enough to captivate, but short enough to have people wanting just a bit more. Though there was no argument about the calculation of the mutually beneficial promotion to hand out free CD’s in exchange for email addresses.

After his departure from the mic, the floodgates opened again, and the crowd spilled across the club. All three DJ’s kept going above and beyond, challenging everyone else to do the same, for roughly two more hours. In the end, the lights flipping on was not enough, and the staff had to kill the soundsystem to grind Feedback to its final halt. All in all, I can’t imagine anyone found the evening to be less than a total success.



The injection of a finally successful group of hip-hop artists from the DC community, that include Bonney, Wale, XO, and for my druthers, Flex Mathews, could be the injection that will keep both that and the DJ scene going strong for a long time to come.

Tabi Bonney performing at Feedback at DC9 from Denman C Anderson on Vimeo.