Frak, Mistah Fab, and Guapdad on stage at Four Square Vol. 2 (Photo courtesy of Author)
Frak’s Four Square Vol. 2 event at The Independent was one of the most creative and lively live shows I’ve seen in years.
Most rap concerts, not all, but most, are kind of lazy.
A dude comes out on stage, a few of his friends comes on stage with him, prerecorded vocals come on, they do their best to keep up with the track, walk back and forth on the stage, raise their arms up and down and they proceed to say “I LOVE YOU, [INSERT CITY HERE]”
None of it feels thoughtful, interesting or important.
But this show was important.
It was important because it connected different sides of Bay Area rap that likely wouldn’t be on the same same stage. Hyphy veterans like Mistah Fab shared the stage with alternative rap legends like Del The Funky Homosapien in a way that didn’t feel like a cash grab, but legitimately organic.
It was important because it blended completely different artistic disciplines. You had sketch comedy with talented up and coming comedians like Mike Evans who regularly makes hilarious, yet informative and politically charged sketch comedy reels that showcase legitimate concerns about everything from food deserts to mass surveillance.
But above all else, and most importantly, it was a collaborative creative space that was unapologetically San Francisco. Not San Francisco in the pejorative sense. Not matcha latte, high rise condo, disconnected from reality AI startup San Francisco.
It was San Francisco filled with people who love the city as much as they hate their landlord, which is about as San Francisco as you can get, and it knew it.
The show regularly shitted on Mayor Daniel Lurie, the billionaire heir to the Levi Jeans fortune who seems to only be interested in being a food influencer to distract from the fact that under his watch San Francisco is more expensive than it’s ever been in the city’s history.
It shitted on tech oligarchs who seem to have disdain for the people who built the city that enabled their wealth.
It even took a jab at Swamp Storiez for making his social media empire on the backs of black and brown homicide victims.
But all of that wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t fucking fun, and it was.
Photo Courtesy of SadBoyBarrett
The show started up with Frak making self-deprecating jokes about how he wants to be a battle rapper so he can stop being a virgin (I’m pretty sure he’s not a virgin, but I’m not trying to personally verify) and how mass surveillance regularly embarrasses him.
The jokes were clever, but also worked as a subtle critique of corporate databases keeping track of all your habits as a means to discover your insecurities as a way to financially exploit them through targeted ads.
An ad popped up, directly targeting Frak, letting him know of a video game that can improve his abilities as a rapper, but only if he passes the levels with his abilities as an emcee. Which Frak, and his many Bay Area guests passed with flying colors.
The only problem with the game is that you got trapped in it. Luckily for Frak, Del the Funky Homosapien was there to hack the game, and Nef The Pharoah was there to free Frak with his hit song Bling Blaow (Shinin’)
All while being assisted by the entire Bay Area.
And it wasn’t just the artists on stage, the crowd was filled with a who’s who of the dopest people in the Bay.
If you missed it, shame on you. But there is a silver lining.
Considering the success of the show, something tells me Frak probably has a Four Square Vol 3 in the works, so stay tuned.
I’d like to thank Frak and everyone that made Four Square possible for giving me a ticket to the show, and to Barrett Courtney for coming through to take videos and photos! Also shout out to Broke Ass Stuart himself for connecting us!
