On Saturday, April 8, 2023, history was made at the Chinchilla Bodega: Tito Grahmz vs. Chaseland, the very first episode of Bars At The Bodega. Fueled by Fort Brickz Productions, presented by GIDDT AVM and sponsored by What Hoboken Sounds Like, the event showcased each legendary artist's best 20 for 20, celebrating their talent, skills, music and contributions to hip-hop: their way of saying thank you to hip-hop for 50 years of greatness and beyond.
It streamed live on GIDDT AVM's YouTube at 9 PM. "Full disclaimer: this isn't a battle, this is all for the love of what we do." Flyer designed by Victor Lopez Jr. of Design Mafia Inc..
The night
The event showcased 20 songs from each artist in a versus-style presentation, but it was way more than a battle: it featured unreleased material, untold stories and guest appearances from Just Guttah and more, plus honorable mentions of past Get Bucks Entertainment artists Jonboiiera, W.O.P. Almighty and @__sivraj, who are still paving the way. Tito also gave WHSL's founder his flowers for the movement he's been building in Hoboken.
Honoring the STY program
Tito paid homage to the STY program, an after-school program founded in 2006 by Carmelo Garcia and Luis Acevedo that offered music composition and production, dance instruction, entrepreneurial mentoring, graphic arts, and video and film production with @aimnshootmotionpictures. Tito later took over the program and served more than 160 teens, up to 30 young adults a day, using hip-hop as an access point to teach discipline, integrity and business skills. It was suspended amid a time-consuming federal paperwork process and a city budget crisis, but it helped shape many of the city's artists and creatives, including @bigbossgunner_, @phatrob310, @od_reek, @8thfloorsoundmagazine, @gillygotti_, @bigmulaforever, @jblast003, @thereal_taz, @noahxashton, @nolimitgoldo, Chill Will and WHSL's founder himself.
WHSL thanked GIDDT AVM, Tito Grahmz, Eddie Dos, Fort Brickz, Meny Myndz, So Sick Goilla and everyone involved: "a big one for the hip-hop culture in Hoboken." Footage by @iron.manda_, with more from @zayfilms4 and @flyboybtz.
Bars At The Bodega then turned into a freestyle platform for artists: read about the series.
How it started
In December 2022, WHSL announced the first event of its kind in Hoboken: a 20-for-20 versus battle between two of Hoboken's hip-hop greats. After a poll by @giddtavm, voters chose Chaseland to face Tito Grahmz, with WHSL founder Victor Lopez Jr. hosting and sponsoring. "This is for the love, not for competition purposes." Clip from Meny Myndz.
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