Taken from 3 The Hard Way myspace
The Marquis Theater was home to the group 3 The Hard Way’s album release party. Packing in the dance floor, the crowd thrusted their fists to the beat and sang along with the emcees’ rhymes from their new CD entitled ‘Set in Stone’. A.v.i.u.s, Es Nine, and DJ Cysko Rokwel composed the stage with featured artists like ManeLine, DJ Babu, Defari, Rakaa Iriscience, and Diamond Boiz while artist Delton Demarest, who did the album art, painted on stage right. With verses articulated through clear mics, songs like ‘Wild Style West’ featuring ManeRok proudly reps Colorado and is no wonder why the crowd responded so emphatically. Put together hyped-up choruses, a cut killin’ DJ, good crowd control and you’ll always get a recipe for a dope show. Combine that with a moment of inspiration and you can’t lose.
Torwards the end of their set A.v.i.u.s. stops the show to announce the presence of Kenya, an ex-gang member who was paralyzed in a gang fight. He was brought to the show thanks to Bessie’s Hope foundation for the simple fact that he wanted to see a Hip-Hop show. A.v.i.u.s. revealed the story of how Kenya told him to stay positive and don’t let anyone say you can’t do what you want to do. Another man, Mike Williams, sits in his wheelchair while A.v.i.u.s. announces his role in the production of a flash animation movie that introduces the group’s new album, (located on 3 The Hard Way myspace page).
Seeing Kenya smile throughout the night and Mike’s achievements despite his condition was inspiring enough and an apt intro to the song ‘Reach for the Stars’. A song about reaching for the highest goals or don’t reach at all. I’m sure 3 The Hard Way are intimate with the ideas couched in the song and hopefully ignites all of us to keep on our highest goals no matter the weather. After all, it’s obvious once you see the hard work put in by Denver’s own and listen to the track ‘Came up’. It’s about being part of an industry almost completely oblivious to Denver, and unfortunately, Denver is mostly oblivious to its own products. This is true as A.v.i.u.s. spits the line “. . .my man [DJ Cysko Rokwel] wins national competitions, comes back and gets no recognition.” Even though Denver Hip-Hop artists, alongside all the arts in Denver, experience the same plight, we should all keep pushin’: reach for the stars.
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