Phoenix Psypher Takes Things XXL in Freshman Class Celebration
It’s possible that Treehouse Creations was at max capacity that afternoon.
Maybe the room had never been that full before, bursting at the seams with artists and wives, hosts and photographers, friends and partners. Maybe the walls stretched, becoming XXL to fit the shape of the group it hoped to celebrate. Maybe the studio was meant to be this big all along.
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Despite the blistering heat, there’s nary a bare head in the building, hats and beanies keeping scalps as warm as the concrete sidewalk outside. They mingle around, both new connections and familiar faces, offering business cards and Instagram handles underneath clouds of weed smoke. The room vibrates with conversation and anticipation. Rows of chairs sit facing the mic like soldiers at attention, waiting to witness history with the respect it deserves. A storage tote sits in the middle of the room with soda cans and water bottles floating in the now-melted ice, the water dripping down the side like sweat drips down necks and backs.
Phoenix Psypher leaders Vavrix Owens and Jamila “Benny” Bentley work to adhere to an unseen schedule, periodic updates booming through a megaphone that can barely be heard over the shouting chatter of their attendees. DJ Nonsense and Don Modo work invisibly in the background, their sound equipment both obvious and unobtrusive against the stark white of the walls around them. Lisco orbits the perimeter with a video camera ahead of him, capturing the behind the scenes of behind the scenes. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of Jamaal the RX floating in and out like a ghost.
Two black stools mimic director’s chairs in the green room, prepared for artist interviews led by Vavrix. Rapper and singer Hunee Rose is first, her lips shimmering with brown gloss that matches her brown leather boots. She speaks directly into the camera as if the viewer is right in front of her instead of behind a screen, her words exuding confidence and friendliness with a side of gold hoops and white teeth. Artists take turns interviewing as others stand around and listen even though it’s too loud to hear them. The pride and passion in each word is loud enough to see, though, which is good enough.
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The cipher demands the room become a hushed library; complete silence is one of the only rules. The artists stand in a cluster behind the mic, stoic statues prepared to defend their city, their name, their message, in just 16 bars. They nod along to the beat, a simple and deep track with a little scratch-twist in the beginning, placed by DJ Nonsense’s nimble fingers. One by one, they step up to the mic and introduce themselves, the audience whooping in support until the beat starts again, signaling the beginning of silence.
J Mills leads Group A and raps about being one of the greats, the subsequent rapper dropping a four-leaf clover in between a bullet and propane. Ju$t Ryan rises from the mud after forgetting his lyrics and Kino represents Native Americans in his angry set that sends rappers to therapy with venom in his spit. Destiny Rose the Scorpio reminds everyone she’s a singer, rapper, and a scholar with her signature Latin touch, and Hunee Rose slathers the audience with her sweet singing and jabby rhymes, like honey on toast with a pinch of cinnamon on top.
Jeuice raps for Group B until he can’t eat anymore, nerves making his hands rattle, his thumb rubbing over his watch face like he’s trying to summon a genie. Lord Maiya doesn’t chase clout and she doesn’t know your homies, so stop asking, and Taye’s freestyle is quick and alive, weaving a thank you to Benny in between his rhymes. Kaj Loud lets the top of his black overalls hang to his knees as he exercises his distinctive lyricism, his existence more than a mere miracle. Cordero Eubanks is magical on the mic as he pulls diamonds out his hat in a more than significant way and Mayo of The Sauna Boys is confident, not cocky, his long hair flying around his face like the wings of the phoenix tattoo on his chest. AZ-IL brings Tucson along to close out the cipher, their rap blazing like the summer heat ever since they arrived in town…
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They used to hang poets for speaking the truth. Using your voice was a crime no matter if your words defended or destroyed. Doing so now, through music, rap, spoken word and the likes, is not only a privilege, it’s a duty – a duty that each Freshman promises Vavrix they will uphold, a duty that unites them all into one XXL class, Phoenix Psypher the glue that holds them together.
Until next semester…
photo by PHXERA
