Sunday, December 8, 2013

Rap it up I'll take it

  It was yet another gameday and as they say, you can take the boy out of Syracuse, but you can't take the Syracuse out of the boy. Preparing to sequester herself against another onslaught of screaming audience static, Mrs. Hall had moved her laptop into the boardroom and was arranging her coffee and snacks, when her ears perked up. Wafting down the hall came a pulsing beat.  She followed it to the couch and looked over Mr. Hall's shoulder.
"What is that you're playing?" she asked.
"Well," he said, " I was reading the Syracuse Post Standard online and apparently there's a rap about Jim Boeheim, the SU men's basketball coach, and I was just listening to it.  I'll turn it off if it bothers you-.."
"No, no- that's not necessary."  She returned to her desk.  A quick search later, and the same beats could be heard coming from the boardroom.  Mr. Hall peered around the corner with a smile.
"It's catchy; I like it." she admitted, and played it three more times.
 "Great song- but those old shots of Boeheim in the 70s are a riot; did people actually dress like that then?"  "Probably," Mr. Hall muttered, and went back to his lair.  On the fourth time through though, Mr. Hall returned to the room.  "Look, " he started, "I'm as big a fan of the Orange as anyone, but-"   She apologized and turned down the sound.

But sometimes tunes have a funny way of staying around and as she noticed it becoming the de facto sound track for her afternoon, it occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, the artist that wrote that was on to something.  She shot out a tweet of support to King Vega on Twitter, and a hope that they play it at the Dome that evening.  Sure enough, reports come back via Twitter that it had indeed rocked the Dome that night.  Elated, Mrs. Hall shot out a few more missives to the Twittersphere.
The song seemed to be gaining some traction; they played it again a couple of times the next game and before she knew it, local media was picking up on it too.  CNY Central snagged an interview with Vega and so did local Channel 9WSYR.  Mrs. Hall smiled as she watched them.  Boeheim has huge magnetism in this town.  He's regarded as a god by most, and certainly revered as one in basketball circles, and although there's been a number of books written about him, for all his influence and attraction in Syracuse, there's never been an anthem produced.
 And here now, out of the blue, these fellows seemed to have not only nailed the local sentiment about their hometown icon, but married it to a great game beat as well.  The manager, Elisah Kimbrough, on top of that, was internet savvy.  Familiar with the power of social media, he was on top of the wave of enthusiasm online, and implored fans to request the song repeatedly at the Dome, where it was sure to gain greater recognition.
A chime popped up on Mrs. Hall's laptop.  It was a message on Twitter.  Her tweets had caught the attention of Mr. Kimbrough and he was thanking her for her support.  In the world of social media, a little link love goes a long ways.  She asked him for some more info about King Vega and he sent her his press kit and bio, and more good news:  a popular radio broadcast was interviewing them this very afternoon, and their hit was going to be available on iTunes by Tuesday.  The ball just keeps on rolling.
Editor's Note:  You can find King Vega's bio and picture here.  And while you're at it, stop in and give his Youtube video a few more hits; if he makes 15,000 views by the next Syracuse game, the Dome's going to have him perform live there.  Let's help a local fellow make good!

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