Twiztid, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Anybody Killa, Boondox, Alla Xul Elu, and others joined up to bring Freight Fest: Attack of the Ninjas to Detroit.
In some places, the night before Halloween is simply known as the night before Halloween. In Detroit, the 30th of October is known as Devil’s Night. To celebrate Devil’s Night 2022, Michigan natives Twiztid had their yearly show with a hefty lineup. This year’s lineup included Redd, Oh! The Horror, Cody Manson, Lex the Hex Master, The R.O.C., Alla Xul Elu, Boondox, Anybody Killa, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, and Twiztid.
When doors opened at 6 PM at Saint Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, the line was wrapped around the block with no end in sight. The night had a full line-up, so the first act, Redd, started right away while people were settling in for the evening. The first band that most of the crowd saw was Oh! The Horror. Singer Jonathan Hellhouse and guitarist Jeremy Terror make up the hip-hop-meets-metalcore band from Sacramento, California. Their horror movie and Halloween-themed songs were the perfect way to get the crowd pumped up for the night ahead. For the third song, they were joined on stage by some friends who brought along some rap lyrics for the song.
The rapper, Lex the Hex Master, from Queens, New York, New York was the next act up. Before Lex took the stage, hype man Kidd Savage came out to start the set. It was obvious that the duo was having fun on the stage. That great energy both transferred to and from the crowd. The crowd was bouncing and rapping right along with them. They brought their trap-meets-horrorcore rap style to the stage and the high energy that would be expected from such a musical and lyrical mash-up.
The next group to come out was Alla Xul Elu, a three-man rap group from Ohio. They came out on stage donning rotten flesh masks. The set started with smooth-flowing lyrical raps of madness and wickedness. The lyrics were sometimes dark and had a horrific theme but that fit the night perfectly. Calling the rapper’s masks grotesque is not an insult at a Devil’s Night-themed Juggalo party, and grotesque they were. The trio moved well with the flow of the songs and maintained their creepy stage presence the whole time and the crowd loved it.
The next act up was the Georgia rapper, Boondox. He is known for his country southern-style hip-hop. His musical and lyrical style is unique and unmistakable to anyone who has ever heard him rap. The set started strong with songs from his first album, which was appreciated by the crowd. They rapped along, never missing a beat throughout the set. He took a long break to get medical personnel near the stage for an injured person. The stoppage was applauded once everyone realized the person was ok. He continued the set by performing primarily songs from his first three albums for long-time fans but also adding in some of his newer music.
The lights came up and there was a 15-minute pause, the longest pause between acts of the night. As the light dimmed, an area once hidden by a black covering revealed a large replica of a boarded-up house from The Nightmare on Elm Street. Then lights started flickering. The crowd expected Anybody Killa to come out but were pleasantly surprised to find Mr. Bones (Jamie Madrox), Hektic (Monoxide Child), and The R.O.C. standing there. This trio was once known as House of Krazees. After a 14-year break from 1999-2013, they reformed the group for special occasions. This yearly show was lucky enough to be one of those occasions. They sang some songs that were now thirty years old. The nostalgia was enough to make the crowd go wild.
After two songs, all three exited through the door of the house and two, Madrox and Monoxide also known as Twiztid, reemerged quickly to sing songs that took the crowd down memory lane to 20 years ago. After several songs, they exited and Anybody Killa (ABK) came out on stage. His set was full of songs from the early 2000s. After 15 minutes, ABK was joined on stage by Blaze Ya Dead Homie for a couple of songs they recorded together. The crowd was elated once it was clear that they were not missing ABK and Blaze that night but that the groups were playing what can only be described as a blended set.
Blaze continued to sing some of his solo songs before another surprise performance from The Rydas, a group formally known as Psychopathic Rydas but renamed The Rydas on Twiztid’s label. Up next was one last collaboration set. The group, now known as Lotus, included Madrox, Monoxide, Blaze, and ABK. This is two-thirds of the group formally known as Dark Lotus. While none of the collaboration sets were mentioned on the flyer for the show, many in the crowd mentioned that they were hopeful for some of those specific songs. These hopes were expressed both inside the venue and while chatting in line before the show started. They were happy their wishes were met.
The crowd was very pleased with the blended set they had seen. It was a very organized and smart way to bring all the projects together for a wild back-and-forth that kept the crowd hyped up the whole time. Once the show was coming to an end, Lotus ended the set with an extended version of “Juggalo Family” from the 2001 Dark Lotus album, Tales from the Lotus Pod. This was a very energetic and cathartic song. The song and the room’s energy were enough to make all of life’s worries go away for a little while.
CODY MANSON
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