Hip-hop artists Mission Man and MC Freeman will perform Saturday at Donkey Coffee and Espresso.
The acoustic sounds often found in Donkey Coffee and Espresso will be interrupted Saturday with the sounds of hip-hop once MC Freeman and Mission Man take over.
“It is such a unique thing to bring into a coffee house,” Troy Gregorino, the booking manager at Donkey Coffee, said. “It will be really interesting to see how Mission Man’s work translates into such an acoustic atmosphere — so I hope a lot of people will come and check that out.”
The two artists will perform at Donkey Coffee Saturday at 8 p.m.
Gary “Mission Man” Milholland, 36, has been rapping since 1992, not claiming the moniker “Mission Man” until 1996 when he recorded his first album.
Milholland, who is from Oxford, Ohio, has performed at several open mic nights at Casa Nueva, but Saturday’s show will be his first time performing at Donkey Coffee.
Milholland chose his stage name because he was on a mission to change the way people saw hip-hop.
“A lot of hip-hop was violent and degrading to women, and I’ve always seen hip-hop as being about self expression,” he said. “I’m a lot more modest and mature, so I’m just on a mission to continue doing what I love and making a difference in people’s lives.”
As for Peter “MC Freeman” Vilardi, a senior studying music production, this will be his first hip-hop show at Donkey Coffee.
Vilardi goes by the stage name “MC Freeman” and described his music as funk, old school hip-hop.
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“Old school style sound, like boom bap (a style of hip-hop) type of stuff,” Vilardi said of his music. “It is very ‘90s sound kind of stuff, but it is also a lot of fun … It’s a lot of flow and a lot of party stuff.”
Gregorino said he enjoys hip-hop that takes an “experimental, off-kilter approach to the genre.”
“Mission Man is just about as unorthodox as it gets,” Gregorino said.
Both Milholland and Vilardi said they appreciate the “little things” whether it be through the crowd’s attitude or in a supporting co-worker who inspires a song.
“If I’ll say something and people look at each other like, ‘Oh, that’s a nice lyric’ or if you get people singing along or clapping along — just those little moments” Vilardi said. “Sometimes, I’ll be at shows and I’ll try to get people hyped, so I’ll look at this crowd and I’ll try to make eye contact with each person in the crowd and (say), ‘All right come on, throw your hands up.’ ”
As for Milholland, the “little things” serve as inspiration for his songs. For instance, Milholland said he was “feeling down” one day when a co-worker said he looked “extra tall.” That compliment inspired him to write “Extra.”
“The chorus is ‘You look extra today, extra tall, extra smart, extra talented, extra sexy, extra amazing’ and it’s just from that moment that kind of inspired a song and I built a song around that,” Milholland said. “That’s another reason why one of the things I like most about creating is it allows me to take something that was uplifting for me and make it uplifting for other people.”
Another favorite that Mission Man enjoys playing is called “Do What You Love” and he parallels it to Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
“‘Do What You Love’ is a really essential Mission Man song,” Michael “DJ Barticus” Bart said. “I am a big Prince fan and I know Prince has been pretty influential to Mission Man so I am curious to see how his influences seeped into Mission Man’s show. (They are) two of the greatest musicians ever, Mission Man and Prince.”
Bart is also excited to see the show this Saturday.
“I have been looking forward to it for the past month or two ever since I got that announcement,” he said. “He has really refined his shows since the early days and he exercises a lot because he dances non-stop throughout the entire set — he is probably better than Lil Wayne at this point with how much energy he brings.”
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