Prof Makes “Light Work” Of Packing DC’s 9:30 Club To The Brim

Rappers who get a little silly with it are the best kind

Minneapolis-born rapper Prof is making a stop in DC tonight and this time, I’m not missing it. I was put on to Prof by an ex-boyfriend several years ago (Thanks, Tom) but had not yet made it out to catch him live. With his snappy lyrics and deeper-than-you’d-think vocals, he’s been a staple in my music library ever since I was introduced to his music.

There’s crazy traffic, which even on a Wednesday night is not out of the ordinary for the DC area. So I end up getting to the 9:30 Club a touch late. I haven’t missed any sets, but as I’m getting my credentials I do hear the bass from the DJ pumping through the walls. This is my first time photographing a gig at the 9:30 Club, I’m stoked. I’ve been coming to this venue for shows since I was a teenager, it’s a thrill to finally get to be on the other side of the barricade.

I make my way in and immediately take notice of the unique stage set. There’s a large DJ table center stage adorned with moss-like greenery and a massive “PROF” bulb sign. Paired with cardboard cutouts of Greek statues and golden picture-framed televisions, I’m already intrigued. If you know anything about Prof, you know he’s an offbeat kind of dude and this set is a perfect display of that.

I weave through the tight crowd to stage left and start firing away with my camera from the crowd. The rules tonight are different, but simple. I can shoot the first five songs from the photo pit, and then the rest from the crowd. I’m used to three songs in the photo pit, so this is a refreshing change. Willie Wonka is on stage right now, and he’s got his set fine-tuned to please this crowd. We’re getting some 2000s rap hits that transition seamlessly into each other. “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg straight into “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” by DMX, his set is straight heat.

Wonka took some time during his set to do a “karaoke hour”, in which he would hold the mic out to the crowd for them to sing the words to the popular old-school rap hits that everyone knew. He danced back and forth across the stage and was always sporting a huge grin. He set the vibe for the evening.

Futuristic hit the stage next, with hardly any time between his set and Wonka’s (I’m not complaining!). Futuristic is a quick-mouthed rapper with springy energy. He shows us a song that he’s on with Prof that dropped today, titled “Errybody Know”. At the time of the show, this song was not released and the crowd went nuts when he mentioned playing a soon-to-drop track. “Errybody Know” sports deep piano notes on its catchy beat, paired with crazy bars. This song GOES, I love it.

Futuristic gets a little deep with us between songs. He tells us he just got married and has one child and another on the way. He has been sober for quite some time and it’s his first sober tour, so this is a different experience for him. He tells the crowd how his life has changed and he’s enjoying it, encouraging them to do the same. It was a really sweet moment. Futuristic went back to the merch booth after his set to hug and greet fans, but not without first disclosing that the hugs would be sweaty. Haha.

Grip is up next and he takes the stage joined by a hype man controlling a computer on a smaller DJ table stage left. Grip doesn’t waste a second when the stage becomes his, he keeps the energy rolling right along. He introduced himself and then split the crowd and had each side repeat some bars from his next song. Participation is a little weak, but that doesn’t seem to discourage him at all.
At one point, Grip asks if we have any artists in the crowd. Singers, rappers, anything, he wants talent. He picks two people from the crowd, the first being a tall dude wearing a Prof snapback. The stage guest tells us his name is “Earrelevant” as he points to his ear. He’s got a few albums out he shares and immediately jumps into freestyling. The entire place is impressed and I can tell by the crowd’s reaction. Grip himself appears to be pleased, he’s nodding his head as his first contestant is spitting. He KILLED it. Next is a chick with red dreads, braces, and all-black clothes. She looks cool as hell but wasn’t aware she had to freestyle. She nearly loses her shot at her 15 seconds of fame before she starts rapping a Futuristic song. She didn’t quite nail it but I’ve gotta give her props, I never would have gotten on stage to begin with.

Grip wraps his set and is priming the crowd for the one we all came here for, Prof. “Y’all ready for Prof?”, the crowd loses it.

There’s a short intermission in which I finally break off from the crowd to visit the restroom and then head upstairs to 9:30’s coffee bar. I try a raspberry Italian soda that the barista recommends (delish) and get my hands on my first 9:30 Club cupcake. The treat is a super chocolate cupcake filled with a whipped cream-like filling. It’s topped with what looks like a chocolate ganache and a white icing piped “9:30” on top. This thing is RICH but it’s delicious. It turns out I got the last one in the building, I don’t feel guilty at all. This is just what I needed to keep me going tonight.

I hustle back down the stairs and to the barricade as the lights dim. It’s finally time, Prof is taking the stage. He skips out and the lights come on. He’s wearing an orange windbreaker and a white ski mask that is concealing pretty much his whole face. He’s also wearing almost knee-high socks with dogs on them, and some fancy-ass white shoes.

Prof’s set begins with his newest single, “Feed The Dogs”. I enjoy this song thoroughly because it has a video game tune in the beat. Well, that and Prof’s smooth vocals always do it for me. After the first song concludes, Prof peels back the ski mask he’s wearing and the crowd loses their minds. He cracks his signature goofy smile and rolls right into the next song. I’m impressed by his energy, he’s darting around the stage so quickly it’s a little tough to keep up. 9:30’s photo pit is pretty narrow, so I’m not even attempting to move past the two other photographers in the pit with me.

I realized very early on that Prof is not using backing vocals on his tracks. Nope, the voice I’m hearing is all live vocals. I’m not hating on anyone who does use backing vocals at their live shows. I cannot imagine running around a stage AND singing, but man, Prof is doing it and making it look easy. This guy is a water-happy fella, too. He’s pouring water all over his head after each song, then flinging the remainder of the bottle onto the crowd. He even straddles the stage and the barrier at one point and asks a fan “You want some of this?”, as he pours water into their mouth.

Someone handed a pizza box up to him about halfway through his set that was customized and contained a vinyl with a note attached. This comes as a belated birthday gift to him, I later found a photo of the custom gift on Instagram. It was super creative. Prof brings Willie Wonka on stage for a song, and he dances along wildly alongside his friend and shoots fake $100 bills out into the crowd with a money gun. This doesn’t last long though, as the money gun stops working about 30 seconds in.

Prof croons during “Motel”, he’s hitting all the notes and I’m raising my eyebrows, seeing as how he’s never taken a singing lesson in his life (according to him). He slows things down for us, playing “Heaven”. This is my favorite part of the night because the disco ball comes on and this song touches me.

“It would destroy me to have you just a little. I’m passionate and brittle, I’m asking for a little of your time. I know I hurt you bad. I know it’s hard to look at me without going right back into the past.”

Ouch. Before I know it, my eyes are filled with tears. Prof is tearful too, and expresses his thanks to the crowd for being able to relate to him with a sadder tune.

Sadly, we’ve reached the end of the night. Or so I thought! Prof disappears from the stage very briefly before quickly rushing back out, delivering not one but two encore songs, one being “Big Hungry Monster”. For this very last song, he brings out all of his supporting acts and they horse around on the stage together. You can tell that these dudes are loving this tour and find great joy in what they do. Prof is making hip-hop fun again, and damn did I have a great time this evening.