VIBES IS THE KEY TO STL FUTURE

VIBES week is officially here. I want to thank everyone who supported my writing this month and the months before. I've gained a lot of new readers of my blog and I love and appreciate every single one of you. You're awesome. Life is great. Fuck it, let's keep this living shit going.

St.Louis is home. I've lived a lot of places but St.Louis is home. There's days I love it. There's days I don't but it's home. It's tough to fully hate it because it made me who I am. I'll eventually leave to go explore the world because I have a curious mind but it'll always be home. 

I had a convo with my barber a couple of days ago and we were talking about how different St.Louis was just 10 years ago. Shit 8 years ago. You still had the same bullshit like the drugs and the violence but that time was really special. The nightlife was at it's peak. There had to be like 20 clubs that you could choose from and they all were poppin. The music scene was wide open. Local shows were insane. There was so much money floating around in the city it wasn't hard for anyone to eat. I'm speaking from my experience so I'm sure someone thinks the opposite and that's fine. I believe during that time we were seeing the last of togetherness and participation from the residents in the city. We had no clue what was coming either because we were too busy having fun. The vibe was just different. 

One by one clubs were shutting down. Businesses were shutting down. The music scene was dying. Venues for events were gone. Crime started to go back up. The energy was just being sucked out the city. If you really wanna get really real the drug game was over. Back then the money was worth the risk, today the streets so fucking dry there's no point of even doing it. All the big dogs got football numbers. Some told on each other. Some faced up. Only thing that was generating money was the sports. 

To a lot of people St.Louis became this place where no dream can flourish. Where nothing good is here. People mocked it. If you have an idea to build something probably 80% of the people you'd share your plan with would tell you to leave St.Louis. The percentage wasn't that high 8-10 years ago. I look around today and the majority can't wait to leave. Some just want to experience something different. Some just hate it here and want a fresh start elsewhere. Some are afraid of change so they stay. Some want to stay and be the change they want to see in the city. Whatever category you may fall in I think we all can agree that our home really does need a change.

I say all this to say that an event like VIBES is key to that change. This is deeper than art. This all of our chance to create a wave that can wake up the city. Spark other minds to come forward and add to the positive wave. Here are reasons why VIBESSTL is key to St.Louis future. 

THE UNITY 

Spell it out like Queen Latifah if you'd like. VIBES has the unity to bring this city back in the right direction for the future. 4 events. No conflict. Nothing negative. People who's first time experiencing this event Saturday are shocked to hear that. Nothing shocking about it. When you have people who when it's all said and done just want a good experience and see everyone that's there isn't on that bullshit. It's easy to just chill and have a good time. If the unity continues this opens things up for more events which can bring more money to the city and create more opportunities for not just VIBES but anyone else on the creative wave.

The excuse of a lot of these venues who won't do business with us is the fear of fights breaking out, shooting, silly shit like that. It's low key racist shit because what they really fear is a crowd where the majority of it is black people coming together and it scares the shit out of them. Maybe we'll do business with them. Maybe we won't but if our unity stays consistent like it has been it'll be difficult for places to turn down the opportunity to work with VIBES. 

THE GROWTH OF BLACK BUSINESSES

Majority of the names you see on the VIBES flyer are linked to a black business or a black business. This country already don't give a fuck about us so my mission is to support all black businesses. Don't matter if I like or don't like the product being presented. The growth of my culture and race is more important. VIBES gives a platform for black businesses to gain new customers. I want to see all y'all have black Bentley's and it starts here. VIBES itself is a black owned business and spreads love and St.Louis needs every bit of that. If it was up to me every business on that flyer would have their own building and that vision isn't farfetched but it starts here. 

OUTSIDE INTEREST

I think VIBES 5 has the most out of town artists than the previous 4. If those artists see and feel the love then they will take that back to their respective city and spread the word about VIBES and the city of St.Louis. The greatest form of social currency is word of mouth. If we show them the dope businesses, our culture, and art here then next time they'll bring their people next time to experience it then the process will keep repeating itself and growing. 

REVIVING THE MUSIC SCENE 

Every artist wants to perform at VIBES whether they admit it or not. The platform keeps getting bigger and bigger each event. It wont stop here. The plan is to bring back the love for music showcases. Take our time with them. Get the city excited about them again. I think what's happening now is that it's getting over saturated and potential fans are getting burnt out on them. They tune out music shows because majority of them don't stand out. There's not a question of "Is there talent in St.Louis?" There's a bunch of talent but how that talent is being presented to the people is the key. The goal is to bring that Hi-Pointe vibe back again and VIBES performances are at that level. It has the platform to revive the scene and St.Louis really needs that to happen because there are some supremely talented artists from here.

The last week to buy tix. We making history Saturday. See you there. 

 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vibesstl-the-grand-arts-event-tickets-24857305871

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wake-bake-an-after-vibes-brunch-tickets-25775010751