In the middle of Somerville, there’s a grand two-story plaza called Bow Market. Located in the top corner, there’s a totally inconspicuous record store called vinyl index. vinyl index has extensive roots in the Boston music scene, once neighboring the beat producer shop/studio Union Sound, which it eventually expanded its space into. Prominent rap figures 7L, of the duos 7L & Esoteric and Czarface, and Jeremy, the previous owner of popular online hip-hop store UGHH, now run the shop, highlighting many hip-hop figures both in and outside Boston. Just passing by, it would be easy to have no idea that the index could so easily be turned into a bumping venue, full of eager friends and fans alike of many of the local artists featured amongst the shop’s shelves. On the evening of Saturday, January 25, I experienced this for myself, as I attended my first-ever live rap show, which included four groovy sets from LDER, Esh & the Isolations, Wave Generators, and NAHreally.
As my friend, who I dragged along, and I walked into the index, we were greeted by one of Esh’s blaring backing tracks, testing out his levels for the performance. Arriving on the earlier side allowed for a behind-the-scenes look at these artists. Each had a different approach to interacting with the crowd before their sets—LDER stayed behind the counter, sticking close to the store’s staff; Esh and NAHreally bopped around the whole space, making conversation with anyone and everyone; and the Wave Generators seemed to keep to themselves with a mysterious aura that built suspense for their eventual performance. As the crowd started filtering in, my friend and I explored the store’s collection to keep us entertained as everyone settled in. With a definite focus on rap culture, their collection stayed varied with many more experimental projects, as we found favorites from Geordie Greep and LCD Soundsystem.
LDER was the opener for the night—fittingly, as he seems to work with the store. Primarily a music producer with a taste for electronic and boomb bap, he had an easy rapport with everyone in the room. As the other artists warmed up, he cheered them on like the show had already started, recording their sets and ensuring everyone had at least one cheerleader for the night. His own music was equally uplifting, a mismatch of different video games and similarly nerdy sounds swirled with jazzy beats. It was a nice, consistent noise-jam for the first half hour, as my friend and I continued to browse, debating if we wanted to order drinks from vinyl index’s surprisingly extensive menu. The drinks didn’t come from in shop, but rather the bar next door, Nook, solidifying the store’s tight-knit place in the market’s community. We were startled out of our debating by LDER’s “Love Like You (House Edit),” a mix taking and chilling out the Steven Universe song like we were hearing it underwater. This was a surprising throwback to my middle school memories, but not entirely unwelcome ones.
The turnaround times between artists were almost nonexistent, as once LDER finished his last song, Esh, the self-described one-man supergroup, bounded up to take the metaphorical stage. Throughout the night, Esh glided through the shop, filled with a liveliness that had him operating on what seemed like his own plane of existence. This was partially due to the 25th being his birthday, and partially because, in his own words, “I’ve been drinking since 10 AM.” While he led with this to excuse himself for being “not good” at rapping that night, it actually didn’t have much of an impact on his syncopated, restless cadence. Instead, he was particularly picky with his music selections, skipping multiple tracks he dubbed “too fast” for that night. His choices were still strong, though, starting with “Costanza Wallet” from his second album, Idiot Fingerz. Like much of his music, the track is drenched in countercultural bravado, with a self-deprecating edge. Declaring that his “boys in the yard are Daniel Plainview, protect your milkshake,” he challenges the capitalist overlords who control the world around him. In the next breath, he switches the vibe to his equally pessimistic, but less confident track “culture of comparison.” Off of his latest album Nowhere, to Be Found, he compares his career to those around him, almost implicitly calling out the other performers in the room. But as the music shifted into a heavier grunge beat, the audience began to sing along with the repetitive “la la la la” in the chorus, squeezing everyone closer to the front of the room and Esh’s enigmatic energy.
This feeling of camaraderie only continued throughout the rest of his set, particularly as Esh winded down. No one easily let him make his exit, demanding an encore. While Esh tried to shuffle through the rest of his songs to decide on one, he was ultimately too distracted by his fiance in the corner, who he had shouted out multiple times and was clearly eager to celebrate a successful set with. This indecision only led to NAHreally, who was serving as a makeshift emcee, beginning a round of “Happy Birthday” for his friend. While Esh acted embarrassed by this, it seemed clear the gesture only added to his great night.
As Wave Generators began to set up for their performance, Esh’s fiance wandered around the room with a box of cannolis, referencing some inside joke between the two of them. As I gladly stuffed my face with the surprise dessert, NAHreally approached my friend and me, asking if I happened to be the same random white kid who had reached out to him on Instagram about covering the show. I confirmed my identity, and we chatted until the lights suddenly switched off. With a smile, NAHreally slipped back up to the front of the room, easing my worries that this was a sudden power outage. Instead, it was the beginning of the Wave Generator’s set, as their two members took their places. The darkness of the space and fluorescent, ever-changing LEDs quickly made sense, as their genre of music was indicated mostly by the constant fever pitch they wailed at.
Made up of Height Keech and Jason “Nosaj” Furlow, the co-founder of the 90’s hip-hop collective New Kingdom, Wave Generators was characterized by a unique brand of weary discontent. While their lyrics are a constant call to action, with apocalyptic cries like “come on, come on, everyone’s melting,” between each track they revealed just how personable they are behind the mask. For example, Keech gave a small anecdote about Esh, one of the first rappers he was familiar with, and how honored he feels to get to perform in the same lineup as him. But just as quickly, they were back into their set, leaping around the shop with spontaneous hand movements that seemed like one member was conducting the other as they sang. One of their catchiest tracks is still stuck in my head as I write this article, an unreleased piece pronouncing “It’s hot as hell in the Bible Belt,” which spurred on many laughs from the crowd.
At this point, the room was keyed up for NAHreally’s act, which he almost immediately rolled into. From the opening note of this Massachusetts rapper’s first song to the last lyric of the night, I was completely entranced by these tracks. While his beats are relatively simple, creating an easy atmosphere, his witty delivery is what truly distinguishes his artistry. NAHreally had an almost effortlessly smooth flow, packing each line with tongue-in-cheek references that kept me on my toes—at one point the line “My pen game’s reminiscent of Joan Didion” gave me whiplash. Much of his act called for audience participation, too, with deadpan requests for clapping at the end of his song “Secret Pancake” with the aforementioned line, and joining in throughout the title-referencing chorus of “Smarter Than I Am.” Even his songs that he didn’t request our accompaniment for, at least the front row seemed to know the lyrics already, loosely holding their beers and exuberantly singing along.
Not too long after NAHreally’s set wrapped up, my friend and I had to run out to catch the train before it closed for the night. I couldn’t help but steal glances at vinyl index as we left, savoring the loud bursts of laughter and chatter I could still hear as we exited Bow Market. The community this store has curated is constantly supportive, drawing massive crowds for a space that somehow expands to make them all—no matter how unfamiliar—feel perfectly at home.
