You may have heard rapper Hi-Rez’ latest song, “Ugh,” drop on Tuesday, but those who haven’t can catch it live this weekend.
On Saturday, the Fort Lauderdale-based emcee will bring his high-energy beats to High Dive, 210 SW Second Ave. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show will kick off at 10. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $13 or in advance for $10 at Hear Again Music and Movies, as well as on ticketweb.com.
This will be the rapper’s first time headlining in Gainesville, and fans can expect anything from old-school style rhymes to contemporary beats.
“I could make somebody so emotional in one second and flip it around 10 minutes later and make a Top-40 club banger that you could have Miley Cyrus twerking to at the club,” Hi-Rez said.
Among the four openers is local rapper BG Blazel, who has performed at High Dive several times.
You can expect Blazel, like Rez, to switch up from conscious songs to upbeat club tracks.
Blazel describes Hi-Rez’s style as a down-to-earth and laid-back flow.
“If I could categorize it and imagine somebody, it would be Mac Miller,” he said.
Since 2011, 21-year-old Hi-Rez has built a large fan-base on social media through the release of five mixtapes and music videos on YouTube. Fans have awaited his new music with the help of his social media campaign #BackSeatBars, where he freestyles in the backseats of cars.
Now, Hi-Rez said he is excited about the release of his new music. “Ugh” is the first release off of his upcoming untitled mixtape. The rapper said he is more in tune with himself than he used to be, and this is the most effort he’s put into his music since he started.
“I’ve been working on this music for the last two years of my life so, you know, that right there is saying it itself,” he said.
Ever since he started making music in middle school, he said he knew he wanted to be around music his entire life. The old-school rappers he grew up on, such as Biggie, Nas, JayZ and Tupac have placed a heavy influence on his rapping style.
Among his lyrics, a line that he said sticks with him is “Even through the darkness, there is light.” The rapper touches on issues such as emotional disorders and world problems.
Hi-Rez placed an importance on taking your work seriously. He said he knew there were other artists that were better than him, but they didn’t take themselves half as seriously as he did.
“I took myself serious, which now looking back on it, was the most important thing in my life.”
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 4/2/2015 under the headline “Rapper Hi-Rez to headline at High Dive for 1st time Friday”]
