"When it comes to the list -- I get offered money but you won't hear about me taking money," Rivera states."We try to be as fair as possible."
If Waldon is SF2's most noticeable face, earnest and forgiving, Rivera is the pitbull who facilitates every facet of her life with integrity. Say something negative about Kickback, she'll be quick to watch the room and then tell you off. The dynamic between them works, the kind of good-cop/bad-cop that picks up on the best people have to offer. It led to Rivera having another epiphany and calling Waldon.
"I get nervous whenever she does that," Waldon jokes.
Rivera cuts in, eager to retell the story. "I see some guys from the beginning, they'd been here every single day. they had improved, they're working together, they support each other," she says.
During Kickback's second arc, the newer group of artists had began forming a band of sorts. Not in separate cliques but reach out to one another. V.E.R.S.E. Records, an entity of many from Beaumont makes the drive 90 miles up just to perform on Sunday nights.
Their main threesome of a tall, linebacker-built rapper ET, Trail Blaze a pavement low voiced, dreadlocked demon in C4 continued to show out, along with other artists such as New Orleans' transplant C.I.T.Y., flowery radical Lyric Michelle, the constantly improving Young G and Luke Duke continued pursuing their talents within the ranks, impressing every week. Now, they're almost inseparable.
Rivera's idea had finally come to fruition, a full-fledged show. "Why don't we put a show together?" she asked. The artists they picked went through one of the rarest things in music these days: Actual training. Every Sunday would be proving ground while Waldon and Rivera worked behind the scenes. They wanted their group to be well-seasoned and prepared. Their kids agreed without hesitation.
"It's a blessing," C4 says in the middle of a video shoot, his voice raspy yet controlled. "They told me the mike costs twice the amount of my car. It's crazy."
Kickback Part 3 will run Wednesday morning.
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