Summerfest Ends With Split Decision

The crowd's opinion wasn’t enough to sway judges at the 2011 Summerfest at Icons Lounge last night. Over 21 and Mo Troof tied in the final round, splitting the $500 cash prize.

Summerfest's tournament-style contest started in February with a grand opening performance from Wale. It came to a close Saturday night with live performances from Capital G, Syntax, Over 21, Mo Troof, SNRG and Sketch. These artists, among others have been performing weekly at Icons since February for a chance at the cash prize and notoriety.

As usual, the crowd was tough, favoring to pack the dance floor when DJ Gnettixx blasted the club smash records of Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Jay Z versus when the contestants hit the stage for their three song sets. The judges included Alex Acosta of Prestige Filmworks and Boris Kuperman who once appeared on VH1’s reality series “I Want To Work For Diddy.”

“Give it up for both these artists, they work very hard in this music industry,” said tournament and performace host Faraz Betaraz.

The MCs brought their crews and rhymes for bragging rights and exposure at Icons, which has become a major entertainment venue for Fairfax, hosting the likes of Wale and Jeremiah earlier this year, with Nas scheduled to appear this coming Friday. The venue has grown from a weekly bar crowd to featuring guest lists with luxury couch and table reservations available on Friday and Saturday nights.

Each artist brought their own unique style, Mo Troof with a focus on lyrics and powerful messages, and Syntax bringing a passion for not being radio-friendly and delivering up-tempo beer keg anthems.

Sketch, whose upcoming album titled “Virginia Tec-9” has been highly anticipated, generating a noticeable buzz throughout the internet. He recently released the official video for his single “IDK.”

Summerfest displayed the power that social media marketing has, with all of the artists having a heavy presence on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and hip hop websites well known by music fans in Fairfax and throughout the country.

“The contest was a good look for the area,” said Capital G, who was the last artist to take the stage, performing singles from his “Supersmacked” mixtape which will be released this fall. “It brought lots of people out to see me and the other winners.”

After the winners were announced, the crowd closed credit card tabs, and said their goodbyes, with a new knowledge of the Northern Virginia hip hop scene and the artists working hard to breathe life into it.