MANSFIELD — Cody Nicolas wears many hats. The lead singer and guitarist of Narrow / Arrow also teaches music to students at Pioneer, plays guitar in the local punk band, The Touch, and writes hooks with rapper Taj Torrence in their project, Apollo xU.
Nicolas is also tasked with promoting the Farewell to Rap Tour, a regional hip hop event featuring a few “heavy hitters” that is making a stop in Mansfield on Thursday, March 9 at The Electric Co.
“I have no ties to the venue, I’m not part of any of these projects, I’m just playing promoter and it has been a lot of fun,” Nicolas said.
In addition to Mansfield, Farewell to Rap Tour is also making stops in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia and New York City, to name a few. The headliners include Ghais Guevara from Philadelphia as well as Defo, Tabby and Student 1 from Minneapolis. Combined, those artists have over 170,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
So, how did Mansfield attract such a top-tier hip hop event? It’s because of a friendship developed between Nicolas and Trevor Bartlett, the Minneapolis rapper who goes by Defo.
Bartlett used to play shows in Mansfield with his other project, Author, that Nicolas would book at RELAX, It’s Just Coffee and Bonfire Nation. For many smaller to mid-size touring bands, Mansfield is a stop that makes sense.
“For an independent traveling band it’s often very difficult to find a good show to play on a weeknight,” Nicolas said. “When I was booking shows for RELAX, that was the big ticket.”
Mansfield’s central location in the region is also an attractor for independent bands that may be looking for an extra show in between Cleveland and Columbus, for example.
“For a band to need a stop on a tour, it’s easy to stop in Mansfield,” Nicolas said. “We’d always get a lot of cool bands that were just happy to have an extra show on a weekday.”
That’s exactly the case for the Farewell to Rap Tour. Bartlett reached out to Nicolas about a month ago and asked him if the tour could make a stop in Mansfield. Nicolas wanted a bigger venue with a good sound system and landed on having the show at The Electric Co, the social lounge, night club and sometimes music venue at 1400 W. 4th St.
“It’s gonna be a good time – even if you don’t like rap or hip hop, all the music is very danceable,” Nicolas said.
Nicolas describes Tabby as similar to the Beastie Boys or Eminem-esque, but has a beautiful singing voice and has been crossing over into other genres.
“His new stuff is very androgynous, with the makeup, and he does it very well,” Nicolas said. “Very rock star. David Bowie-like.”
Student 1 has an Odd Future sound and “does sort of a skater rap thing,” according to Nicolas. “He’s very clever and his flow is a lot of fun.”
Ghais Guevara, who is making a name for himself in Philadelphia with his socially conscious lyrics, is “very well-respected in the hip-hop underground,” according to Nicolas. “It’s really cool that they got him to be a part of this tour – he could blow up at any minute and you would’ve seen him for like $12 in Mansfield.”
Defo, Bartlett’s new hip hop project and the reason this tour is coming to Mansfield, released his first singles in 2022.
In addition to the four out-of-town headliners, Richland County-based artists Papillon and Young Legend will also perform at the show on Thursday evening. They will open the night, according to Nicolas.
Tickets are available at the door for $15 on the night of the show or they can be purchased here in advance for $12. VIP tickets are available for $30 and include early entry, some swag and a chance to have more face time with the artists.
To Nicolas, this is an excellent opportunity for local rappers or artists of any kind to come out and network.
“The reason I got handed this [Farewell to Rap Tour] is because of a guy [Defo] who networked with me – he hit me up years later and we put this thing together,” Nicolas said.
“Come out, talk to these artists, find out how they got such high streaming numbers and what they’re doing to be successful.
“Don’t come out with a business attitude, come out with an attitude of being in a community with like-minded people,” Nicolas said. “When they’re off the stage, they’re on the same floor as you.”
