Pope Adrian Bless

Pope Adrian Bless was the essence of Chreece. He went out and networked with as many people as he could and danced at every show he could make it to. Pope was jumping with other musicians, freestyling with people he just met, and even dancing with homeless women.

Pope was doing everything he could to make sure that his set at Joyful Noise Recordings was going to be a highlight of the event. He hung out and talked to the line of people standing outside who weren’t able to enter the at-capacity venue.

Pope described himself as “The Ultimate Warrior about to take on Hulk Hogan in WrestleMania.”

But when it was his time to go on, his DJ was nowhere to be seen. He ran through Joyful Noise, hoping someone would have his number and would be able to get ahold of him.

“I can’t find my motherfucking DJ! Who the fuck knows Kam Jong Ill [his DJ]? Who has that nigga’s number?” Pope screamed when he took the stage alone. Bless took the opportunity to discuss the event with the crowd and stated, “I’ve been high on acid all day. God is good. Oreo Jones is God. Indianapolis over everything. Black lives matter. Bernie Sanders 2016.”

By this time, his DJ arrived and the whole audience was behind Pope. The crowd was able to sing along with Pope and carry him through the set.

After a long day of giving support to fans and his fellow artists, Indianapolis showed him the same support. The Beatles said it best, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

When did you start?
Seven years ago. I was on a label, and I didn’t have a project release for about a year. I did a bunch of shows, I freestyled and did spoken word for about a year before I got my first project.

What do you want from the festival for yourself and for Indianapolis?
Unification and the ability to shake more hands and know more. Fountain Square finally started embracing hip-hop in the last year. Ghost Gun made it happen. There are so many subgenres of hip-hop here. There are multitudes of people who haven’t met each other and we will get to combine fan bases out here, so it’s fair for everyone to get showcased. Chicago does it, so we should be able to do the same thing.

Where do you put your own music?
Alternative east, not even just all rapping. I never classify myself in a specific subgenre of hip-hop. I might even be EDM.

We want to get IUPUI involved in the music scene…
Word. Because I knew people from IUPUI who did know about the local hip-hop scene and were like, “Why is this not talked about?” It’s because we are our own community. We know each other and we interact with each other and a lot of us are close friends, but it’s not so massive that we all know someone. That’s the only thing stopping us from exceeding in such a big realm. We want to reach out to colleges, and we have to network and work together. We can help out the student body, and we’ve got to be hand in hand with it because we all can uplift each other.

How do you expect Chreece to turn out?
This is the first event, and it’s history, no matter what happens. And everyone can take part in it if they want to take part in it.

What’s next for you?
I just released a free album, “Adrian Music 4: Revelations,” and it’s just like going to class everyday--you go consistently, you get the knowledge, and that’s it. You skip class for long enough and you don’t know anything. With local artists, we have to stay consistent. Support is more important than performing. You’ve got to go to shows and talk to people in order for that to perform. Sirius started in the local rock scene and, when he transitioned to hip-hop and they followed with him, Sirius went to everyone’s shows and supported them. He would go to your show if he didn’t know you but you invited him.

The support here seems amazing…
That’s the beautiful thing about Indianapolis: that we will support you, we support great music. Even if you fall off one time ,we aren’t going to stop supporting you . We will just tell you , “Well maybe we didn’t like it as much as your history, but we will still come see you.” Support is the key. When you look at Chicago, they support everyone, they stick together consistently. It’s our responsibility to uplift one another in any facet, whether it’s media or art or education or anything. I’ve got to do a show in the future to help IPS students raise money to get uniforms. We are trying to give back. That’s what I want to do is give back and not expect anything in return. Character ethic will give you a base of people. That’s an important thing is to talk to fans on social media. At the end of the day, we all do something that’s the same. You have to show that support to people, at least make them feel like people. I love interacting with people and without their support I wouldn’t be here, Chreece wouldn’t be here.

What’s been the biggest struggle preparing for Chreece?
My DJ’s set is at the exact time mine is at, so I was going to put a craigslist ad out like, “Who wants to DJ for a local rapper, just today?” I didn’t do it, [but] I was about to post it and my buddy hit me up and said he would do it. I was like, “Aw, you saved me from pedophiles and random people--thank you.”

Several Hours Later...

How are you feeling before going on stage?
Exactly what the Ultimate Warrior felt when he took on Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania. Wow, and to think that this is only a fraction of the big time, this is just practice.

Twitter: AdrianBlessKTDA
www.popeadrianbless.com
Shows:
Thursday, September 17th - at the Hi-Fi the Jay Brookinz Beat Battle
Friday, September 18th - at Latitude 360, The Koolz Bazaar Experience
Friday, September 25th - at SSR, Psalm One with Sirius Blvck & John Stamps

Chreece Profile: Pope Adrian Bless

Pope Adrian Bless

Pumpkin to Talk About: A Review of the Top Four Pumpkin Patches in the Indianapolis Area

From Speaking your Mind to Sparking a Flame: 10 of the Most Powerful Fictional Women in Popular TV Shows and Movies

Managing an online school schedule