Five years ago, I got to go to my first ever Freestyle Explosion in Tampa. I'd always wanted to go to one. The crazy thing is the first time I would get to see Freestyle Explosion, I would be HOSTING it. The 2019 Freestyle Explosion in Tampa was at USF and the place was rockin'. It was such an incredible night of legendary dance club acts from the 80s. These were all the artists I would make mix tapes on cassettes with... like Stevie B, Expose, Lisa Lisa and the Jets.
5 years later I still get to host Freestyle Explosion. Now it's called Throwback Jam and we're two weeks away. The 2024 Freestyle Explosion in Tampa happens Saturday, August 10... this time at Amalie Arena so we can fit more friends in. Floor seats are pretty much gone, but there are still great tickets left in the lower level. The great thing about this show is they don't sell nosebleeds so you're sure to have a good view of the stage. Plus you get like a dozen acts for one ticket price that starts under $50... that's pretty rare in 2024.
But let me take you back to that night when I got to step on stage to introduce some of my all time favorites at the Yuengling Center. It was CHAOS as I was hosting the Q105 Saturday Night Dance Party, going on stage to introduce acts every 10 or 15 minutes, and dealing with some drama between the artists that I didn't even know was happening at the time.
Let's go back to September 14, 2019. No one had even heard of COVID yet. Little did we know this would be one of the last concerts we'd be able to see for a while. Check out my backstage pics and stories from Freestyle Explosion in Tampa five years ago.
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105Arriving at the Yuengling Center. It was the calm before the storm. It was cool to have a minute to look around and take it in.
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105When it really started to get real! It's a blast seeing all these artists on one stage in one night. How about that lineup?
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105OMG. I knew this night was going to be epic and I was right.
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105The first artist I ran into backstage was Shannon. She has a larger than life presence and honestly I for some reason thought she'd be stuck up. She looked like a star even backstage. But she was one of the kindest and sweetest people I've ever met. I always look forward to seeing her when she's on the lineup now.
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105The crazy part about hosting Freestyle Explosion is there is NO downtime. NONE. Every few minutes I'm on stage bringing on a new act. If you ever host Freestyle Explosion, make sure you go to the bathroom before the show.
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105Time to test out the lights.
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105Was so cool to meet The Jets!
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105I had a front row seat as Shannon did her Q105 classics like "Let The Music Play" and "Give Me Tonight."
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105After she tore the house down and even gave Q105 a shoutout, I had to let Shannon know that this was one of the coolest moments of my career. Such a sweetheart!
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105So the drama that I had NO idea was going on... it went right over my head? While I was interviewing Stevie B, he mentioned something about how the "King of Freestyle" had already performed. It went right over my head. He was being sarcastic. Apparently Johnny O earlier in the night, one of the opening acts, said HE was the King. The two later worked things out I guess. But the whole night I had no idea this beef was going on. It got even more interesting the next day when Johnny O thanked me on social media for proclaiming HIM the King of Freestyle. I heard back quickly from Stevie's team. I had no idea what he was talking about. I certainly didn't say it on stage. And I'd only quickly met Johnny that night. Turns out, one of my Q105 producers was recording artist liners and when Johnny recorded his, he called himself the King of Freestyle and my producer (who's far too young to know who any of the artists are), must have said something to thank him and maybe he referenced the "King" claim. I have no idea. But anyway, all was eventually worked out and the drama settled.
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105These fans were CRAZY loud. They were all the way at the top of the back of the arena and I could hear them on stage. So I climbed all those Yuengling Center steps to go get a pic with them after I brought Stevie B on. (I wouldn't have had time to get back to the stage during the show!)
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105Another "Is this life real?" moment... getting to hang out with Lisa Lisa for a bit. She was telling me how she had just recently started working with Snoop Dogg. I told her I'd imagine business meetings with Snoop must be fun... what happens in them? She said no comment. lol
Freestyle Explosion at USF in 2019
Geno / Q105That night I got to become buddies with Stevie B's tour DJ, DJ Slice. We hit it off so well I ended up bringing him on to the Saturday Night Dance Party as a guest DJ from time to time.
