By Noah Pond

Thursday, Oct. 17, the Van Duzer was packed to the gills with sweaty college students, swaying adults, and more Raiders gear than I have ever seen in Humboldt. Nearly no one sat in the theater’s seats as they all had pushed to the front, creating a wall of anticipating HYPHY enjoyers ready for Bay Area Legend E-40. It was 9 p.m.. 

The first DJ was coming to the end of their set as I got there. People took the time between sets to go get a drink from the concessions bar or smoke something outside. I decided to go up to the balcony to scope out a better view of the stage. 

Next, DJ Sovern-T from Honolulu came on to take the crowd through a history of hip-hop by way of the tracks he played. He reminded the crowd that hip-hop came from Africa before going into a rhythm and bass track. Around 10:30 p.m., Sovern-T started asking the crowd if they were ready for E-40. The crowd erupted in cheers for the Bay Area rapper.

He asked the crowd the same question every 15 minutes for the next hour. I talked to four dudes who said they were just gonna leave if E-40 didn’t come out soon — I didn’t see them again after that. 

It was 11:30 pm by the time E-40 showed up. The crowd had been waiting for two and a half hours so, naturally, they went insane when he came out. He played his classics like U and Dat, My Shit Bang, and even Lil Jon’s Snap Yo Fingers. 

When the beat came on for his 2014 classic, Choices (Yup), the crowd was on time with the, “YUP. NOPE. YUP. NOPE.” 

I was still up on the balcony and people had started lighting blunts and joints as Choices played. I’ve really never seen the Van Duzer so lit, bro. 

E-40 took some time to address the crowd after he played Choices to say thanks for coming out and how he’s thankful our generation is still bumping his stuff. He compared us to his generation in the way that we still listen to the music our parents showed us. I thought he was being kind of sweet and sentimental. 

Before I could relish in the moment too long, he started playing his top song and biggest feature, “I Don’t Fuck With You.” Immediately, the crowd was with him. 

“I don’t fuck with you! You lil’ stupid ass bitch, I ain’t fuckin’ with you. You lil’ dumb ass bitch, I ain’t fuckin with you. I got a million trillion things I’d rather fuckin’ do, than to be fuckin’ with you,” the crowd screamed. 

Just as soon as he came on, it seemed as though he was leaving. It was 12:10 p.m.. The night seemed like a blur; I don’t know if it was the 800-seat hotbox in the Van Duzer or the hours of built-up sweat waiting for E-40 to come out, but I had a blast. It’s cool that Cal Poly Humboldt is getting more pull in the artists they invite and the Van Duzer theater is seeing maximum litness. 

Noah Pond is a Junior at Cal Poly Humboldt and a reporter and opinion editor for the Lumberjack. During his free time he enjoys cold beer and his skateboard.