Gina Gee and Epiphany. Photo by Brian Chilson.

So big congrats to Epiphany and One Night Stand. The live rap ensemble won handily on the judges scorecards last night.

Which means, for the second week in a row, hip-hop prevails and the last act wins. So I’ll throw this out for feedback: Do rap acts have an advantage in the Showcase? I’ll have to check our records, but I think it’s safe to say that we’ve never had a hip-hop act in the finals. Now we have two. Also, does the last slot give a band an advantage?

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I have thoughts, but I’ll wait til I’ve have my detox tea to share them.

UPDATE:

I think Moxiemoron makes some good points below, but in defense of impartiality, I put a lot of consideration into getting judges with diverse backgrounds and strong opinions. Razormack lives and breathes hip-hop, so it’s not a shock that he’d favor the rap acts (though he’s scored other bands really close), but at least two of the judges almost categorically dislike hip-hop (though they scored 607 and Piph highest). I’m not going to divulge how everyone has scored, but I’ve been shocked by how much of a consensus it’s been. With a few exceptions, all five judges have felt similarly about all the bands. And it’s not like they’re huddled up talking about it.

Chris King at Sticky Fingerz did the scheduling, and then a lot of bands had conflicts and it got all mixed and muddled. There are really strong acts in every time slot who have been and are capable of winning it all. I noticed last night that the judges weren’t really putting down the drinks like I expected. Most everyone was drinking water by 11 p.m. But I’ll concede that the crowd and judges might be looser by night’s end. It’s certainly not an insurmountable advantage, though.

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A judge responds: To say that the last band has an advantage I think is offensive to all musicians who performed last night.  Whatever the order, I would’ve scored the same.

1 1/2 glasses of red wine does not a drunk judge make.

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