Celebrating hip-hop at the Signature Halftyme show

 Celebrating hip-hop at the Signature Halftyme show

He plans to make this event at Bay Street Blues big, as the battle rap culture is reforming here in Savannah.

By Mia Holmes

LOCAL hip-hop enthusiasts have a unique opportunity to come together at the Signature Halftyme show, a weekly hip-hop-focused event held every Wednesday at Bay Street Blues.

The show is hosted by Signature, a lyrical hip-hop artist hailing from Savannah, Georgia, alongside local DJ Halftyme Humble. As a fellow hip-hop lover, I had the pleasure of speaking with Signature and attending his remarkable show.

Signature started rapping when he was a teenager and has been rapping for the past twenty years. Before starting the Signature Halftyme Show, he was involved with Hip Hop Nite at the Jinx. Due to the pandemic, the club had to shut down its doors.

However, Signature would still meet up with his friends to freestyle, and they wanted to have a space where they could perform in public again. On October 4, 2023, the first Signature Halftyme Show was held.

“DJ Halftyme Humble opens up the night and plays for an hour. Then at 10 o'clock, we open up the mics for a cypher. Depending on the amount of MCs we have, we use it at the cypher go for about 15 to 20 minutes, and take a pause. Right before the right before DJ Halftyme closes out, we do another 15 minutes of a freestyle cypher,” he says.

"We're also starting to have performances from MCs. We have another one coming up in February and we also have one on January 17. So we're starting to do that monthly. As we build, we're going to also have more different events and themes for the nights and things of that nature,” he says.  

He said that the most recent show on January 10 was memorable: The DJ brought in a good flow with the music he played, a mixture of hip-hop music from the 90s and early 2000s.

Also, despite the weather that night, a good number of MCs were in attendance to perform in the freestyle cyphers or to rap. He also said that December 6 was the first time that local artists Ready Money Rico and CunaBear performed. Those two were the first showcases for that night. Signature said that while both artists are different from each other, they came prepared and delivered well for the show. 

Signature plans to bring in more artists at his shows. On the last Tuesday of February, he will have an MC battle at the end of the night. He has a local battle rapper signed up to take the stage for that night, and he is looking for his opponent right now.

He said that he plans to make this event big as the battle rap culture is reforming here in Savannah. He also said that there’s a lot of positive energy surrounding it. 

“As we go deeper and deeper, I plan to reach out to other DJs and things of that nature to keep building to make sure that the input because I did this for the community, because also to my knowledge, I don't know of any other rap events going on in the city at all,” he says. 

DJ Halftyme Humble comes up with a playlist of music for the shows. Signature said that he has his trust and faith and DJ Halftyme Humble delivers every time. He also said that they’re a dynamic duo. The DJ makes sure that Signature does his job, and in turn, he plays good music. 

One of the biggest changes since the start of the show is Signature’s growth in hosting. He said that he’s able to treat his show like an actual one. He’s able to keep the segments separated, and he’s able to introduce new things and keep the night flowing. He posts videos of his shows online and it’s beginning to attract more attention. 

The Signature Halftyme Show has some exciting upcoming plans. On February 14, Signature and local artist Super Toine will be performing together. That day is not only Valentine’s Day but also Super Toine’s birthday.

He is also planning a 420 show. He is currently trying to curate a good list of artists, and there may not be a cypher; everyone may just perform all night. 

In the next two months, Signature has a set of fliers coming and plans to hand out physical ones. He has also been staying consistent with using Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to release videos and reels. 

“Once we gain a consistent crowd and packing out the place, I plan to keep expanding into paid shows and other venues. I also plan to find a good way to start interacting with the youth, like the younger generations. Whether it be the 20 to 25’s, the younger crowd like that, or even teenagers. So that way we can spread hip-hop in a positive sense throughout the area as a whole. One of my major goals is to reach out to those people who were in my shoes who felt like there was nothing to do or nowhere to go. And then also to help bring an infrastructure to the city of hip-hop because there's nowhere for us to go,” he says.

The Signature Halftyme Show takes place every Wednesday at 9 p.m. at Bay Street Blues, 17 E. Bay St. Follow Signature on Facebook to stay informed of upcoming dates.