Photo courtesy of @abstractmikey on Instagram

SlumpMadi looks out into a crowd of flashing light and cheers. His set at Pain 1999 was his official live debut.

Pain 1999, a late-night concert in Virginia that spotlighted close to 20 independent artists (mainly rappers), debuted WJ’s very own SlumpMadi, senior Mamadi Cisse, on Jan 14. In his on-stage launch, Cisse performed two of his songs, “Hotel” and “All Time Low,” to an electric crowd bordering 200 people.

Cisse was invited to Crescendo Studios in Falls Church by the producer and rapper 1300SAINT to be a headliner for the event and was given six minutes to hype up the crowd before the top billing artist, 1300SAINT came on. The constant interchange of artists ensured a captivated audience throughout the whole four-hour event. The audience consisted of videographers, photographers, strangers and students.

However, Cisse was disappointed that he only got six minutes when he was initially promised 15 by the manager of the venue.

“I was just mad ‘cause it would’ve went so much better if my other songs played, but it [still] went good, I think,” Cisse said.

It absolutely “went good.” Audience members raved about how crazy Cisse’s set was and were struck by his stage presence, along with the immense support coming from the concert-watchers.

“Compared to [the other performances], he [Cisse] probably had the best [set] because of the crowd that he had,” sophomore Josh Degala said.

Many of his fans are his friends and Cisse ensures he maintains a personal connection with each and every one of them, even having personally greeted and thanked everyone for coming after his set. With his enthusiasm and drive, it’s clear that Cisse has a bright future ahead of him as an artist.

“I can definitely see him performing on bigger stages in the future as long as he keeps building his confidence,” senior Jannah Bilker said.