Upcoming Talent Take the Stage and Meet Veteran Rapper Cassidy at the “Ask About Me” Concert in Brooklyn

Ambitious singers and rappers came out to Brooklyn’s Starr Bar on Sunday, July 26^th, 2026 for the “Ask About Me” Talent Showcase Concert with headliner Veteran Philadelphia-based rapper Cassidy.  The R&B and hip-hop  showcase offered  aspiring artists to showcase their best musical talents with record label XXIV Records LLC and A&R and music manager Showcase Papi.

The grand prize for the winning contestant was a chance to meet and take the stage with rapper Cassidy. Additional prizes for the independent artists also included airplay for their original songs on with Power 105.1 FM and SiriusXM DJ, DJ P Dub, a freestyle and interview segment on the prominent hip-hop platform Offgrid Freestyle Show hosted by DJ Spinlyfe and  a  performance slot at the 4^th Annual Connecticut Music Fair 2026 scheduled on Saturday, September 19^th, 2026. There were also opportunities to get featured on New York’s Entertainment platforms like Brooklyn’s Situations in the City and Urban Updatez, and Arnickia Entertainment News TV.

More than 20  emerging  R&B singers and hip-hop artist each took the stage in hopes of breaking in successful in the music industry. Many rappers delivered original freestyle verses,  while R&B singers performed their hearts with heartfelt original songs. Some of the talent was introduced by the talent show host President of Infinite Quality Records, ASAP B and the music handled by DJ Mr. Phantasik. Traveling  all the way from Philadelphia, was model and rapper Fab_U_Lust. She brought the intense energy on stage saying. “I am coming on all the way from Philly, and have mad love for New York and I am here for Cassidy, who also from Philly!” said Fab.

The next artist to take the stage was motivational rapper Shawna Lyfe Bennett aka Lyfe, who brought her forceful voice and performed her original piece with her purposeful-driven  piece, “Put it on God”. She said at the end of her performance, “This is not a performance, but a testimony!” she said.

Next, Brooklyn-based rapper Kyle Bethel, performed his viral hit, “City of Demons” which samples Jay-Z’s 1996 song “Can I Live”. And has boasts over  206,000 streams on Spotify. Sexy R&B singer Kit Kat Kait, sang her original pieces for the audience. Other noteworthy acts that took the stage was singer,  songwriter and producer Yun Nostra, rapper and A&R of Mor. Val Entertainment, Kertasy, who performed his original birthday song  to celebrate recent his birthday, Minnesota based independent rapper and model Jayy Solo, who commanded the stage performing her original freestyle, Additional artists include  rappers  G The Ruler, CI Joe, Sidney Valentino,  Massachusetts based rapper Legacy 508 alongside  R&B singers Bossie Vee and Jenelsart.

As of July 30^th , Showcase Papi announced the winners of the talent showcase on IG. Boston-based rapper  G The Ruler won the Off The Grid segment and Philly Rapper Jay Solo, and  Rapper Legacy 508, won the Connecticut Music Fair slots and the Power 105.1 FM prize is still pending. 

Following the showcase, the man of the hour and headliner rapper Cassidy arrived and met and took photos with all the contestant. He took a moment to do an interview with host Arnickia Jones for Arnickia Entertainment News TV.

Finally, Cassidy finally took the stage delivering  an original freestyle, and performed his biggest hits like his 2007 song, “ My Drink N’ My 2 Step” featuring Swizz Beatz, his 2004 song, “Get No Better”, his 2005 song, A.M. to P.M. and platinum song, “I’m a Hustla” which was remix by R&B icon Mary J. Blige.

Addressing the crowd, Cassidy  shared an update on his career, “I am an independent artist now, and stay tuned and follow me on social media platforms. I got a lot new shit that’s about to drop and wish I can perform tonight, but I got a lot that I’m cooking up and it’s about to get ugly this year and BARS is back!” said Cassidy. “It’s been too much bullshit for too many years for over a decade  and I’m excited! Everything is getting back to normal and I’m just happy!’ he said.

Cassidy has faced many career interruptions and obstacles since 2007 with past legal troubles and life-threatening car crash. Now, Cassidy is back stronger than ever and ready to enter back in the music scene with new music coming later this year.

He performed his 2004 hit,  “Hotel” and rapper CI Joe jumped on stage and got an opportunity to perform with Cassidy and performed his song “Hotel”  in Spanish. Cassidy closed  his performance speaking to the audience,  “I’m the originator and cut from that cloth spitting the bars and born to shine! I raised in the streets and never afraid of beef!”