Greg Gabbard, owner of City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave., said he thinks State College will have a pretty good reaction to Killah. Most people are familiar with him, Gabbard said.
"It's always cool to see a major artist in a smaller venue," he said. "People are pretty excited about the show."
Gabbard has listened to Killah before and said Fishscale, Killah's latest album, is selling well and is probably his best-selling CD yet.
"I would say he's a really good emcee who uses great samples," Gabbard said.
Gabbard said Killah has been part of one of the most successful hip-hop groups ever.
"His former band is legendary," Gabbard said. "I think that's reason enough to go check him out."
Mike "Mic Dough" Hummel, one of the lyricists in local rap group Tweek Music, said he has been a fan of Killah since the artist was with the Wu-Tang Clan. He said he respects Killah's talent.
"[Killah] brings something different to hip-hop, and there's no one that can do it the same way," Hummel said.
Hummel said he thinks Killah will receive a good response from the State College crowd.
"I think he's making a lot of moves," Hummel said. "Some people just have to do their own thing."
Nigel Sparkes, manager of Tweek Music, said he has been a fan of Killah since day one. Killah's broad, lyrical storytelling abilities make him stand out, he said.
"You can tell he puts a lot of work into his rhymes," Sparkes said. "He's one of the few artists right now that still has that hip-hop essence."
Sparkes said he doesn't think Killah's record sales reflect his ability as an artist because the artist caters to a specific audience of underground hip-hop fans.
Sparkes said there's a story behind all of Killah's songs. Someone can listen to Killah rap and have a visual to what he's saying, he said.
"He represents what hip-hop is about," Sparkes said.
Penn State alumnus Roland "Bluntz" Kentish said he is one of Killah's biggest fans. Kentish said that he has been following Killah's music since the 1993 Enter the Wu-Tang album and that Killah is one of the best hip-hop artists of all time. A lot of rappers sound fake today, Kentish said, but Killah raps with a lot of intensity.
Kentish said that Killah's swagger and charisma makes him stand out and that he thinks Killah's performance at Crowbar will be a good show.
"His content is powerful, the way he structures his songs is good, [and] he's one of the best people to see live," Kentish said.
Kentish said he also appreciates Killah's "realness."
"No one talks like [Ghostface] and no one raps like Ghost," Kentish said.
Kentish said his favorite Killah song is "Wildflower," from Killah's 1996 Ironman album. The song is about how a woman did Killah wrong, he said. Kentish himself could relate.
"Every time I broke up with a girlfriend, I would play that song to get through the day," Kentish said.
