CAMILLE Nixon, a 23-year-old Manhattanite, never imagined hitting the karaoke nights at downtown rock clubs.
Now Nixon not only checks out the brave souls onstage singing to backing tracks, but can’t wait to get up there herself.
What changed her mind? The new hip-hop karaoke night at Rothko, where “American Idol” meets Jay-Z, Outkast and De La Soul.
The first Monday of every month, the Lower East Side venue is transformed into a hip-hop party where DJ Wex mans the wheels of steel, MC Josh Dick sports old-school, three-stripe Adidas and instead of Eminem’s voice blasting out of the speakers, it’s the amateurs in the house who are rapping and throwing shout-outs.
“I always thought karaoke was lame, but this is hip-hop,” Nixon says, still pumped from her performance of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa.”
The hip-hop happening is the latest addition to a growing Monday night karaoke scene that includes Rock and Roll Karaoke at Arlene’s Grocery, the Original Punk/Metal Karaoke at the Continental and Rockin’ Da Mike at Three of Cups.
Jason Newman, a 26-year-old equity researcher on Wall Street, got the idea for hip-hop karaoke from going to the Arlene’s Grocery night, and from hanging out with friends who’d rhyme along with hip-hop songs at bars and clubs.
“I thought people would have fun if they could act out the role of their favorite emcee,” he says.
So Newman, who reigns over the sign-up sheets, got the party started with his pals Dick, 26, on the mike and Zach Quillen, 25, as DJ Wex, and held the first night in December.
With warm red lighting, a swirling disco ball and a good-size crowd, the house is ready to rumble. And the courage-boosting free beer during the sign-up hour (8 to 9 p.m.) doesn’t hurt.
Melissa Duclos, 25, had to have a couple of drinks to prepare her rendition of “Forget About Dre” by Dr. Dre. But once she did, she was rapping 60 miles an hour.
“I was shaking. I thought everybody could tell,” she says.
No one could, and MC Dick gave her props: “That was some impressive s – – – up there.”
MC Dick keeps the show moving. He and DJ Wex will jump in with whoever’s onstage to keep a song going or provide back-up dance moves.
Some of the lyrics are garbled, and some of the acts fall to William Hung level, but it’s all good fun, with a lot of bumping and grinding to boot. The most impressive act gets a prize – a bunch of Run-DMC CDs perhaps – at the end of the evening.
Some rappers read along with printed lyrics, but others, like Augusto Matias, 29, don’t need a cheat sheet.
Sporting a Hamilton hoodie, Matias smoothly rapped along to Puff Daddy’s “It’s All About the Benjamins” with a pal, and then chose Dr. Dre’s “Nothing But a G Thang.”
“When I’m dancing at clubs, I’m always reciting lyrics,” he says. “You get into the spirit of it, and the music takes over.”
Hip-hop karaoke takes place the first Monday of every month at Rothko (116 Suffolk St.; no phone), from 9 p.m. to midnight; sign up from 8 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. Find more info, see http://www.hiphopkaraokenyc.com.
