101 degrees was the temperature that was displayed near my speedometer early Saturday evening. Luckily I parked under towering trees that hovers over Main Street in Deep Ellum, right next to the luxury apartments with a small dog park, across the street for Murray’s coffee shop. I ended up there because I was cruising through the neighborhood and decided to stop by Monkey Noodle to satisfy my stomach. As I walked in, I was greeted by a long time friend Hayley and her boyfriend Joesph, who are both employees of the establishment. It was a heartwarming moment that I cherished. They left shortly my order was placed in front of me. About half way through shoving veggies and noodles down my throat, Ashxs texts me to tell me he will be arriving at Serious Pizza, which is only a block away, in five minute. He flew in from Los Angeles the day before for his performance at Green Elephant later in the evening. I texted him back and told him I’ll be there in bit, I was reaching the end of my meal.

Like a dummy, I forgot to bring my camera with me. I should’ve grabbed it, knowing what I was about to get in to. I eventually make it back to the car, grabbed my camera and headed back towards the same direction I came from. The walk to Serious Pizza was further than Monkey Noodle and that meant more time in the sun. As I was walking, I started to feel the sweat exiting my pores and slowly drip down my cheek. At the moment, I was beginning to melt, my skin was melting like a milk chocolate candy bar turning from a solid to a liquid from leaving it in the car too long. I was leaving a trail on my milk chocolate skin behind me and it was truly embarrassing. I finally reached the door to Serious Pizza and yanked it open in hopes that it would be a/c blowing. Hot and disappointed because the a/c was non-existent, I found Ashxs sitting at a booth, accompanied by his friend Lonelee, young, caucasian, slim thick women with full lips , perfectly shaped eyebrows and was rocking the super low buzz cut with sheer confidence.

Prior to meeting up with him, he was out and about in the city, getting a manicure. I bring this up because one of the first things I noticed when I sat down next to him was how wonderful this man’s nails looked. Ashxs and Lonelee extended their fingers to show me how fresh their nails were. They both wore very vibrant nail colors but Ashxs had to be extra and extended his pinky nail. Nonetheless, their nails were flawless.

If you ever had a chance to spend time with Ashxs, you would agree that he possesses a beautiful aura. A nice blend of laid back and outgoing, his personality is friendly and inviting. His gold fangs accentuate his pearly whites every time he smiles or laughs. He’s a good spirit to be around. The three of us had a conversation about psychedelics, mainly about experiences with acid, and I looked at him for a second and blurted out “ You look like you’ll be the MadHatter , like The MadHatter of rap.” I felt like the nickname really sticks, especially with Ashxs. I even have him saved in my phone as “The MadHatter”. Not long after that, another friend of Ashxs showed up, Dev. Dev came through with a nice man bun, big blue eyes, fresh camo joggers and what appeared to be a satchel with a clear pocket that showed his id. He also had on layers: a white tee shirt under a mesh jersey. We all agreed that it was entirely too hot for layers.

There was an event right across the street at Club Dada. It was called Drip Con and it featured breakdancing, art and clothing vendors. As we left Serious Pizza, Ashxs, being the true skate rat that he is, hopped on his board and started kick pushing through Crowdus St, weaving in between pedestrians and event attendees as they were checking out the vendors. Flexing with the classic Thrasher hat and blood red Vans, Ashxs isn’t usually without his board. After running into a couple of other friends, ended up inside of Club Dada to check out the rest of the festivities. There was a certain glow in Ashxs eyes as he went on a shopping spree, carefully scanning clothing rack that he touched as he was looking for his style. We migrated outside to the back patio and watched an amazing performance of all the dancers and breakers that got on stage to battle each other.

It was getting closer to show time at Green Elephant. Although he doesn’t perform until later at night, Ashxs is the kind of artist that shows up early to shows to watch others artists perform and socialize with the people attending. That’s something that not every artist does and it’s very much appreciated by locals. We leave Deep Ellum in separate cars and meet back up at the venue. Ashxs wanted to see one of friend’s band’s perform at 8. As the first band was performing , you see Ashxs in the crowd, skateboard under his feet, rocking out with his “Pretty in Pink” pinky nail 💅