Rapping, dancing and spoken words were some of the creative pieces performed Wednesday in 7th Street Underground for the Wild N’ Out “Freestyle” Open Mic night.

The University Board Mainstage and Comedy hosted the event, which will continue with a second part Thursday.

Akaash Singh, a comedian and cast member from the TV comedy improv show “Wild N’ Out,” will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday in 7th Street Underground.

Unique Anibaba, a senior kinesiology and sports studies major, said storytelling is an important part of freestyling.

“Story telling is 100 percent true stories,” Anibaba said.

He said he regularly performs at open mic nights similar to the one on Wednesday.

Anibaba performed his compilation story called “Notorious Thots,” which was about about two promiscuous women on drugs he knew when he was a teenager.

Laughter came from the audience when he announced the title of his piece.

He said he wanted the title of his performance to grab people’s attention.

Anibaba said these women were the first people to hear him perform anything he wrote, and he said they went crazy with excitement when they heard what he had to say.

“Crying for help but never got the courage to call,” he said during his performance. The audience cheered for Anibaba when he paused, then grew silent when he spoke again.

Anibaba spoke about the pain he saw these women go through before they both died from a drug overdose.

Reginald Crump (Reggie C.), a sophomore communication studies major, was the winner of the open mic night.

Crump rapped a song he wrote called “Bass Reeves,” which pointed out the injustices in the African-American community.

The audience engaged and cheered for him while he performed the song he wrote.

“Since it’s Black History Month, I wanted to implement something that related to our culture,” he said.

Bass Reeves was one of the first black Deputy U.S. Marshals, and his story matched the old west theme for the song, Crump said.

“It’s not about the brand of your show; here’s a hint. The steps you take don’t mean (anything) if you don’t leave a print,” he said.

The audience screamed and cheered for him when he stood on stage waiting to see who won the battle for first place for the night.

He said he has been writing since he was in fourth grade and never stopped.

African-American role models are something he was concerned about, especially in music because musicians have a major influence the community.

“Some of the music promotes negativity,” Crump said.

He said he aspires to be a professional rapper, and his mix tape will be coming out next month.

Kristin Lewis can be reached at 581-2812 or kelewis@eiu.edu.