4. No take-twos.

5. Show up early for mic checks.

6. You can sign up and leave, but if your name is called and you’re not there, going once, going twice, on to the next one.

7. No jumping on stage.

8. Keep your friends in check.

9. Bring your own equipment, take it when you’re done.

10. Be professional, go hard and good luck.

In spite of this ritual, Torch and charismatic longtime Tuesday host Bis (who has only very recently been replaced by a new MC, Southside, as a result of Bis’s increasingly busy schedule as a teacher and coach with District 186) have assured me that nearly every one of these commandments finds itself broken on a regular basis. In fact, I personally witnessed a particularly egregious incident of mic-dropping on my first visit to Torch Tuesday, but will respectfully withhold the name of the perpetrator.

[SOUND EFFECTS: “Pomp and Circumstance” fades to silence]

Of course, not all potential problems attendant to running a hip-hop open mic are as lighthearted as, say, losing your place in line or damaging a microphone. Hip-hop music and culture is often linked with violence in the mind of the public, and while Torch and his group of performers do their best to keep things peaceful and positive, it has sometimes been a challenge.

“When I first started, it felt like a juggling act almost,” Torch remembers. “I had people in my corner who went to bat for me so Torch Tuesday could happen, but I realized that one bad thing could have ruined it all. There was a point where I brought in a sheriff, a good friend of mine named Officer Knox, who’s on the gang task force. I hired him to patrol the parking lot out back [behind Bar None], and that was a deterrent for any of the riffraff that might come associated with this type of scene. I mean, music is music,” he adds, “but sometimes, there’s a culture that comes along with it, and sometimes people fear what they don’t understand, so, like, that [hiring security] helped not only Bar None but those who endorsed me, to feel a little bit more comfortable, like, ‘OK, he’s invested too.’” “Another thing, too, man, I’m real spiritual, and my faith – I’m a Christian – also keeps me grounded, and keeps the flame lit a little bit, you know, as far as faith, hope and giving some positive words to some of the rappers. Truth is, only about 60 percent of the people coming out for Tuesdays now are left, out of the group that started with me a year and a half ago.” He sighs as the memories flood back. “A couple of really talented guys, who I started out having big hopes for, went to prison. One guy got in a motorcycle accident and he passed away. And that’s the kind of thing that really takes the air out of you.