Today we’re debuting a new series, “On Assignment,” a spotlight on members and the assignments that make their work unforgettable. To kick things off we recently asked members on social media to share some of these stories. The responses were surprising, engaging — and in a few cases — downright fun.
One that stood out came from Kristi Usrey, RPR, CRC, a CART captioner from Mesquite, Texas, who described captioning “Hip Hop 50 Live,” the 50th anniversary concert held at Yankee Stadium in the summer of 2023. With a setlist that ran more than nine hours, performances from more than 30 iconic artists like Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Run-D.M.C., and a 388-page prep file of lyrics, it was an assignment unlike any other. We reached out to Kristi to find out more about how she handled the pressure — and the party — from behind the captions.
JCR | Tell us about the 50th anniversary hip-hop concert. Where was it, and who were the big names performing?
KU | I grew up on hip-hop music. When I saw this assignment go out on a captioning forum, first, I was excited that it was being captioned at all. Then I knew this was something I wanted to tackle. I’d captioned concerts before, but nothing this big and with so many artists whose music I knew well. It took place at Yankee Stadium, summer of 2023, and there were about 35 artists in all who performed, mixed in with DJ sets, special recognition presentations, and local politician appearances. Artists included Kurtis Blow (one of the pioneers of hip-hop), The Sugar Hill Gang, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Lil Wayne, and the night ended with Run-D.M.C. (and I was shocked at their energy levels as it was 2 a.m.!).
JCR | What made captioning it your favorite job so far?
KU | My love for the music and the energy as well as the uniqueness of the assignment. I was able to dance along at my stand-up desk, making it even more fun, and, of course, necessary.
JCR | How did you prepare for a fast-paced event like that — any fun or surprising things you had to learn ahead of time?
KU | I got a setlist for most of the artists the day before the event and immediately got to work. I searched online for the lyrics for all the songs listed and created a text file so I could send the script and write only when they went off script (which, of course, they did, but that was expected). In all, my lyrics file was 388 pages! Some artists didn’t include their setlist, so those I had to wing. Fortunately, I knew most of the songs performed, but in the case that I didn’t, I had my phone next to me and would say, “Google, give me lyrics for Ice Cube’s ‘Check Yo Self,’” and I would read the lyrics from my phone while captioning them.
It was extremely fast-paced from start to end and ran nine and a half hours!
On the surprising side, I had to censor all profane words. I’m a big advocate for if I hear it, I caption it, because that’s true equal access … but the client insisted. So after my lyrics file was complete, I did a search for all profanity – which was a whole task in itself because of all the different variations and spellings of profanity that can be used – and I replaced those words with something like s***. I also job-defined profane language so if I was writing live, I could caption whatever was said and it would come out censored. I was definitely disappointed in that call being made.
JCR | Was there a moment during the concert that really stood out or felt unforgettable while you were captioning?
KU | Lil Wayne has been a long-time favorite rapper of mine and I’ve been to several of his shows, so I’d say getting to caption him was my favorite moment.
JCR | What was the vibe like — and did it make the experience even more exciting (or tricky)?
KU | Unfortunately, I was remote, but no doubt the crowd was wild. The times I could hear them shouting lyrics back, everyone was very into it. The energy was high for the entire event.
JCR | What advice would you give to other captioners who might want to work live entertainment events like this?
KU | These assignments are exhilarating and exhausting. They take a ton of prep and ability to flex in a split second because of their unpredictability. Being able to go with the flow is crucial because there’s always something that’s tweaked or added or skipped with no notice. I’ve learned to use all the stress and anxiety as fuel.
Kristi Usrey, RPR, CRC, is a CART captioner from Mesquite, Texas. She can be reached at kristiusrey@yahoo.com.
We’d love to hear your story, too! Tell us about your favorite assignment at social@ncra.org and follow NCRA on Facebook and Instagram and turn on notifications so you won’t miss our questions. We post new prompts a couple of times a month, so there are plenty of chances to join the conversation, connect with fellow members and maybe get featured on thejcr.com!
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