Hip-hop star Finesse2Tymes set for show Sunday

Brian Durst wished upon a star. And the star, best known in the hip-hop world as Finesse2Tymes, agreed to play at Venue 18 in Fostoria on Sunday. Tickets are now available at www.skeletix.com, and general admission will be available at the door for $40 each. "He's really, really big," said Durst, promoter for Venue 18 as well as being a songwriter/performer/producer. "I'm surprised we were even able to get him to come to our little neck of the woods. Usually, somebody of his caliber goes to Columbus or Toledo, so I just feel like I've been doing a really good job lately and being able to pull in some of these bigger names. I'm kind of proud of myself on this one, to be honest with you." Finesse2Tymes, whose actual name is Ricky Hampton, is a 32-year-old Memphis native who entered the music industry in 2012. It took the better part of a decade to make a name for himself. "In 2019, he had that 'Hustle and Flow' mixtape," said Durst, a Fostoria native who will be one of seven opening acts. "That's how I got hip to him." In 2022, Finesse2Tymes' song titled "Back End" made it into the Billboard Hot 100. In between, from 2010 to 2022, Finesse2Tymes served two separate prison terms that amounted to nearly 10 years, first for armed robbery and then for being a felon in possession of a firearm. "Back End" became a hit shortly after he got out of prison in 2022. At present, he's on a 40-city North American tour titled "Stuck in My Ways." "I've got to give it up to him," Durst said. "That's hard work. That's dedication. I mean, he's been in the game for so long, too. So many things could have brought him down. Most people probably couldn't withstand a couple of prison sentences that long and still come back and be even stronger, if not bigger than he ever was. That' cool, man. I really hope he keeps on this path and does good shows and sells out and keeps a good name for himself. He's doing really well. He's doing huge numbers." Finesse2Tymes is shoehorning his Fostoria show in between performances in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday night, and Monday night in Pittsburgh. The quote "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" is commonly attributed to Roman philosopher Seneca. That would seem so in Durst's instance of landing Finesse2Tymes. "Like with everybody else, I just reached out," Durst said. "Sometimes they hit me back and sometimes they don't, and on this one I got lucky. I try to keep tabs. If I see a celebrity post a tour and there's a bunch of open dates, I try to make one of those work. In this case, it is a Sunday, which isn't particularly ideal, but for somebody of his caliber to be in Fostoria, Ohio, we'll take it. We will 100% take it and be happy with it." Venue 18 will open at 5 p.m., Sunday, with performances scheduled to begin at 6.