Bakes Performs "My Opinion" Live on the Wish USA Bus

I woke up before dawn in San Diego, drove to Los Angeles, and performed "My Opinion" live on the Wish USA Bus. One take, one camera, no crowd. This is what that day was like, what the Wish bus actually is, and what it taught me about performing as an independent artist.

What Is the Wish USA Bus?

The Wish USA Bus is a live performance series from Wish USA. Artists perform inside a bus, stripped down, with the camera a few feet away. There is no stage, no crowd noise and no safety net. It is just you, the mic and the lens.

That setup is the whole point. On a festival stage, energy and volume can carry a set. On the Wish bus, nothing carries you. Every word lands or it does not, and everyone watching can tell which. If your pen game is not real, the Wish USA bus will show it.

The Drive Up From San Diego

I left San Diego before the sun came up. If you have made that run up the I-5, you know the stretch past Camp Pendleton right as the sky starts turning. That drive became part of the preparation. I ran the verses in my head the whole way up, not to memorize them (I know my own words) but to get the pocket right, the pauses, the places where the breath goes.

By the time I pulled into LA, I was locked in. That is the difference between showing up and showing up ready.

Performing "My Opinion" Live on the Wish Bus

I chose "My Opinion" for a reason. It is one of my most direct records: straight commentary on the state of modern rap, no hook to hide behind, delivered with precision. It came out as a single in 2022 and it is also on my album From the Ground Up, both produced by Isiah Salazar. A song like that is built for a room like the Wish bus, because the words are the whole song.

Performing it in that space was different from any stage I have been on. No crowd to feed off of. Just a small, quiet space and a camera catching every word, every breath, every bar. You feel the silence between lines in a way you never do at a show. It forces you to trust the writing.

Read along with the performance: the full "My Opinion" lyrics.

What One Take Teaches You

A studio lets you fix things. The Wish bus does not. Here is what that pressure taught me:

• Know the record cold. Not memorized, lived in. When there is no second take, you cannot be reaching for the next line.
• Breath control is half the performance. In a quiet space the mic hears everything. Plan where you breathe the same way you plan where the punchlines land.
• Perform to one person. The camera is a few feet away. Talk to it like you are talking to one listener, because that is who is watching on the other side.
• Let the words carry it. Skip the hype adlibs that fill space at a show. In a room this small, restraint reads as confidence.

Why Platforms Like the Wish USA Bus Matter for Independent Artists

For an independent artist, a performance series like this is a different kind of exposure. People are not seeing an ad. They are watching a real performance and deciding in real time whether the music hits. You cannot buy that kind of first impression. You earn it by being ready when the camera turns on.

It was also validation for me. Stadium, warehouse or a moving bus: the words work because they are real. That is what being a lyrical artist means to me. The song should hold up with everything stripped away.

How to Prepare If You Get a Wish Bus Style Session

If you get the chance to perform on the Wish bus or any live session like it, take it, and treat it like the biggest show of your year:

1. Pick the right song. Choose a record where the lyrics are the star, not the beat drop.
2. Rehearse in a small room. Practice with no monitors and the mic close, so the real session feels familiar.
3. Show up early and calm. The drive, the wait and the setup all happen before the red light. Protect your energy.
4. Make the clip work after the day. Share it, pin it, send it to your list. The performance keeps working long after the session ends.

The Takeaway

Wake up early. Make the drive. Show up prepared. These are the moments that compound. The music industry rewards artists who can perform anywhere, anytime, with nothing but their voice and their words. That is the standard I hold myself to.

If this performance is your first time hearing me, start with the rest of the catalog on the music page, find every platform on the listen page, and if you want to rep it, the Divine Timing capsule is in the store.