So I was back in Philly with family and friends, to celebrate the life of my Aunt Kay (R.I.P.). Within my travels I was able to connect with some cousins, aunts, and uncles that I haven't seen in years. So after family time from the week, the weekend was open to absorb all the Hip Hop that was planned this weekend.
First, Saturday afternoon, me and my crew parlayed over "Jeffries" and drinks while discussing/debating/listening to Hip Hop (old & new music). The Roots' "How I Got Over," Jean Grae's "Jeanius," Slum Village's "Villa Manifesto, & Money Making Jam Boys' "10 Deep Presents The Prestige" were on constant rotation. We were impressed with Kendrick Lamar's "Self-Titled EP" & "Overly Dedicated," Skyzoo's "Penny Freestyle Series," Reks' "Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme," XV's "Zero Heroes" and "LRG Presents Exile-Intro To The Outro" mixtape. Needless to say we had a very good session. That Saturday evening we hyperdrived through the Tri-State and ended in Delaware to catch, "Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest." This movie was literally mind blowing!!! I can't say or explain enough how much I violently LOVE that documentary....SALUTE and Big UP Michael Rapport and ATCQ! I had the Best Saturday to date....
Sunday is the big day. Sunday is FOOTBALL and the Eagles season opener and the Black Star Show/Concert! Black Star you ask? YES! Mos Def & Talib Kweli performing as Black Star in Philly! Can you say 'speechless...'
So here's a recap: Doors opened at 6pm EST, so before we make our entrance we "stroke the furry wall" (if you're not up on this then watch the movie "Get Him To The Greek") to elevate to a different plane than the ones mere mortals chill at. We were on some Mount Olympus, Asgard Immortal *ish. We entered around 6:45pm to the sounds of a DJ getting the atmosphere correct. And it was working...Hip Hop in the background and two trips to the bar, everything was RIGHT!I'm not going to lie and tell you who was the opening act (I don't even know how good or bad they were) but I do remember the opening act's DJ playing Little Wayne, Aubrey Drake, and other radio friendly alternative rap (this is when Hip Hop took a bathroom break I would imagine). Severely disappointed and listening to unfamiliar territory, another trip to the bar was in order! This is when I noticed the crowd. The crowd was a mixture of sex, creed, nationalities, race, religion, etc...a decent "melting pot" mixture. But the most noticeable difference was the age bracket and occupation. I don't accurately know the percentage; however, it is safe to say that the crowd was mostly (70-80%) college students.
This was only noticeable because these were kids. And when I mean kids, I mean babies 18 to 23 years of age. They were to young to know first hand of the original Black Star movement. Curiosity is an understatement.... I was way too curious to see how this would turn out (I actually prayed that Philly wouldn't disappoint and show the Love Black Star deserves) because what I noticed was these weren't Hip Hop Heads but devoted fans to Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Black Star respectively.
So it's 8:00pm, 3 drinks in and still stroking the furry wall, opening act ending, the opening DJ is back for what I would assume was an hour set for intermission until DJ J Rocc & Black Star took the stage. This is where it gets interesting; the time is now about 10pm and no sign of Black Star. This DJ rocked for 2 hours and he showed true DJ mechanics, so he wasn't bad at all for a turntablelist. But the crowd was relentless. They booed this cat for the simple and only fact that DJ (insert name [don't remember; stroking the furry wall]) was not Black Star. I felt bad for my man but that quickly changed as he maintained his cool and did his thing. His song selection was questionable but resources for an hour stretched into over 2 hours, I expected less but got more; he came through. Salute and Big UP to DJ...???... Who did Hip Hop proud that Sunday night....The crowd wasn't into Hip Hop per se; they weren't feeling DJ sets and no one attempted any B-Boying. They were there to see a Black Star show and not a Hip Hop event.
10:15pm (plus or minus 10-15minutes) DJ J Rocc appears on stage. He was fighting an uphill battle because the crowd was very restless. After brief introductions, DJ J Rocc showed the crowd an essential element of Hip Hop: The DJ! DJ J Rocc absolutely obliterated the wheels; very impressive. Salute and Big UP DJ J Rocc!!! Now it's time for Black Star and the energy was crazy. Black Star came out well after 10pm for a venue that started at 6pm but there were no complaints though (until afterwards by way of Twitter *SDMH*). Black Star KILLED IT! Mos was hyped as *ish and Talib was on his Fonzi (get Gutter Rainbows to catch that Frisbee [shout out Skyzoo]). Throughout the night the two attacked every song with a Yin-Yang balance feeding off of each other and the crowd. Oh! The crowd was amazing! For the crowd to be so restless and showing lack of Hip Hop integrity, they showed up. They gave off crazy energy that later manifested into an hour encore set from Black Star! They new every word to every song whether it was a Black Star, Talib, or Mos Def song. I stood proud (in VIP of course) in Philly at a Black Star show with Philly young bucks (male & female) representing; and to remind you, these weren't B-Boys & B-Girls.
I spent my entire adult life (to date) in the military and when timing is crucial, it's relevant. I've never been able to see a Hip Hop show since being in the military because the timing was never right. Once I got out of the military, I told myself never to take for granted the little stuff again; the big stuff will take care of itself. So since being out the military, I've been able to live my dream and front line for Hip Hop! I got to be up close and personal with Jean Grae (my heart), saw Jean Grae perform (amazing show), saw The Legendary Roots Crew perform (also an amazing show), talked briefly with Black Thought, started a Hip Hop Blog with good feedback thus far, conversed (virtually via Twitter and ScratchVision.com) with DJ Scratch & DJ Kid Capri, connected with a crew of crazy MCs (The Writer's Guild) in all places Arizona, I finally saw the ATCQ movie/documentary, and watched Black Star perform to kids while this old head sat back and enjoyed a taste of the Hip Hop Good Life! Now I need to see Pharaohe Monch perform and have a "Jeffrey" session with conversations about anything with Jean Grae, Black Thought, and Pharoahe Monch; THEN MY HIP HOP BUCKET LIST WILL BE COMPLETE.
RAP IS SOMETHING YOU DO, HIP-HOP IS SOMETHING YOU LIVE!
...from the immortal words of Jean Grae, “SCRABBLEBEOTCH”
Salute
Philly aka Philly2AZ aka Mr. Who is That aka Mr. I throw up when I hear wack shit!
UNO
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