No Business Like Show Business

"Kid, ya gonna be large!!!"

                                             

Underground.  Underestimated. Undervalued. Golden Era.  Those are the words that come to mind when I think of EPMD. Never in the history of Hip Hop has there been a duo who stood the test of time like these two. And yet, I still don't feel like they get the proper credit they deserve.  Last week, I was blessed with a live performance by them at the Knitting Factory- and it was everything I expected from this legendary pair.  Eric Sermon and Parrish Smith have always literally been about their business.  Check the resume: Strictly Business (1988), Unfinished Business (1989), Business As Usual (1990), Business, Never Personal (1992) Back in Business (1997) Out of Business (1999) We Mean Business (2008).  And nothing has changed.  They still  make it their biz to command a crowd without being extra. They give the people what they want. No theatrics. No pyrotechnics.  Just dope beats and lyrics coming out of Long Island, NY.

Of course they did what they do best. Rough Rugged and Raw.  Eric and Parrish launched into Please Listen to My Demo and the hits didn't stop coming.  Backed by the equally legendary DJ Scratch on the turntables, they ran through their catalog of singles that hits just has hard as it did back in '88 and beyond.  There's something about how the beat to Strictly Business starts up that just takes you somewhere.  I looked around at the sea of faces and watched as they recited every lyric in sync with them.  A part of me was waiting for LL to jump out during Rampage, or even Redman for the Headbanger but it wasn't even necessary.  They held it down- just the two of them. Going line for line on joints like You Gots To Chill, Crossover, Jane and So Wat Chu Sayin', they haven't lost their touch.  Not by a long shot.  That effortless flow and the easy way they exchange verses comes from years of really knowing one another and knowing what works. They are tried and true crowd pleasers because they've mastered that formula. And they understand how important it is for that brand of Hip Hop to remain relevant.  The Green Eyed Bandit kept it a hundred when he said onstage that he's not a broke ass hater.  Make no mistake. It's just that most of what you hear nowadays is wack.  That's how he launched into Da Joint. And I quote, "It's not about me fallin' off. I'm good. It's not that I don't have money.  Matta fact...I make a million bucks..." Ooh wee...that was hot.

Still, it would have been nice to hear the classic Gold Digger before they departed. Or even the lesser known It's Going Down off the Juice Soundtrack- just for the die hards such as myself.  I mean...they were among the patrons gettin' stuck up by Blizzard in the bar at like 11 in the morning.  Ha! Remember that?  Shout out to my peoples, Dinco D who I saw up in there. I'll be back in the building next month to check his performance with Leaders of the New School  and Son of Beserk.  All in all, it was a really good show. They closed with Just Like Music off Eric's solo mission and everyone left satisified. It made me realize that when it comes to Eric and Parrish Making Dollars, I'll always make it MY BUSINESS to show love. 

Now press play...

Black Star Keeps Shining

Can I  just start off by saying I love my life?  Thanks to good friendships and even better memories (despite the consumption of Cannabis)  I got the chance to take in Mos Def and Talib Kweli last night at the Electric Factory in Philly.  My homeboy deejays for Talib and was thoughtful enough to set some tickets aside for yours truly.  As always, they killed it.  But I'd be lying if I said that the show didn't get off to a slow start. It's no one's fault, really.  I just think the nuts and bolts of the show could have been tighter.  There was a considerable amount of downtime between sets, and I feel that took away from the consistent energy that could have been.

This marks the middle of Mos Def's tour for his latest album, The Ecstatic. Jay Electronica blessed the stage first.  I never saw him live before but was not disappointed.  He has lyrical skill combined with comedic timing.  His rendition of Rick James' Give It To Me, Baby tested the audience's knowledge of the lyrics.  I seemed to be the only one who knew the second verse. "Guess that's why I'm so elated!" Jay brought out former Floetry Songstress, Marsha Ambrosius who sang a quick breakdown of who she is and where she's been since the days of splitting from the Floacist, Natalie Stewart.  Also, Jay shared a bit of R&B trivia with the crowd when he mentioned that the King of Pop himself requested a song that Marsha penned which later became Michael's hit, Butterflies. Jay ended his set with The Pledge  (click on that, you won't be sorry) and then introduced Talib Kweli and my boy, DJ Chaps. Shout outs again to Chippytay for looking out with those tickets. Love ya, Bro.

Kweli did a select combination of songs from albums Train of Thought; Reflection Eternal, The Beautiful Struggle and most recently, Ear Drum.  Then he wowed everyone with an acappella  freestyle verse that showcased his propensity for breath control.  Your boy goes in!  By the time the beat dropped for Get By the crowd was well oiled for his Black Star counterpart. Like I said before, the lapse in time before he got onstage drew away from the energy, but not for long.  By the time the Mighty Mos hit the stage, all was forgiven. He showed up on the far right corner of the stage skillfully beating the hell out of some drums, which can't be easy to do.  I didn't even know it was him at first. But there he was, spitting verses while simultaneously playing the drums like Animal from the Electric Mayhem Band.  What? I can't be the only one who was raised up on a steady diet of Sesame Street and the Muppet Show. He did a lot of new songs from the latest album- but I honestly haven't heard it yet so it was hard to follow.  The real highlight came when Kweli returned for the duo to do the well known joints from the original Black Star album.  They both shined while performing Thieves in the Night and still had me pondering, "Where were you the day Hip-Hop died? Is it too early to mourn? Is it too late to cry?" On Respiration, the only element missing was Common- who has one of my favorite verses he's ever spit on that particular track.

Mos Def went on to do more songs from his solo albums as only Black Dante can.  His voice was so full of pain on U R the One, that I still don't think he's over that woman yet. Of course, no show  of his would be complete without Ms. Fat Booty and he brought it in by first playing the entire sample of Aretha Franklin's One Step Ahead. Classic.  I've seen the Boogie Man perform before and he tends to end every show with Umi Says as folks make their way to the door.  But I'm a straggler and if I wasn't, I would have missed his hilarious version of  The Greatest Love Of All as sung by Mr. Randy Watson, from the What's Going Down episode of  "That's My Momma." Yup, even with all the soulful singing and critical delivery, he still found time to make us laugh courtesy of an unforgettable character from Coming to America. I can't leave without mentioning that he shared his opinion on the whole Kanye West VMA outburst. He admitted that there is time and place for everything and Kanye made a mistake.  Dude was feelin' himself but can you ever recall a time when he wasn't ? He also said that Jay Leno deserved a homegrown ass-whoopin' on live TV for asking West what his deceased mother would have said about his mishap. What the hell?! You just don't do that. And for it to go as far as President Obama being leaked as calling him "a jackass" for it- was a major fuck-up on the press' part. That's why I love Mos.  He is in-the-know and not afraid to voice his thoughts. 

All in all, it was a dope show.  My preference is that Talib & Mos perform together, but that doesn't take away from their ability to hold their own as individuals.  Let's hope a second Black Star album is on the horizon. Da Sharon Getty can't wait to review that! For now, fill your lungs with some Respiration.

Play I Some Music...

For those of you who missed it, I'm here to run down the "Rock The Bells" concert that took place at Jones Beach yesterday. Make no mistake. This is not a formal concert review. It's just my take on the whole thing- more or less. Apparently This Bug got there too late and I missed Common. For shame...because I love his energy and he goes in. I also missed House of Pain. No harm, no foul. I'm sorry, but seeing them do Jump Around was never at the top of my to-do list. I could run down the entire line-up but I'm lazy so you can see who was there for yourself by clicking here. Anyway, the headliners definitely made the best of the their time there. Nas and Damian Marley closed the show with performances of their upcoming album, Distant Relatives. I like the premise behind it. The idea is that no matter where we are from, Queensbridge to Israel, Jamaica to the U.K., we are all distant relatives. We all bleed the same. The highlight of their show together had to be when Nas rhymed over reggae beats like Welcome to Jamroc and in turn- Damian did his thing chatting over beats like One Love from Nas' first album. The switch-up was refreshing. Prior to that, what had me open were the few members of Wu Tang bringing out ODB's son to do Shimmy Shimmy Ya. It's crazy how much he sounds like him. And his mannerisms channel the spirit of Dirty to a tee. I can't lie. I was hurt to know that Nas and Raekwon were occupying the same space but didn't perform Verbal Intercourse. Blasphemy!

But honestly, what will stay with me most about the entire Rock the Bells tour had very little to do with seeing some of my favorite MC's do what they do best. KRS-One came out onstage and had some very relevant and poignant things to say. Of course he always reps when it comes to touting the title of the "Epicenter of Hip-Hop", but he didn't do it with bravado or entitlement. He spoke about heeding the call of something bigger than yourself in order to be successful. He spoke about spiritual grounding and being exactly where the Creator wants you to be in life.  That opportunity and serendipity converge at the time when it is right for you. That's when it hit me that I was meant to be at Rock the Bells on that fine Sunday afternoon.  One Love.