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DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU:
PEACE TO EARL SIMMONS. I LOVE THE NEW SONG, DOG! LOL!
http://www.zshare.net/audio/15903250b3912d25/
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THE GAME IS A FUCKING FOOL. HERE'S HIS SONG WITH LIL WAYNE. I CAN'T BELIEVE HE SAYS SOME OF THIS SHIT:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/1585326089f0b4a7/
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A NEW TALIB KWELI DOCUMENTARY IS GWANNIN DOWN:
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BILL O'REILLY CALLED KANYE A PATRIOT FOR DOING STUFF LIKE THIS?
WOW.
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HEY, CHECK IT OUT, THIS IS EMPIRE ISIS OUTTA MONTREAL:
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AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST: MINDBENDER'S ROCK THE BELLS TORONTO REVIEW!
ow. it hurt a bit more this year. i pushed myself.
standing for 12 hours on a concrete floor isn't recommended to anyone... unless you're gonna see Nas get possessed by the spirit of Malcolm X and get all Huey on a ninja!
my adventure from last year was not duplicated, obviously, as this year's RTB made it to Toronto (peace to Alaska)
I got there, got my passes, and went in to enjoy the show. I got a big fat shoutout from MURS that everyone told me about but I wasn't there to hear it cause I was trying to find a copy of my article to give to the Pharcyde (I failed. I found out later that they were waiting for me in the Media room, but I couldn't hear my name on the overcom. Boo-urns again) But for the most part, this show just showed me how close/far I am to making my reality out of my dreams.
tonight's the night (if I knew Redman was going to perform it, I would have brought a gun to bust in the air, ha ha)
Kids In The Hall were decent. They did their 'Driving Down the Block' remix but no El-P remix (more boo-urns). They also did something over 'A Milli' with I think Naledge playing the MPC pads with live drumsticks. Neat-o.
Mindbender and K-Os (one day... :cheers: )
DJ Scratch and Supernatural were on a tear that day... fuckin shit up large between sets. Scratch sampled himself in a little machine and made his own version of the 'A Milli' beat, then threw in a snare and kick, and Supernat went to town. If he could ever make a record to match the brilliance of his freestyles... it'd be on.
They did a great version of 'Push It' and Supernat did a good Trevor Smith, appropriately flowing through all parts, such as "get low, Buss" and so forth. They did some reggae stuff that I don't think they would normally do in the States, and though they had good intentions, Toronto crowds didn't take to it toooo much, cause we know some of y'all Americans don't really do the dancehall reggae bizness and ting, so we know you be Ja-fakin' the funk. Scratch still made some ill riddims with that machine. Supernat just needs to eeeease back a likkle on the rap-chatter... or spend 6 months in Kingston, immersed in Yardie Kulcha
one of Supernat's ill freestyle lines: "Hip hop's my father/ birthed by Kool Herc, raised by Bambaataa" :hooray:
next up, could it be?
is that...
yes, it's the father of Erykah Badu's new baby!
Jay Electronica. What can I say? I feel for the brother. I feel LIKE the brother. And Lil Wayne thought he was Misunderstood? Ha! Jay is the poster boy for stunted growth and misdirected potential. If he finds the Dr. Dre to his Snoop Dogg, he will be great for hip hop's future. As it stands, even HE knows how many internal obstacles he must overcome to manifest what he wants to give to this culture.
Starting with his rap over "Bittersweet Symphony", he tried to cobble together some semblance of a set, but sabotaged himself almost every time. He got two songs off after his intro, which didn't connect completely, his mic sounding low and his voice not coming through clear. Soundman's fault? Maybe, maybe not. Jay's response? Start a crowd chant-along: "SOUNDMAN - FIX THAT MIC! FIX THAT MIC! FIX THAT MIC!"
Jay killed most of his momentum to complain about poor sound, but he also kept changing his show mid-moment, telling his DJ to cut records off and turn beat volumes down and what not. He rocked the '7 Nation Army' beat too, and tried to make some kind of show, but all I saw was pregnant potential, not much manifestation. He said "I know I talk too much..." but then, kept talking. Dude, just rap. And please don't rap a dope acapella that didn't work on the beat, then perform the song again, except trying to do it on the same beat... again. He performed about 6 songs worth of time, but not much resonated, except the negative moments. It was odd when he finally got his sound together near the end and turned and said "Soundman, I forgive you. 20 blessings for you in the Here After!" like he was Lord Krisha. He has everything it takes, just not assembled in the right alignment yet.
It was proven when near the end of his set, he was just like "maaaan... FUCK THIS MIC!" and threw the cordless device 50 feet into the air across the room, where a frantic fan caught it. "Take it outta my check!" Jay replied.
Last but not least, I heard the roar of the impending wrath of Jay when he said as his outro "I know my show needs to get better... and it will! But to all you bloggers out there hating on me, when I see you face to face, I got nothing but fire for you!!!"
Word? Ha ha, I can't to see who gets roasted. I mean, I hope Jay doesn't think he's beyond criticism. Torch those who aren't constructive. But there's no way in the world ANYBODY, from Jay Electron fans to Okayplayers themselves who wouldn't think Jay's show needed some solid fine-tuning, as it stands. I like your music and your performance, and I'll still suggest improvements for you. If we got beef now... wow. Rap is outta control!
oh yeah, Jay had a scepter. He threw it around for people to hold onto while he was rockin.
and do you dig his space boots?
i'd wear them, ha ha
Mindbender and Jay Electronica. We'd make some disgusting shit together, yup.
next up: Making the Universe Recognize and Submit
rocked shit. gave me a huuuuuuge shoutout from onstage, talking about how people should support "creative independent artists like Mindbender". He was mad fun to watch. I wish he had a DJ so his show didn't stop after every song, it would be a more fun ride with continuity... I dig MURS, still.
he did:
Better Than Your Favorite Rapper
Bad Man
Hustler
Walk Like A Man
and a few others
announced the 'Sweet Lord' album, and was just cool ass MURS.
big up to Intellicon! WE REPPIN' teh :phila:
Yo, is that the Fuzzy Logic named Noah 23? why, yes it is:
between sets, Supernat had an AMAZING freestyle about being the X-men, and he also did a sick freestyle about resurrecting dead rappers. He also said: "peace to Obama and fuck John McCain" (no duhhhh :)
De La Soul isn't dead:
Pos got PISSSSSED at the soundman too. Their set was screwed up a few times, and Pos wasn't having it. They were ANGRY. That soundman really is probably out of a job today.
De La started with what really sounded like a new song.
Then "Stakes Is High", to which I screamed so loud, Dilla heard me. Then:
Pease Porridge
Whatever Happened to the MCs (where the tide shifted... as Dave asked "how many MCs we got in here?" there was almost crickets... if you asked that at a rap show 5 years ago everybody including the bartender and the busboy would have raised their hand... it's kinda dangerous to be a REAL MC-e-e :grin: )
Potholes in my Lawn
Much More
Buddy (this song officially is older than some kids at the show. many didn't know it.)
Me, Myself and I
Saturdays
Ego Trippin' (where Trugoy once again refused to perform the song!!! :nut: I don't like when he decided the people aren't going "AAAAH! AAAAH!" loud enough, so he decides to repeatedly say over and over "yup yup big trucker man's rollin in town" LIKE 20 TIMES OVER, while Posdnous sits there kinda annoyed and watches Dave refuse to rap the verse until Maseo just shuts the record down. Dave just says stuff like "scream 'yabba dabba doo', y'all!" and what not. Some weird ass shit! That's one of their best songs to rap to, and I've seen Dave fuck it up more than once. Not fun.)
Grind Date
Rock.KoKane.Flow (and they still only perform one verse three times. So odd.)
Yogurt
Jay Electronica loving off De La Soul
Jay chillin beside me, watching De La. Jay is a hip hop lover for real, I feel his joy and pain :)
THE PHARCYDE RETURNS
it's official: the magic is a mystery still floating in the air... and some people ain't never smelled that magic.
Pharcyde always was an anomaly, and it was proven to be even more so, seeing them rock for the 2008 rap audience. People seemed to think something special was happening, but they didn't participate like so. The live band was a nice touch, but I want to hear more people go fucking nuts when they hear a classic song like 'Pack the Pipe' performed in its entirety. Their energy was good, but they did look like they were still getting used to each other a bit. They still possess that hip hop spirit, even if some people don't know how to assess the odd energy they are witnessing when watching Imani, Bootie Brown, Fatlip and Slim Kid 3. I loved it, personally. I hated the fact that I had an interview scheduled with Pharcyde that I didn't even schedule, and they waited 10 minutes to meet up with me but I never even knew! Blecch. I'ma catch up with you guys later, yo!
they performed:
Otha Fish
Runnin' (got this song is glorious to sing along to live)
Head Nigga In Charge
Why?
Pack the Pipe
some shit that sounded like Pharcyde shit from 'Testing the Waters' or something
Drop
Passin' Me By (which seemed to trigger a lot of people's noggins like "oh yeah! THAT'S where i know these guys from... too bad they didn't realize how great 'Otha Fish' and everything else is as well)
and as the encore:
Oh Shit
Hip hop still needs Pharcyde, fuck what you heard!
Good times.
DJ Green Lantern got on next and warmed up the crowd with some Simon Says type lubrication... something had to work since THE VENUE RAN OUT OF BEER (not that I even drink much, i'm just sayin)
MOS DEF was next.
and me and a friend have basically come to the conclusion that MOS DEF IS LOSING HIS MARBLES
Spacey, abstract, vague, disconnected... they all describe Mos Def's personality between songs. Positive, inviting, compelling, magnetic... not so much, anymore. He's still got it, but like I said about his mind: he's losing it. I don't think he wants to be the hip hop golden boy everyone wanted him to be, anymore. So he's retreated into this weird space where he shows flashes of the old self, while concealing who he is now, cause it sure isn't the same guy who made half of the BlackStar album.
Mos Def didn't allow many pics as everyone else, I don't know how many I got.
He performed:
Hip Hop
The New Danger
2 of those new Madlib produced songs from his new album 'The Ecstatic'
then Mos Def zoned out and started becoming the rambling man, expressing random positivities and personal jokes and what not... not connecting to the crowd but still giving them some of his personality to enjoy... he was talking randomly over 5 reggae records, singing along to some, ignoring others... the last dancehall record was a nice segue into
Definition (Mos performed his verse and Kweli's, but stopped at the first chorus)
then he did Umi Says
and had an outro that had nothing to do with Ms. Fat Booty. The last 3 times I've seen him, he hasn't performed this song. I wonder why...
An assassination happened next. A living legend was treated like a punk chump, and it was gruesome to behold.
Rakim was supposed to go on after De La, but he was apparently in a car accident, so the whole show was rearranged.
He finally got to the venue, and tried to rock... and after the first song... BZZZT!
Kid Capri, you actually want MUSIC to come out those turntables? Naah, B!
Ra started fine with
Don't Sweat the Technique
then the sound died.
Next, Rakim went into an acapella of "Eric B Is President"... and exposed how few people in the crowd knew the words.
It was painful, I saw Ra's disappoinment up close. He was like "aw come on man"
the whole time, loud buzzes and bass bursts are interrupting him, and nothing was working.
sounded like this
and he was PISSED.
Rakim stopped at one point 10 minutes into the show, said "FUCK THIS, I OWE YOU ONE TORONTO" and almost walked off stage.
Like the scene out of a movie, Kid Capri tries ONE LAST TIME to get some sound, and you hear *chewy chewy BAM*
as the horns to 'Guess Who's Back' come through the speakers, mostly clearly.
It's 4 bars of intro before Ra starts rapping, and you see the look in his eyes like "should I or shouldn't I keep going on doing this fucked up show?", but like a professional, he jumps in the song like "it's the return of the wild style fashionist..."
and people are somewhat satisfied.
Then he does a hype version of:
Paid in Full
tested people again to see who knew Microphone Fiend (more than before, but less than half)
Know the Ledge
and then after the sound started fucking up AGAIN, Rakim said "I'm done, peace out" but his body language said "FUCK THIS BULLSHIT". Rightfully so.
Considering how chest-crushingly loud the sound did get for some acts, it was insane to have it waver between section 8 ghetto house party stability and world class level stadium clarity. Chaos won. Rakim lost.
okay, the rest of the show, I've seen before... I still watched and enjoyed, but not like usual. I moved around and handled some other business... but still saw
Method and Redman rip shit up
they performed
4321 (I was soooo happy to hear them do it, both of them slay that song)
Tonight's The Night (Reggie ripped shit)
Bring the Pain
I'll Be Dat
Ice Cream beat with Method Man saying "show me them titties, ladies"
Da Goodness
All I Need
Fallout
then they brought out StreetLife who rapped for a few verses
then they did How High
Reggie Noble
Meth and Red
Nas was next, and I've never seen him so focused. NEVER.
I've seen him maybe 5 times now, and his political thoughts were never so clear and concise. He didn't seem blunted and aloof, he was engaging and expressive. His oratory was never wiser, I loved it all.
He started with
Master and the Slave
Breathe
then he did a SCORCHING version of 'Sly Fox', all 3 verses. I screamed most of it, I love that track.
then it was time for the 90's era Nasty Nas snippet tape
NY State of Mind
It Ain't Hard to Tell
Represent
Street Dreams
If I Ruled the World (full jam)
then into:
Hero
Hate Me Now
Get Down
Made U Look
then, different than other shows, he finished with One Mic and said peace. His mind was sharper than ever, and it was amazing to see him so focused on aligning his actions to his lyrics. Nas is God and the best rapper on the planet today, sorry Weezy. You're fighting your purp addiction, Nas is fighting Fox News. Nas wins.
^^^ A Mindbender MagicPic Special. See DJ Green Lantern's little head up there? LOL
Last was ATCQ, but this was the worst of the three reunion shows I've seen... that's relative to two other insane shows, mind you. Ali Shaheed Muhammad was a touch off point today, a couple of his glitches made the show an 8 instead of a 9 or 10.
Q-Tip's solo set before the show was actually cool. 5-piece live band. Kanye-ish digital screen. ALIFE t-shirt with 'Excursions' lyrics on front. Good shit.
He did his new single Getting Up, which is aiight
Sucka N!gga
Excursions
Breathe and Stop
Vivrant Thang
Mos Def came out and did half a song with him, it was dooope to see. When Mos ain't thinking about it, he's pure hip hop. As soon as he starts to overthink things, some weird part of his personality takes over and dulls his shine.
the Midnight Marauders Robot Lady introduced Tribe with the good ol' "A. E. I. O. U. and. some. times. Y." segment, and it was just ILL.
ATCQ did:
Buggin Out
Oh My God
Lyrics To Go (which sounded ~awesome~)
Verses from the Abstract (a nice surprise)
Jazz
Steve Biko
Find A Way
Electric Relaxation (where Phife did his lyrics in a kinda funny style around the part where Lupe Fiasco fucked up his lyrics, LOL)
Bonita Applebum
Check the Rhime
Award Tour
FINITO
the venue cleared out about 1/3rd before the first big kick of the bassline from 'Can I Kick It?' came in, and everyone ran back to hear one last song. Ali Shaheed accidentally played the same first bass note between Bonita Applebum and Check The Rhime when he was loading up the beat, so it wasn't as much of a surprise as it might have been. They did it, and ended it off "as we inhale like a... BIG BAG OF WEEEEEEEEED!"
Bells = rocked.
I seen EVERYBODY on the bill at least a few times before. I felt no need to take pictures with everyone again... been there, done that. I just wanted to enjoy the show and get some good footage, which I did. (I got lots of video! If I want to get a videocamera in there, I ain't gonna let nobody can stop my jedi mind tricks) I'm working now so that next year I'm on the RTB Canada stage, plus who knows what else...
good times in teh YOTMB continue forever
maybe RZA and GZA this weekend, then next up is Caribana, featuring a Ludacris concert, and the Clipse performing with Kardinal and Akon and dem down the street from here.
and it don't stop and it don't quit
thank you for your time
thank you Jason Gloss
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