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SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

~ Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

Tag Archives: big daddy kane

Let’s Take It Back To The Old School: Legends of Hip Hop Concert Tour Review

21 Thursday Aug 2008

Posted by Vivrant Thang in Feeding The Music Jones, Let's Rock: Concert Reviews

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

big daddy kane, chubb rock, grandmaster flash and the furious five, kevvy kev, kool moe dee, la sunshine, legends of hip hop, master rob, mc lyte, old school hip hop concert reviews, old school hip hop concerts, rob base, slick rick, treacherous three

by vivrant thang on legends of hip hop

I’ve mentioned in a couple of posts how hype I was about the Legends of Hip Hop Concert that went down this past weekend in Baltimore. As you know, I abhor much of the mess polluting the airwaves these days. So whenever I am blessed to catch real emcees blessing the mic I am all over it.

I’ve been falling back in love with hip hop one real emcee at a time this year. First with KRS One and more recently at Rock The Bells, which I’m still buzzing from. So I was more than ready to continue the love affair with Big Daddy Kane, KRS One, Slick Rick,  Whodini, and Doug E Fresh– all on one stage. Felt like the show needed a femcee though. Didn’t anyone give MC Lyte a call? Somebody was listening because a while later I got word that she had replaced KRS One on the roster. Could the line up get any tighter?

Yup, yup.

A couple of days before the show, I heard that Kool Moe Dee, Chubb Rock, and Rob Base had been added.  I started reminiscing about how so many of these emcees songs were in constant rotation on the soundtrack of my life. It’s times like these that I am truly glad to be a part of the thirty and over crowd. Can you imagine the bullshit these kids growing up today will be reflecting back on? Songs comparing some woman’s ass to a donkey and demanding that she suck on your “lollipop?” What a pity.

Enough of that rant.

The show started with a local R&B artist whose name escapes me. Apparently her album is big overseas. 

Perhaps if they are all going deaf over there.

I think it would have been better to have a local up and coming young hip hop artist who could have then gotten schooled by cats who have been in the game since he or she was a twinkle in their father’s eye.  Anyhow, her set was good for the comedic element alone. One of the background dancer’s tacked on ponytail went flying across the stage.  The DJ even mentioned it afterwords. Where was Dr. Dre on the lineup? I surely needed medical attention after that one.

Rob Basewas up first. Crowd was still sparse because you know how ya’ll do. But everyone got hype when he performed “It Takes Two.” Reminded me of how HOT that joint was. Definitely a defining song for me as I was growing up.

Surprisingly, Big Daddy Kane came on early in the lineup.  For a man about to put forty candles on his cake in a few weeks, he still got it. If this is what the old man in the club is selling, I’m damn sure buying! He performed some of my faves like “Raw,” “I Get The Job Done,”  “Ain’t No Half Steppin,” and “Smooth Operator.” When Scoob Lover joined him on that stage and they started warming it up, it was like the clock rewound twenty years.

So at this point in the show, it was very apparent that timing was going to be an issue. Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore shuts down at a certain time and with all the folks still left to perform, it was very obvious that we were going to be looking at abbreviated sets from artists that should have been on at least 45 minutes. I overheard the man in front of me remarking that this was NOTHING like Rock The Bells. At times, we waited up to twenty minutes between acts and there were no set changes! Not sure whose fault that all was but now that I’ve seen the prototype of how it should be, I know it doesn’t have to go down like that. I know a lot of drama often goes on behind the scenes but I figure if you can get artists like Meth and Red and Nas to come out on time, surely they could have kept it moving at this event.

Anyhow, Chubb Rock was up after Big Daddy Kane and he kept the party going. As many of the artists did, he interspersed tributes to the classic soul and reggae hits from the 80s and 90s in with his own songs. However, there was something just extra hype about his set. He is truly a great performer. I’d love to see him and Doug E Fresh emcee a party together.

Here’s Chubb performing “Treat Em Right,” another song playing on the soundtrack of my life. He even commented on the video!

Kool Moe Dee was up next. He told us that he’d seen the flier and knew he had to get in where he fit in even though the well had run dry. He blessed us with “Wild Wild West,” “I Go To Work,” and “Go See The Doctorrrrr.”

He made an important point that even though there was beef between him (a lyrical master) and LL Cool J (“on his sexy superstar shit”), they never talked about shooting each other. Word.

Later in his set, we were blessed to see Wild Style came alive on the stage as Kevvy Kev and Master Rob of  [Grandmaster Flash and The] Furious Five and LA Sunshine of The Treacherous Three performed. Thirty years of hip hop history right there. I was still in diapers when these cats were making music with their mouths. It was truly a beautiful thing.

Do the ladies run this mutha? HELL YEA! 

Hands down, Lyte  had the best intro. She came out to “Flashing Lights.” How fly was that? She was also the only one that hasn’t gained a pound since she hit the scene in ’86.  I’m real salty about that too. She’ll also be turning 40 later this year and probably looks younger now than she did back then. Can you believe that?

She’s still the dopest female that you’ve heard thus far – despite what some ignorant ass blogger had to say. She told us that one of them wrote, “Why is she still rapping?” Boy do I wish I knew what blog this was. Makes me wanna go and fly this fist against their lips! Or I could simply and post her performances of “Paper Thin,” or “Cha Cha Cha” or

Cappuchino, Poor Georgie, and 10% Dis

By the time Doug E Fresh took the stage, time was scarce. Slick Rick came out with him, although I’m sure he was supposed to have his own set. Very disappointing.  Doug E Fresh performed “Keep Risin To The Top” and Slick Rick did “Children’s Story.”

Vicious joined Doug E Fresh for “Freaks”(throwback!). Vicious ain’t “lil” no more. Very hot performance.  The set ended with “Lodi Dodi” and “The Show.” I wanted more! It was really good to see Rickwith his blinged out eye patch and ten pounds of truck jewelery.

Overall it was a very good show. These are the artists whose Fresh and Right On pull out posters adorned my walls – along with Al B. Sure, but that’s another post. I used to let my tape rock til my tape popped playing a lot of these songs I’ve featured here. Now here I am over twenty years later and they are still up there doing it to death.

As always, there are more videos from the show up on my You Tube channel.

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Old School Friday: Hip Hop

11 Friday Jul 2008

Posted by Vivrant Thang in Feeding The Music Jones

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

alpha kappa alpha boule parties, big daddy kane, classic hip hop music, hip hop honors tour, mc lyte, Old School Fridays, true school corporation, true school corporation parties

by vivrant thang on old school friday

Oh there are so many places I could have gone with this. My first thought was to feature my favorite rapper ever, Biggie. I still miss that dude. What would the game have looked like today had he and Pac lived? Still pisses me off. Just senseless.

Anyway, I decided to dig in my own video archives over at my You Tube channel and feature my favorite female rapper MC Lyte and none other than the Smooth Operator, Big Daddy Kane. I was blessed to catch them on the 2007 Hip Hop Honors Tour. They were both honorees last year.

Big Daddy Kane, Smooth Operator

Big Daddy Kane and Scoob Luver get busy

I knew every word to every MC Lyte song…still do actually. She is one of the illest to ever touch the mic. And I’m mad she doesn’t look much older than she did then!

Check her out performing “Cha Cha Cha.” She’s the dopest female that you heard thus far!

I’m excited to say I’ll be seeing them again next month at this tour.

I got my doorknockers on order as we speak!

To hold me over, I’ll be painting the town pink and green with my Sorors at another True School Party tonight where one of my favorite producers 9th Wonder and DJ Dris (otherwise known as Idris Elba) will be on the wheels of steel. I already told you how True School gets down so if you’re local, this is not to be missed. Wouldn’t steer you wrong.

As always, check out the other OSF participants. If you’ve never done that, today would be the day for all you old school hip hop fans.

Electronic Village | Mrs Grapevine | Quick | Marcus LANGFORD | Cassandra | Danielle | Thembi | Chocl8t | DP | Kreative Talk | MarvalusOne | Regina | LaShonda | AJ | Sharon | Invisible Woman | Believer 1964 | Dee |SJP | sHaE-sHae

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My Favorite Things

18 Monday Feb 2008

Posted by Vivrant Thang in Feeding The Music Jones

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

b scott, big daddy kane, blair underwood, felicia pride, hip hop exhibit at national portrait gallery, ice t, in treatment, ll cool j, love b scott, the message

by vivrant thang on my favorite things

luthervandrossxmas1.jpg

When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I just simply remember my favorite things
and then I don’t feel so bad.

Although I’m far from sad on this last day of a week-long vacation before I start my new job tomorrow (‘scuse me while I drop down and get my eagle on), I thought I would share some of the things that have been making me smile these days.

Love B. Scott

bscott.jpg
I was ridiculously late to this party, but I’m glad I’ve arrived.

From the first time I watched one of B. Scott’s wildly popular YouTube videos, I was hooked. When I’m having a bad day or any kind of dark thoughts, I watch B. Scott, laugh like a damn fool, and feel so much better.

There’s just something about B. Scott. Could be his beauty…inside and out. Maybe it’s his dance moves. Or perhaps it’s that infectious laugh. Whatever it may be, I’ve loving it.

If you’re not yet a love muffin, seriously, you need to get into it.

In Treatment – HBO series

intreatment.jpg

Every time I try to get away from HBO, they pull me back in!

My plan was to quit them for a while after the last episode of The Wire until Curb Your Enthusiasm, Big Love, or Tell Me You Love Me returned. However, this new half-hour series has me hooked!
It’s about a psychotherapist and his weekly sessions with four very complicated patients. These sessions and his own problems drive him to therapy himself with his old mentor, with whom he also shares an interesting history.

Blair Underwood stars on this show as one of the patients. He’s good.

I watched the first episode when it aired and then life got in the way and I missed the rest. I spent almost a whole day of my vacation catching up. I couldn’t turn away. Could be because it gives me insight into what my own therapist may be thinking while listening to me babble.

More on that later.

Recognize: Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture

hiphop1.jpg

I checked out this exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery on Valentine’s Day. Since I love art and black and white photography, especially by Black artists, this was a must-do on a day that was all about me.

Aside: I would love for Mr. Vivrant Thang and I to be serious art collectors and have a small gallery in our home.

But I digress.

It’s an exhibit that showcases portraits of the 2005 Hip Hop Honors nominees as well as black and white photographs of various artists such as Jean Grae, Mos Def, Chuck D, Pharcyde, and a stunningly artistic picture of Erykah Badu.

I snuck a few illegal pictures in (flash off) of the portraits. Better ones on the website.

icet.jpg

kane.jpg

uncle_l.jpg

grandmasterflash_furiousfive.jpg

Excellent prelude to the National Museum of American History’s “”Hip-Hop Won’t Stop: The Beat, the Rhymes, the Life.” Now this will be an event that folks should come from far and wide for.

With this exhibit, I was especially intrigued by the mixed media installation piece, which is a response to Nikki Giovanni’s poem, “It’s Not a Just Situation: Though We Just Can’t Keep Crying About It.” It was an intricate work that lent itself to lots of interpreration and discussion. I personally spent about fifteen minutes standing there trying to take it all in.

A great companion book for this exhibit, particularly with the inclusion of the portrait of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, is Felicia Pride’s new book, The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip Hop’s Greatest Songs. Want to remember why you first fell in love with hip-hop, cop it!

Check out Felicia’s recent article in The Baltimore Sun about why this book is so relevant.

the_messge_hires.jpg

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Golden

05 Wednesday Sep 2007

Posted by Vivrant Thang in Feeding The Music Jones

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

All About Me, around the way girl, big daddy kane, biggie, brown sugar, d'angelo, erykah badu, golden, jill scott song golden, ll cool j, luther vandross, mary j blige, music, raw, salt n pepa

jill_scott_golden.jpg

I’m taking my own freedom / Putting it in my song
Singing loud and strong / Grooving all day long

When did you first fall in love with music?

I still remember my first pink boom box and how I would let my tape rock ’til my tape popped. Salt and Pepa talking about “Push it real good!” Big Daddy Kane aka “Smooth Operator” used to get raw through my speakers. And of course I had the requisite LL Cool J poster on my wall from Word Up magazine, imagining I was the Around the Way girl he needed. He wouldn’t be talking about needing love if only he met me. Yes, indeed, I wanted to go and talk to Devante; wrote 4-page letters with Aaliyah; felt Sisqo’s pain as if I had found someone sleeping in my bed.

I didn’t think it could get no better. Until I first heard D’Angelo crooning something about that brown sugar baby. I sure did get high up off his love and didn’t know how to behave! It was as if Mary was my girl talking me through the pain of unrequited love ’cause surely we both were going down if “he” wasn’t around. Who remembers forgetting to wonder just what Erykah had under that head wrap as she mesmerized you with “On and On?” Just like I’ll never forget where I was when I heard that Luther was gone, I vividly recall the day an old high school friend told me to run, not walk and pick up this hot new album that would bless me the moment I pressed play. Skeptical, I asked, “Who is Jill Scott?”

Music has and always will play a huge part in my life. It soothes, stimulates, lifts, focuses, inspires, prepares, drives me…and a million other things that I hope to share in this space. I have been marinating on my presence in the blogosphere for months now. I read a variety of blogs ranging from personal, humor, political, social, celebrity, sports, nonprofit, technology, books…generally everything that interests me. What did I have to add to the conversation? I knew it would be a personal blog, but what would be the slant. I kept coming back to the advice: write about what you love.

So here we are.

I’m not sure where we’ll go from here. I just know that I have a lot to say and it all will be framed by music, one of my greatest loves.

Are you ready? Let’s Rock.

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