If you take a look at the line-up for this summer’s Rock The Bells tour, you will notice something quite evident…hip hop is dead. Well hip hop the culture will never die, but rap is DEAD!
Look at the line-up. It’s every act from the mid 90s. Tribe, Pharcyde, Meth and Red, Ghostface and Raekwon, Nas and Mos Def.
Where are the new rappers? What Da Phuk happened?
The 2200 capacity Nokia Theater (directly across from the Staples Center) was at max capacity last night. The lights were off and stage was glowing. The night started with Lupe Fiasco. His high energy, skateboard infused hip hop is a nice break from the current radio rap. His set list was short, but he managed to cover his hits, “Kick, Push” , “Paris, Tokyo” and “Superstar” which he was joined on stage by Matthew Santos.
After a quick intermission, NERD took the stage and rocked the crowd. With all due respect to Pharrell, as a producer and solo artist, NERD sounds like a high school garage band who is rehearsing for the Cobalt Cafe. That didn’t seem to matter to the NERD fans who quickly rushed the stage. By the end of their performance the entire place was packed. There was not one open seat.
Rhianna took the stage next which had it’s own glow in the dark feel. Rhianna must spend hours every day working on her body because she is smoking hot…for lack of a better term. She flew through her set, even cutting some of her hits short. Rhianna played all of her singles except for her very first one, “Pon de Replay.”
At exactly 10:40pm, the curtain rose to Kanye laying on floor of a deserted set. His spaceship, Jane, informs him that he has crashed landed on an unknown planet. She is broken and it is unknown how long it will take for her to repair herself. For 80 minutes, the stage was constantly evolving, displaying different backgrounds and themes as he incorporated them into his set list. At one point, Kanye bitched “that he needs pu**y” and Jane quickly transformed into a (hot) gold woman on the LCD screen. A crowd pleasing “Gold Digger” performance followed.
Many times throughout the show the notion that Kanye is the biggest star in the universe was heavily implied. Actually, it was said many times in those exact words. This is a Kanye West headlining show, and I would expect nothing less. After Kanye finally fixes the spaceship and returns to Earth, he is joined by Lupe Fiasco for his final track. “LA Reid, Jaime Foxx, don’t leave yet, it’s not over” shouted Kanye followed by much laughter from the crowd. Kanye tried to introduce his live band and DJ, which were hidden behind the scenery. Kanye was disappointed in his own ability to control that aspect and even said, “this is anti climatic!”
The show was one hell of an experience. It is very rare to see a hip hop artist take the stage, by himself for an hour and twenty minutes. There is room for improvement but overall it was pretty incredible. Kanye has a second show tonight at Nokia and at Staples in June. I wonder how different the Staples show will be. I guess I will just have to find out.
I spent the last month super excited that I was finally getting the opportunity to see GZA, one of the most legendary, founding members of the Wu-Tang, perform. This wasn’t just a GZA concert. He wasn’t promoting a new album. He performed, in it’s entirety, the 13-year-old, hip hop classic, Liquid Swords. Tracks 1 - 13.
GZA kept the show so authentic to the album that he was joined on stage by Killa Priest and Method Man. Having Meth come out for Shadow Boxing was unbelievable. My friends and I wondered all week if he would show. It was truly amazing to be able to witness GZA perform Liquid Swords live.
We new that when the doors open at 8 for a Wu-Tang show, it means they are going on at midnight. We got there at 10:30 and we waited until 11:30ish for GZA to finally take the stage. But as soon as the lights dimmed, and the sounds of Shogun Assassins hit the speakers, the crowd was captivated.
“When I was little my father was famous. He was the greatest Samurai in the Empire…”
In case you don’t know, Aubrey O’Day is the really hot one in the group Danity Kane. I only caught the last 2 episodes of Making the Band (Season 4) and I must say, Aubrey is damn hot. In fact, she’s not just hot, she’s beautiful. So why does Diddy insist on ho’ing her up? She looks so much better when she doesn’t look like a girl asking for 300 roses on Craigslist.
I can’t just blame Diddy. When not working with the group, Aubrey ho’ed herself out to Travis Barker as the face (legs) of his clothing line.
Check it out for yourself. Totally SFW
CONFIRMED FOR 2008, DATES TBA
Alice In Chains
Alkaline Trio
Apes & Androids - Blood Moon
Apollo Sunshine - Mysteries Of The Old Soul
Awesome Color
Laura Barrett
Davd Bazan
Beyoncé
Blackout Beach
Boris - Smile
Bosque Brown
Coldplay
The Cure
Dan Deacon
Def Leppard - Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
Dr. Dre - Detox
Early Day Miners
Elk City
Explorers Club
Eve - Here I Am
Faunts
Fergie
Final Fantasy
Flight Of The Conchords
Franz Ferdinand
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - Searching For The Hows And Whys
Gnarls Barkley
Green Day
Helmet
Impossible Shapes
The Instruments - Dark Smaland
Islands
Dominique Leone - Dominique Leone
Love As Laughter
Lucky Dragons
Madonna
Mariah Carey
Mates Of State
Matisyahu
John Mellencamp - The Company We Keep
Menomena
Metallica
Modest Mouse (b-sides collection)
My Bloody Valentine
My Chemical Romance
My Morning Jacket
Oasis
The Offspring
Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
Pattern Is Movement - All Together
PWRFL Power
R.E.M.
Langhorne Slim
The Streets
Richard Swift
t.A.T.U. - Waste Management
Steve Aoki
Water Fai
Weezer
Windsor For The Derby
Stevie Wonder - The Gospel Inspired By Lula
I have 2 extra tickets if you are interested in going. I would be willing to sell these tickets for face value. I will absord the extra costs. I just want you to see Wu. This will most likely be your last chance. This is a can’t miss show.
Ol Dirty Bastard, ODB, Ason Unique, The Bebop Specialist, Big Baby Jesus, Sweet Baby Jesus, Dirt Dog, Osirus, The Man of All Rainbows, Prince Delight, The Professor, Rain Man, Super Bastard, Peanut the Kidnapper, RJ Tha Mad Specialist, Dirt McGirt, Freeloading Rusty, Joe Bananas
Who wishes we had the music and basketball of 2001? I know I sound like a bitter old man reminiscing on yesteryear. If I really think back, that was pre bloc party, pre kings of leon, pre lebron james, pre kobe’s 81, pre arcade fire…but for some reason it seems much simpler.
Hip Hop wasn’t “dead.” The Lakers were winning championships. There wasn’t any tangible proof the refs were cheating. Britney’s VMA performances were mad hot, and the country didn’t hate George Bush. We actually rooted for Cheney to bomb the middle east. Things were simple back then. Why is it now so complex? For every 20000 “rappers” there is one genuine hip hop artist. For all of Kobe’s heroics, that championship team has been dismantled, shaq brought a title to miami, the lakes are stuck with kwame and izzo wants out.
I don’t know if it’s my perception, my age, my transgression from truly being a child to the “dreaded” 30s or the haze from the bubba kush, but everything seems tarnished. I know life works in cycles. The lakers, one day, will win again. Music will always change and for some, it’s never been better. The country will have it’s good, its bad and it’s phuking awful leaders. I know it cycles. I was just reminded of the lakers 2001 championship dvd. I thought of shaq and his pre game huddle chant.
“Red Light Green Light…How Far We Going Back?!”
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