Have you ever shaken hands with the God? I have.
Twice.
Last night, hip-hop legends Rakim and Kid Capri performed at Cat's Cradle, a music club in Carrboro, NC that is less than a mile from UNC-Chapel Hill's campus. In a word, it was mesmerizing.
The show - like most hip-hop acts - began about an hour after its scheduled start. Until then, the DJ kept the mood by playing classic East Coast rap, including some Das EFX and a lot of Gang Starr and KRS-One. Then Brother Ali, an albino from Minnesota, came on. His DJ's equipment wasn't working, so he brought his friend, DJ Snuggles, up on stage to beat box for him. He was pulling some crazy Doug E. Fresh/Rahzel type shit. The highlight was when he did an almost perfect rendition of Black Sabbath's "Ironman." As good as Brother Ali was, he got outshined by Snuggles. It was the most entertaining opening act I have personally seen. Here is his myspace site, which includes some of the songs he performed:
http://www.myspace.com/brotherali
A little after Ali and Snuggles stepped off, Kid Capri came on with an ovation that almost equaled the one Rakim would later receive. He talked a little about the "real hip-hop" and did some amazing scratching. At one point, he put a Run-DMC track on said, "Let's do it like Run used to do it," and mimicked the scratching on "It's Like That" exactly.
The only blemish on the event was the plug that Capri made before Rakim came out. Two rappers from his label came out and did a couple verses. I don't expect to hear much of them in the future.
Then the God stepped on stage. He stood there for a couple minutes, just soaking up all the cheers. Then, through the screams of the crowd, the intro bells for "My Melody" rang through the speaker. It was on.
I've been to three other hip-hop shows - Common, GZA, and Little Brother - and none of them enganged the crowd as well as he did. My girlfriend, whom his glance singled out for part of "What's on Your Mind," commented afterwards that he had great stage presence. In between the songs, he and Kid Capri took sides of the crowd and competed over whose side was the loudest.
He performed most all of his classic joints: My Melody, It's Been a Long Time, Don't Sweat the Technique, What's on Your Mind, Follow the Leader, Guess Who's Back, In the Ghetto, Move the Crowd, Microphone Fiend, Know the Ledge, Paid in Full, I Know You Got Soul, Eric B. Is President, Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em, Addictive, I Ain't No Joke. For the seemingly staged encore, he came on to do "Mahogany," "The 18th Letter (Alway and Forever)," and a freestyle.
During the "Switch to south paw, split cha right jaw" part of "Know the Ledge," Ra stopped rhyming and started throwing punches in the air. In the moment, with all the energy, it was pretty exciting.
And because I know you're wondering..
Yes, he did talk about the album.
And yes, he did do a new joint.
He did one verse from an unnamed song, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's called "It's Nothing" (from the chorus). He discussed going to LA, but apparently it wasn't meant to happen; hip-hop dying; "picking up where Nas left off;" and gave it up for Scott La Rock, Biggie, and Tupac at the end. It was fire. I wish I could remember more of it for y'all.
Here are some pictures and a recording that I made (I love my digital camera):
Rakim performing "My Melody"
Rakim performing "Follow the Leader"
"Guess Who's Back" snippet
It was a moving experience for any hip-hop fan. If he's coming to your city during the remainder of his tour, check it out. It's more than worth it.
Also, as a side note, 9th Wonder of Little Brother showed up to see the show.
Twice.
Last night, hip-hop legends Rakim and Kid Capri performed at Cat's Cradle, a music club in Carrboro, NC that is less than a mile from UNC-Chapel Hill's campus. In a word, it was mesmerizing.
The show - like most hip-hop acts - began about an hour after its scheduled start. Until then, the DJ kept the mood by playing classic East Coast rap, including some Das EFX and a lot of Gang Starr and KRS-One. Then Brother Ali, an albino from Minnesota, came on. His DJ's equipment wasn't working, so he brought his friend, DJ Snuggles, up on stage to beat box for him. He was pulling some crazy Doug E. Fresh/Rahzel type shit. The highlight was when he did an almost perfect rendition of Black Sabbath's "Ironman." As good as Brother Ali was, he got outshined by Snuggles. It was the most entertaining opening act I have personally seen. Here is his myspace site, which includes some of the songs he performed:
http://www.myspace.com/brotherali
A little after Ali and Snuggles stepped off, Kid Capri came on with an ovation that almost equaled the one Rakim would later receive. He talked a little about the "real hip-hop" and did some amazing scratching. At one point, he put a Run-DMC track on said, "Let's do it like Run used to do it," and mimicked the scratching on "It's Like That" exactly.
The only blemish on the event was the plug that Capri made before Rakim came out. Two rappers from his label came out and did a couple verses. I don't expect to hear much of them in the future.
Then the God stepped on stage. He stood there for a couple minutes, just soaking up all the cheers. Then, through the screams of the crowd, the intro bells for "My Melody" rang through the speaker. It was on.
I've been to three other hip-hop shows - Common, GZA, and Little Brother - and none of them enganged the crowd as well as he did. My girlfriend, whom his glance singled out for part of "What's on Your Mind," commented afterwards that he had great stage presence. In between the songs, he and Kid Capri took sides of the crowd and competed over whose side was the loudest.
He performed most all of his classic joints: My Melody, It's Been a Long Time, Don't Sweat the Technique, What's on Your Mind, Follow the Leader, Guess Who's Back, In the Ghetto, Move the Crowd, Microphone Fiend, Know the Ledge, Paid in Full, I Know You Got Soul, Eric B. Is President, Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em, Addictive, I Ain't No Joke. For the seemingly staged encore, he came on to do "Mahogany," "The 18th Letter (Alway and Forever)," and a freestyle.
During the "Switch to south paw, split cha right jaw" part of "Know the Ledge," Ra stopped rhyming and started throwing punches in the air. In the moment, with all the energy, it was pretty exciting.
And because I know you're wondering..
Yes, he did talk about the album.
And yes, he did do a new joint.
He did one verse from an unnamed song, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's called "It's Nothing" (from the chorus). He discussed going to LA, but apparently it wasn't meant to happen; hip-hop dying; "picking up where Nas left off;" and gave it up for Scott La Rock, Biggie, and Tupac at the end. It was fire. I wish I could remember more of it for y'all.
Here are some pictures and a recording that I made (I love my digital camera):
Rakim performing "My Melody"
Rakim performing "Follow the Leader"
It was a moving experience for any hip-hop fan. If he's coming to your city during the remainder of his tour, check it out. It's more than worth it.
Also, as a side note, 9th Wonder of Little Brother showed up to see the show.
