Tag Archive for 'hip-hop'Page 7 of 8

Big Boi Does Ballet

published
on April 10, 2008
by
ACtual
in culture, dance, genres, and music
. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Imagine the well-heeled, tuxedoed crowd of ballet sharing a sip of champagne with a group of hoodied hip-hop heads ready to crunk. This could very well be the scene in Atlanta, GA tonight at the Fox Theater as Big Boi of the Outkast launches his first attempt at a ballet show.

That’s right, you read me…Big Boi of OutKast has teamed with a ballet troupe in Atlanta headed by Lauri Stallings to bring together a fantastic mixmatch idea in the form of bringing Big Boi’s hip-hop music into ballet with a show called “big.” Fresh off his musical turn in Idlewild, Big Boi was approached by the ballet, and the show that will combine hip-hop and ballet, dancers and audience, is set to kick off tonight with the encore being Boi’s new single “Sir Lucious Leftfoot Saves the Day.”

The idea is not just to bring a new media look to classical ballet, but to help cross-pollinate the fans of the two, introducing hip-hop to classical ballet lovers and introducing those dance watchers to the vibrant world of hip-hop. The dancers are calling it different from anything they’ve done before, which I can only imagine is incredibly true. How many ballet dancers have you seen leaping off the stage to crank it in the audience? Whatever the outcome, the fact that Big Boi is willing to branch out into ballet, and Ms. Stallings is brave enough to attempt to choreograph it makes this an endeavor worthy of some attention in a MixMatch world.

Blue Scholars and GZA at The Independent

published
on April 3, 2008
by
ACtual
in concert reviews, genres, and music
. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

In all of the concerts of all the genres I’ve been to, hip-hop shows are by far the most risky to go to. More than most genres, hip-hop shows can be extremely hit or miss depending on a variety of factors centered around the music and the group’s preparation. At a hip-hop show, you’re usually more likely to encounter sound issues, poor crowd interaction, truncated songs or artists who just didn’t put enough time into rehearsing their material, sometimes needing to ad lib or cut songs short because they don’t know all the words. Great hip-hop shows consist of a solid mixmatch of a setlist, rappers who know their words and can interact well with the crowd, good music and fantastic energy. Luckily, the past several hip-hop shows I’ve been to have been on the stellar end of things, and Tuesday night’s performance by Blue Scholars at The Independent in San Francisco fit perfectly into this string of solid shows.

For those that don’t know Blue Scholars, you can check out my write-up of their sound and style in Putting Emerald City on the Map. It’s safe to say that they’re one of the most musically and lyrically diverse groups on the hip-hop scene right now, and the combination of Geologic’s in-depth and personal lyrics with Sabzi’s unique and multi-faceted understanding of various genres makes Blue Scholars and Bayani two different and fantastic albums. Of course, having never seen them before in concert, and knowing of the historically wildly unpredictable transformation of hip-hop groups from studio CD to live performance, I went out to The Independent last night not sure what to expect.

What I got was an amazingly positive and energetic set centered around fantastic lyricism and incredibly well put together musical mixes. At the beginning, I was concerned because one of the fastest ways to tank a hip-hop show is when no one in the crowd knows you, and they did not appear to be as enthusiastically received as I would have liked. Being the opener for GZA doing a full rendition of the renowned classic Liquid Swords album, Blue Scholars had their work cut out for them. But from the minute they took the stage, you got the feeling that their energy was going to be a train, and you could jump on or get run down. Visually, the hip-hop of Geologic’s baggy clothes and zip-up hoodie contrasted nicely with the more indie look of Sabzi’s glasses and button-up shirt. It’s a good feeling when one part of a duo introduces the other as “my partner in music.” They started with a song that used the guitar riff most recently heard in Green Day’s “Hitchin’ a Ride.”

They then moved on to “Second Chapter” before going through the entire set including “Opening Salvo,” “The Ave,” “Loyalty,” a spoken word bit, two new songs, “North By Northwest” and “No Rest for the Weary.” Where others stumble over words, Geologic, from the beginning to the end of the set, was simply enthralling with his delivery. Every word was crisp and coherent, on beat and on target, with emotions ranging from the pure joy of rapping and using the beat to a savage rage at economic inequalities and injustice. While these topics permeate the group’s songs, Geologic did a nice job of leaving them there and making his interludes to the crowd more about enjoying music and spreading the word. Sabzi never once let the beat falter, and even in brief interludes made clear his enjoyment of soul and funk music. He also did a great job of keeping the set on track. As Geologic went to start a freestyle over the tail end of a beat, Sabzi cut it off and told him he needed to move on.

While the crowd didn’t know as many of the songs as I would have liked them to, they certainly got into the act by the end of the show. Both artists helped with this as they did a great job of slowing songs down, taking the beat simple, and then gradually building them back up until they let the energy spill over the top and infect the crowd. “The Ave” and “Loyalty” were by far the standouts of the set, but with the way these two performed, I could have listened to the entirety of both their albums live and been content. Furthermore, the diversity of topics in the lyrics and the variety of sounds conjured up by Sabzi showed just how deep these two can be. The material never seemed repetitive or strained, and at no point did you get the feeling that the two weren’t on the same page together in the creation of the music.

Blue Scholars were followed on stage by GZA performing his legendary Liquid Swords album, joined on stage for a time by Killah Priest. They almost started a riot though when the wait time between the sets reached epic proportions and had people in the audience booing the DJ. It’s tough to call Blue Scholars a “warm-up” act when by the time GZA came on, the crowd was cold and pretty upset that they had to wait for so long. The audience was obviously Wu-Tang heavy, and it went nuts when the first notes of the opening monologue filled the venue. For those that haven’t heard the album, it’s a dark and complex piece of rap music, beats produced by RZA and infused with clips from the stark background of the black and white cult samurai movie Shogun Assassin.

But what works as a studio album, and would certainly work with various songs played throughout a set, didn’t quite work as an entire piece. The energy seemed canned, probably due to the consistency you need to find when you’re going to play your entire album cover to cover live, and all of the songs are a bit too similar to hear outside the context of the CD. GZA’s delivery was good, but didn’t carry the same type of force and creativity that Geologic brought to his. But to his credit, GZA’s reproduction of the CD in a live setting was virtually flawless. At one point, having finished a song, something went wrong with the sound and the interlude that played wasn’t the proper one for the album. Rather than put on the right interlude and move on, GZA asked the crowd if they wanted him to start over, which they did, and he had the DJ put the track back to the beginning, performing it from the start again.

It’s a tough line to straddle though…being prepared and rehearsed enough to do an entire album, while also maintaining a sense of energy and spontaneity that an audience needs in concert. Finally, having waited the entire set to hear my favorite song on the album, “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (B.I.B.L.E.)”, Killah Priest tanked it. Not only did he seem to forget a number of the words to his own song, but Priest seemed to be unable to control his breathing sufficiently to get through the entire thing. Several times he had to stop mid-verse to catch his breath, and you started wondering if the album version was done in one take or multiple takes to help him breathe through it. As the song that I find most playable on the album, it was sad to hear it so fully butchered.

While there’s no denying Liquid Swords its place among the top rap albums of all time, and certainly credit is due to GZA for everything he’s contributed to the genre, the delivery and energy of his set couldn’t match that of the Scholars. I’m still glad I saw it, as the album is one that has a number of personal historical ties for me, but I left the venue thinking that I might have been more satisfied if GZA had been the opener and Blue Scholars had closed the show. Either way, I encourage everyone to get out to see either of these groups. With Blue Scholars you can see the idea behind what musically diverse and lyrically socially conscious hip-hop can and should be, and with GZA you can see a lyrically solid artist doing a faithful performance of one of the best rap albums of all time. Here’s two clips from the Blue Scholars song “Loyalty,” one of my favorites. Turn the volume down to limit the distortion as my camera didn’t do well handling the louder portions of the song…

The Odd Couple

published
on March 19, 2008
by
ACtual
in artist/album reviews, genres, and music
. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

the Odd Couple Cover ArtIn 2006, St. Elsewhere, an album of collaboration between producer Danger Mouse (The Grey Album, Ghetto Pop Life) and rapper Cee-Lo Green (…is the Soul Machine) dropped and instantaneously brought a variety of new mixmatched sounds to the hip-hop industry. The album covered Funk, Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop, Lounge and Electro in equal parts, never hesitating to throw them together and see what came out. This excellent album was an instant hit and spawned the ridiculously popular “Crazy” which began popping up anywhere you could find music. Following the success of the album, the DJ Sound Advice put his own re-mix spin on the tracks by releasing, for free download, Gnarls Biggie, an album comprised of mash-ups between Gnarls Barkley tracks and Notorious B.I.G. vocal tracks. Yesterday, weeks ahead of the scheduled April release date, St. Elsewhere officially became the freshman offering from Gnarls Barkley as they released their sophomore album, The Odd Couple.

Clocking in at 13 tracks and a brief 39 minutes, The Odd Couple finds Danger and Cee-Lo picking up right where their off-beat and stylistically vibrant and diverse St. Elsewhere left off. “Charity Case” opens the album with the funk baseline and oldies feel made popular by Andre 3000’s “Hey Ya.” The female backing vocals and bell chimes help keep Cee-Lo grounded in the track, and the moving rhythm and hand claps help the head keep nodding. Two days ago, when I watched the season finale of AMC‘s show Breaking Bad, I thought the song they ended the episode to was a fantastic one. It was haunting, mixing a Western and Soul feel with slow and emotionally infused lyrics reminiscent of Bill Withers vocals. Now imagine my surprise when I get to track two and that song turns out to be “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul.”

“Going On” refreshes the upbeat and clap-happy sounds of the first album, bringing about the feeling that a few more “Crazy”-like songs aren’t too far away. Cee-Lo works over organ samples and a beating drum tempo before Danger Mouse turns the last minute into a atmospheric piece of a more sinister nature complete with fuzzed out electronic influence. Track 4 brings out “Run (I’m a Natural Disaster)”, the first single from the album. The single makes it clear that Gnarls is going to try to capitalize on the retro-as-new feeling that made “Crazy” and “Smiley Faces” so popular. The song kicks off with a moving shout and response chorus of sampled children’s voices that breaks up into Cee-Lo’s manically paced lyrics. Once again, Danger’s production skills take over the last minute of the song as he starts mixing more of Cee-Lo’s singing over the party sound he’s created with the clapping and instrumentation.

The raw emotional happiness of “Run” gives way quickly to a much more somber and dark “Would Be Killer.” Here, Cee-Lo moves slowly over a beat laced with background ambient sounds and record slips which help the entire song feel a bit like vinyl being played backwards on an old 45. He fluctuates into higher ranges in certain parts, yet never feels out of place, which continues to be one of the most surprising and reliable portions of his music…even when he takes his vocals to an extreme, it never feels lost or out of place. “Open Book” kicks off with a frenetic and off-syncopated beat complete with bird sounds and strings in the background. The chorus for this song devolves considerably with Cee-Lo’s screaming tone pushed to the background of the music as a more wall of sound approach engulfs the track. Here though, it feels less like the two are having a good time with the music as it does on other tracks, and a bit more forced, as if they’re getting intentionally darker just to see what it feels like. For this reason, it’s a relief when the more playful Barkley re-emerges on “Whatever,” a track that reminds me of the “Liar Liar” remix in the card scene from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The slower beat provides a nice contrast to some of the previous songs, and the use of Cee-Lo as the chorus vocals show that sometimes things can be intentionally ugly and still work musically within a broader tapestry.

“Surprise” finds Cee-Lo lamenting his lack of a soul mate. An acoustic guitar added on this track softens the sound a bit from the all electronic cuts on the album, but it’s a bit disheartening to hear Danger once again fall back onto the hand claps. The hand clap sound is certainly big right now in popular music, but Danger is capable of more, and when he uses it on the majority of tracks on the album, it becomes hard to ignore as a staple of his beats. This constant hand clapping, while used in very different songs for different purposes, still comes off feeling forced at the end, and a bit disappointing that Danger doesn’t mess around with background sounds that could be used to replace the hand clap on certain songs. But the bigger surprise about “Surprise” is when it’s followed by an electronically backed love ballad of sorts in “No Time Soon.” The music for this song sounds like Danger took some influence from Nine Inch Nails as the heavy machinery feel provides the backdrop for a more melodic approach over the top.

“She Knows” finds the duo slowing down a bit with a lo-fi sound that could be the Price is Right theme song on quaaludes. The 70s airy melodies and simple, slower beat take the pace of the album down a notch while providing it with an even more pronounced retro sounds. “Blind Mary” demonstrates the diversity of this tandem. While the majority of the album skips over various genres, the end results are still directly tied to Gnarls Barkley with the style of retro bordering on hip-hop. On “Blind Mary,” the exploration of tampering with genres starts with an almost carnival-like sound before slipping into an easy going, foot tapping Indie Rock exploration. The end result is a lighthearted jaunt where Cee-Lo’s distinct voice and Danger’s cohesive production (featuring, again, unfortunately, more hand clapping) produce a unique sound that could be featured on a variety of radio stations.

“Neighbors” again keeps the tempo slow and features Cee-Lo’s lyrics with a good deal of distortion on the chorus. The easy hip-hop beat, combined with layers of electronic melody and bass funk create an interesting sound, and Danger keeps it together with a variety of vocal samples interlaced. The album comes to a close with “A Little Better,” a song that starts slowly using vinyl pops with a simple bass line and Cee-Lo talking about past moments in his life and his shortcomings. The drop step of the drums on the chorus, combined with a stair-step bass part and Cee-Lo singing in a soulful and at times gospel-like voice create a very easy song to listen to, fading out towards the end with a series of thank yous.

For any fan of St. Elsewhere, I can’t imagine a better follow up attempt by Gnarls Barkley. While it lacks a song that feels to me as unavoidably popular as “Crazy” was, it has some definite hits on it, and you can never tell what kind of radio and club airplay any of these songs will get if they get a remix makeover from some other DJ. Above all though, the album does a fantastic job at never becoming stagnant. Aside from the hand claps, Danger never relies too heavily on any one genre or production style, and Cee-Lo never lets his rap background influence him to a degree that would detract from the rest of his work. Furthermore, with not a single track clocking in over the 4 minute mark, the songs leave you wanting a bit more as opposed to having you looking for the skip track button. For the latest in the MixMatch style and the artful collaboration of artists and genres, look no further than The Odd Couple.

Feel Good Fusion

published
on March 11, 2008
by
ACtual
in concert reviews, culture, dance, genres, interview, music, and video
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Feel Good Fusion
While a lot of the conversations around here center around evolving and mixmatching music, and the resulting sounds, an important aspect of the MixMatch culture centers around combinations of various media methods and the resulting entertainment. Down in Los Angeles, DJ Denkym (Denny Kim) has created just this type of event in his once (but soon to be twice) monthly event, Feel Good Fusion (http://losangeles.going.com/feelgoodfusion) A few months ago while I was down in LA, I met up with DJ Denkym, a former roommate and colleague from USC and KSCR, for his first Feel Good Fusion event. Denkym worked as Hip-Hop director while consistently honing his craft as a DJ. While a large portion of his influence is rooted in hip-hop, his love for numerous cultures and musical styles is a cornerstone of his mixing. The idea behind Feel Good Fusion is based in the notion of bringing together mixing, free-styling, painting, sculpture, dancing and other performance art into the same place to celebrate the combinations that are created when these cultures and mediums intertwine.

At the inaugural show, the turnout was great. Everyone in attendance was genuinely glad to be there, and the vibe was stellar. From outstanding turntable work to interesting MCs to the collaborative painting shown below, the connection between art and music was greatly pronounced, and everyone there was into the crafts. These two artists worked on separate canvases throughout the evenings, bringing their creation together at the end of the night: FGF Art

The next Feel Good Fusion event is at the end of this month, the 28th of March (and every last Friday of the month), and the cast is expanding steadily. Along with resident drummer Muraoka, Zach and Greg mixing videos, and Shokase, Matter and Seano joining Denkym on the turntables, artists Will Hsu, Bzarro, Nice Penguins and DPD will be on hand. But now there’s more mixmatch than just the art and the djs to go see…at the next Feel Good Fusion, very special guests Paul Dateh and Inka One, known for their Hip-Hop Violin performances, will be throwing down. These two have been going nuts on YouTube (over 1,000,000 views), and have steadily been increasing their performances around the area. Inka One on the turntables, Paul Dateh on the violin, these two will be doing a full 20 minute set.

In anticipation of this month’s event, and spreading the word about future events, I asked Denkym what the initial idea was behind Fusion, who he worked on it with and what the overall philosophy behind the event was. This is what he had to say:

“The idea for Feel Good Fusion materialized when I was given the opportunity to throw a monthly event in Pasadena at the Terrace on November 30, 2007. The opportunity could not have come at a better time – as I was transitioning into a new full-time job that was causing me to step down from living the full-time DJ life. At the time, I was sick and tired of the club scene in Los Angeles and very uninspired as to what I was doing with my music and DJ career. Simply put, making my money as a DJ was no longer a FUN thing for me, but merely another job to perform so that I could get paid. I was caught in the paper chase and I was failing to fulfill my needs as a music connoisseur / social catalyst.

With the new job, I wasn’t really hurting for money, and so I was free to choose my DJ gigs based on how much I would enjoy spinning it as opposed to how much I would get paid for providing a service. It’s weird to say, but it felt GREAT turning down the high-paying DJ gigs that required me to play mindless music for crowds that I really had no connection with. That shift in mentality was what sparked the concept for Feel Good Fusion. The musical mission became very clear at that moment….DJ because I love DJing, play the music that I want to play, and of course…FEEL GOOD about it!

As I was searching for nightlife events at which the music was dictated by the DJ’s persona and not by the pop-hungry crowd, I was randomly approached by Joseph Lee (owner of the Terrace) to start a monthly event at his venue. He had seen my myspace and was impressed by the diversity of music in my mixes. He was willing to give me a night with full creative control just as long as I filled the venue and bar with people. I jumped at the opportunity for several reasons…1) The venue is in my hometown…PASADENA! 2) I can play whatever I want 3) I needed a challenge – Keep in mind, I have NEVER organized an event on my own!

With the opportunity at hand, I decided to reach out to my network of fellow DJ’s, VJ’s, musicians, producers, artists, bboys, bgirls, and emcees that I’ve met over the years to see how I could get them involved with the event. “Just be YOU and come out to Feel Good!” I would tell them. A few blunts later, I decided to fuse everything together into what formally became the FEEL GOOD FUSION – A Tasty Blend of Music & Art. It’s a full out Audio & Visual presentation of Hip-Hop culture, Music, Art, Life, and Feel Good Vibes!!

On a Feel Good Fusion night, expect to see:
Dope DJ’s rocking on 4 turntables, VJ’s broadcasting visuals on 6 screens, a live drummer keepin time, live paintings and Mixed Media creations, Bboy/Bgirl circles, open mic sessions (strictly Freestyles only!), scratch sessions, special performances TBA every month, SMILES, and lovely bartenders.

Since the first show in November, Feel Good Fusion has grown immensely and I only expect it to get bigger and bigger! My goal is to pack the place with 500+ people who are looking to feel good on a Friday night by the early Summer. It’s only once a month now, but starting in May or June, we will be operating twice a month. I have plans to book lots of ‘next level’ acts and spread the Feel Good Vibes to Los Angeles and beyond in the near future. A perfect example of a ‘next level’ act would be the guest performers for the March 28th show. Paul Dateh & Inka One will be performing a special Hip-Hop Violin & DJ collaboration set that is not to be missed. They have over a million hits on Youtube for their 5 minute segment, and you can expect to see a full blown 20 minute set in March. Don’t sleep on this one!

The amount of support and positive feedback that I’ve received has been amazing, and I want to thank the whole Feel Good Fusion team and regular patrons for making the Feel Good Fusion the dopest event in Pasadena!!!! For booking information: email djdenkym@gmail.com or goto www.myspace.com/denkym”

So there it is for all you Los Angeles folks looking for a way to support the mixed media arts scene and feed your inner hip-hop hunger. The Feel Good Fusion event is one that seeks to bring together a vast and diverse crew of artists and musicians to help fuel the integration of styles, cultures and mediums. It’s not only a great night out, but another step in the continuing journey to view music and art in expanding, collaborative and evolutionary ways.

Immortal Technique at The Fillmore

published
on March 10, 2008
by
ACtual
in artist/album reviews, concert reviews, culture, genres, and music
. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

When word of underground revolutionary rapper Immortal Technique‘s visit to the Fillmore in San Francisco reached me, I knew it had to be first on my list of concerts for the year. Having never seen live footage of him, I had no idea what to expect from a rapper that brings a huge variety of social, political, economic and musical issues to his songs. Considering the detail and complexity in his lyrics, I was a bit concerned with how it would translate to concert where numerous MCs have failed due to an unfamiliarity with their own lyrics, or a habit to truncate songs for a live setting. And I can say that while there are only a handful of artists that could share a stage with Immortal Technique based on their lyrical complexity and stage intensity, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replicate the tenacity and focus Tech brings to his issues. From opening song to his finale, Immortal Technique’s show was a textbook demonstration of a rapper using an unreal level of energy, an extreme amount of intelligence coupled with social consciousness, and an uncompromising approach to his own music to put on a show that was incredible from start to finish.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the crowd at this show…IT is only slightly well known, even among people into underground hip-hop, but at the same time has built up a huge following from the grassroots level. His subject matter attacks various issues from several perspectives, and I was interested to see if there would be one overriding demographic to his live audience. There wasn’t. The crowd was incredibly diverse both in ethnicity and style. It ranged from serious hip-hoppers wearing hoods to bikers with neck tattoos. It seems the social aspects of rap that Tech represents hit home and help to unify a large and disparate group of people.

When he arrives on stage he goes into an almost a cappella version of “The 4th Branch,” and I can hear people all over the audience join him as he spits out, “Jesus is the most quoted prophet in the Qur’an/and bombed innocent people trying to murder Saddam when you gave them those chemical weapons to go to war with Iran.” It’s clear from this early point that not only does the crowd know his songs, but the anger and identification they share with him over views of the systems in place within our social infrastructure is what brought a good number of them out. Following this, he drops the cricket sounds of “Industrial Revolution” and at the first beat the crowd is already moving with the beat. Tech’s delivery is crisp and clear. Unlike other live rappers, there aren’t any muddled lyrics or incomprehensible words here, just viciously deployed sentences with a staccato tempo that makes it feel like every word and sentence is waiting to explode from him into the mic. And the energy is contagious throughout the crowd.

When he slows it down with “Harlem Streets,” he still manages to keep the crowd engaged with a call and response of “Homicide Harlem/ blaow what’s the problem?” In a lot of hip-hop shows, the MCs will keep a call and response segregated throughout the audience, pitting the left against the center and the right. While he addresses the different segments of the audience on this call and response, the entire crowd is asking what’s the problem on every call, uniting the entire venue, not caring if it wasn’t for their section. Following these three well rehearsed openers, Tech rips into freestyles addressing revolutionary practice and rapping about the conditions on the streets where he’s from. Following this, he turns it over for a song to DJ GI Joe who blisters through a turntable set centered around samples from NWA‘s “Fuck the Police.” His scratches and record matching here are astounding as he juggles two records seamlessly, even going so far as to switch the crossfade with his nose at one point, mix one table while reaching behind his back for the other one, and even at two separate points spinning around, flipping records and the crossfader with his elbows.

When DJ GI Joe finishes the track, Tech informs the crowd that as serious as his lyrics are, as intentionally angry as he can come across sometimes, that on this particular evening he happens to be in a “jovial happy good mood.” He shares this good mood with the crowd when the next track he drops is “Point of No Return.” As the opening notes drop, the crowd starts moving in anticipation before starting to slam as the beat comes in and Tech starts ripping the lyrics. One of the things you notice in his live performances is that there is no halfway with any of his delivery. It feels like every word and sentence that comes out of his mouth is incendiary, and he’s going to catch fire if he doesn’t get them out hard enough. It’s an intensity of delivery that even in the best shows is rare, and Technique manages to keep that level up throughout the entirety of the show. When “Point of No Return” gives way to “Peruvian Cocaine,” the crowd starts bouncing with the Scarface/South American style sample. They do a great job of this live, as each rapper on stage takes on a different verse of this song that examines the various levels of employment within drug production and distribution.

After this, Tech talks for a few minutes about the future of our system and the way religion and politics intertwine in the distribution of economic resources and media attention. He goes on to explain that the revolutionary ideals he carries through his music extends to creating changes on a community level, and proves his dedication to this ideal by handing over the stage at separate points in the concert to two different groups…one a revolutionary faction based in Watsonville called the Brown Berets, concerned with the unification of races and religions to overcome the division fostered by political initiatives, and the second a group called Omeid International, that is focused on rebuilding the war ravaged streets and communities of Afghanistan (thanks to Empire-81 for the correction). While other rappers spend concert time hyping their newest release or exhorting their audience to go buy more merchandise, Immortal Technique makes it a point to give up the stage to groups that work on a social level to address the problems and injustice he raps about in his music. This supports his idea of a true revolution started through the community and brought to a much larger focus by concentrated efforts of those involved in making change. Then he goes into “Dance with the Devil.”

Heading up to the concert, I had thought throughout the day about how I would feel if he played this song in concert. It’s a graphic song that describes the rise of a young man on the street, who, through efforts to be recognized and respected, ends up engaging in a particularly violent sequence that eventually leads to his death. It’s an intense and emotional song that focuses in large part on the violence perpetrated on innocent people by those attempting to look good in a gang related lifestyle, as well as the global and individual issue of rape. Its lyrics are haunting and deliberate, and Tech delivers it at once in both a method of warning and horror. Most of all, his emotion throughout and emphasis on the subject matter makes the song disturbing and powerful in concert, especially when he finishes and talks for a few moments on rape and how it needs to be viewed by everyone on a personal level, rather than a hypothetical one.

Following this very direct and personal monologue about rape, Tech talks about how a large number of rap songs focus on time spent in jail, or going to jail, but you rarely hear a song about leaving jail. This opens “Parole,” a song about never going back to jail. As the song ends, he rips into another piece that ends with the poignant statement, “When the terrorists come back again, they’ll either say, ‘draft them,’ or send us back again.” I know the end of the concert is getting near, and when he brings up a song that some people haven’t heard, a bonus track that he doesn’t often play in concert, I start to get excited. I’m hoping that he means none other than my favorite Tech song, “Caught in the Hustle,” and I’m not disappointed.

As the first unmistakable notes come out, the song lifts me in the same way it did when I heard the album version for the first time. This song, in its tempo, guitar sample and lyrics, is a fantastic summation of a lot of Tech’s philosophies. It’s one of the first songs by him I’ll play for a new listener as it evokes a sense of hope mixed with a fleeting melancholy that’s eerie to listen to. When he moves through lines like, “Even though we survived through the struggle that made us/we still look at ourselves through the eyes of people that hate us” and “The cold war’s over, but the world is still getting colder/Atlas walking through the projects with the hood on my shoulders,” you feel the mixture of promise and desperation that fuels Tech’s music. This dichotomy is brought out as he laments that he’d like his “children to grow up to be soldiers, but then a general will decide when their life’ll be over,” and you can feel his conflict between the things he knows must be done, and the consequences that he knows may follow. And despite all of this, he’s willing to overcome as he knows it must be done to serve his philosophy of social change.

He closes the concert with a call to political uprising delivered in Spanish before he jumps into the upbeat and energetic “Obnoxious” which has everyone in the venue dancing. The hands and fists are in the air as the entire crowd seems to dance as one. When he’s finished, he invites everyone to come talk to him, once more demonstrating his dedication to a community action approach and his willingness to interact with the fans. I believe at this point that he has to be absolutely exhausted from the show he just put on.

If you get a chance to see Immortal Technique in concert, even if you’re not a huge hip-hop fan, do it. Never have I seen a performer more in tune with the audience while at the same time being so incredibly focused on a message of activism and change. His faithfulness to his music and lyrics, his unparalleled intensity during the set, and his well rounded inclusion of groups supporting the causes he cares about made for an amazing concert. Only once or twice have I seen an artist bring that kind of energy and perfection to a performance, and the fact that he centers all of this focus on important social causes rather than women, money, guns and drugs as MCs usually portray them that elevates Immortal Technique beyond the standard rapper and into a performance category of his own.