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So last night Rap Radar & Hot 97 hosted a show for the release of Fat Joe’s album The Darkside (the album is actually pretty fire, and in stores now) at the infamously overrated SOB’s. I must say it was a special night for hip-hop. I’m going to just give a quick bullet run down of the show.
-Vado opens up. I’m a big fan of dude, but his performance guy was a little iffy. He had charisma, but just seemed a little green. Inevitably he will be good, he’s just at that stage where people are still getting familiar with who he is.
-Then Cassidy rolled up solo to do his thing. I was a little mad at how uninterested the crowd seemed. Then again I guess that’s why Cass is underrated.
-Finally Fat Joe makes it to the stage. He made it clear that the night was about keeping it hip-hop. He stated:
“I told y’all n*ggas, you want ‘Lean Back,’ get the f*ck out! You want ‘We Thuggin’,’ get the f— out! You want ‘Make It Rain’? Get the f*ck out. Y’all must’ve forgot.”
Needless to say it as going to be a night filled with “street” classics.
-Now here is where the night can start getting a little hazy. The Jack & Cokes started settling in, and the Headband (those that know…know) started getting puffed on. However I believe the first artist Joe brought out was Joell Ortiz, and he absolutely killed it. One of the biggest problems of the night was how weak sauce the crowd was, but we’ll get to that later.
-I believe Diamond D hit the stage next to rock with Joe. Joe pays homage to the legendary originator of the D.I.T.C crew, and credits him for being the first dude to “put him on”.
-The next hip-hop luminary to hit the stage was Buckshot. They rocked out and Buckshot went acappella for a second.
-At this point I couldn’t help but notice someone was just smoking a black and mild in the middle of the crowd. That person was Redman. So guess who went up on stage next? Reggie Noble kept it festive as always, and Joe gave him credit for co-signing him before he even had an album out.
-I believe Mic Geronimo hit the stage next (disclaimer: I may be mixing the order up a little), and to be honest the reception was a little piss poor.
-The final, and most impressive showing was when Fat Joe brought out M.O.P. and got the crowd riled up with “Ante-Up”.
-However DJ Premier & Just Blaze also made there way on stage to pay homage. I also saw Clark Kent and Large Pro in the building. Fat Joe got the most emotional before performing “I’m Gone” which was produced by Premier and recorded on the day Guru passed. Joe seemed legitimately frustrated with how Guru’s legacy was handled by mainstream urban media.
The show was just ill. So much history was in the building that it was just humbling to be in their presence. It was just a night of special hip-hop moments that will live with me forever. Joey’s new album is really dope, and I encourage you to support.
But anyone that knows how I write, there is always some bad with the good.
Last night also solidified to me how much hip-hop is changing right now. Like I mentioned before even though the show was monumental the crowd was dead. I would say that Joell and MOP’s stage crashing created the biggest reaction, but it was still pretty weak. It really illustrated a larger point. The youth aren’t really f*cking with the conglomerate that was in the building last night. The generation that grew up on the music that was championed last night have transitioned into adulthood. Most of the “official” Fat Joe fans couldn’t go to his show at 11:30 on a Tuesday night because they have a job and a family. As painful as it is for me to admit, This sub genre of hardcore NYC street rap music isn’t really relevant to young people. My point that is that things are rapidly changing within the hip-hop demographic. Last night I saw the past. Now I’m just interested to see what will happen in the future.
Check one of the livest moments of the show below with Joe & Joell Ortiz going back and forth:
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Also jerked some pics from RR.
good post. it's sad but true re: old school new york street hip-hop. but i think there will always be a place in the culture for this, and a certain level of respect, for what these guys do and for what they have done, even if it's not on mtv right now, and even if the skinny-jeans tattoo crowd isn't repping this.
Definitely. What happened last night is so important to the culture. There will always be a place for it, and you HAVE TO show respect for those guys. I just also just think we need to acknowledge that the youth has moved on from this part of the culture. It's sad but true.