NYC Hip-Hop Summer w/ Public Enemy, Slick Rick, Salt N Pepa & more

Biz Mark was first and the vibe in this place was phenomenal, a show like this in Texas might have drawn 100 people, but there was easily close to 1k strong here, really into it and having a great time.
Between Biz and Slick Rick this really great DJ (who’s name I wish I could remember) who apparently was a name radio DJ that alot of people recognized and appreciated played a great set of old school stuff.
Now it was Slick Rick’s turn –

This was my first time seeing Slick Rick so I can now scratch him off the list of all the MC’s I’ve wanted to see. He was equally fun and then Biz joined him at the end for a great finale.The show was over pretty early but it was raining like hell and I was trying to figure out what to do. See, one thing people who don’t live here don’t know is that its not like you can just go home for a bit and figure it out and then go back out, unless your a gazillionaire. For most people, once they bother to leave their apartment, their out, and once they return, their in. It’s just too much trouble otherwise.
I wasn’t that far from my old haunt Lit, which I don’t think I had been to in over a year and decided to head on over. It’s true, you really can’t go home again because I was at Lit for about an hour, and I didn’t recognize a soul and the vibe and crowd was something completely different and not for me.

Public Enemy w/ Salt-N-Pepa – July 30th – Wingate Park – Brooklyn, NY

I’ve been looking forward to telling this story for awhile and have waited to really get my thoughts together to tell it.
First disclaimer: Sadly, it’s just a fact of life that their are still places in this world, specifically right here in Brooklyn that as a young, white man, I am not welcome solely based by the color of my skin – just like equally sad that their are places, probably even more so, that people of color are not welcome for the same reasons.
I had been wanting to check out the Wingate area of Crown Heights for some time now, Curtis Mayfield has been said to have written We’re a Winnerhere -its an area of Brooklyn once known as “Pigtown,” not far from where Ebbets Field once hosted the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Just my passion for baseball alone I had been wanting to come out here, but had been warned not to.
When I heard that Public Enemy was gonna be playing, those previous warnings didn’t even occur to me, and when I heard that the show was free and that Salt-N-Pepa were opening, even if had, not going was no longer an option.
To sweeten the deal, the concert was part of the park’s ongoing Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series this being the thirtieth year anniversary of the series, and today was also Chuck D’s birthday, I was beyond ready.

I came out of the subway and as I normally do when I’m in a new neighborhood for the first time, I just followed the people to the park, their was no signs of anything to fear and it never occurred to me that it would.
When I got the park, the entire atmosphere had changed as the sun was setting – I learned that Wingate Park has it own weight lifting culture like the one at Venice Beach, but this had a real prison mentality, and those exercising, like at Venice Beach were on display to those entering the park, but most, including myself didn’t dare look their way.

Then right past that, getting into this park was also like visiting someone in prison – clusters of cops just everywhere and I was frisked three times at several checkpoints before finally entering.
An hour before the show, organizers announced a special guest, Leaders of the New School, who kicked off the show with a rocky start.

 

Audience members who expected to see Busta Rhymes, Charlie Brown, and the whole crew were disappointed. Only one member of the group, Dinco D., was present. He came on stage backed with only a DJ, which brought into question use of the plural “leaders.” He performed only three songs, the last of which was Scenario, the Tribe Called Quest song that featured Leaders of the New School. The audience started to jump and scream when they heard the bass line. Unfortunately Dinco D. spat only his verse, then put the mic down and left the stage.

One thing that was absent here was that of vendors, for which normally I would have appreciated and support their gesture to keep that sort of corporate element out of the park, but the problem was that I was starving and wouldn’t be able to enjoy the concert further without something to eat.
I didn’t want to have to go through that cavity search as before but I was desperate for some food – I went out the way I came in, asked around and they said that their was a store on the corner.
I walk less than two blocks, its still plenty daylight, when I go in, order a sandwich from the deli portion of this bodega and then began scanning the adjacent cooler for something to drink.
Here was something different, they sold beer mainly in singles instead of in quantity and they were selling for cheaper than soda. A decent side can of Budweiser was going for a mere $.75 – that made that choice easy.

As I’m waiting for my sandwich, a gentlemen that looks so much like LL Cool J, that I have to look twice, is making the same beverage choice, when I ask him:
“Is this right?, this is only 75 cents?” – He replies “Yeah, but drink it in here, you don’t wanna get caught with it outside” – Wait I can drink it in here too???

I retrieve my sandwich, and go back to where I was standing where LL Cool J was already partaking in his beverage and I politely say “Wow, I can’t believe we can drink it in here, thank you for the tip” –
We are having a decent enough conversation when suddenly the patrons that are coming in are doing double and triple takes on me, a skinny, pasty white kid,  eating a sandwich, drinking a beer, talking with a local, standing there in my RUN D.M.C. t-shirt –
In hindsight, I realize that they resented it deeply and the RUN D.M.C. shirt just seemed to antagonize them – it must have just screamed poseur to them and in that moment I seemed to embody everything that had ever been taken away from them.
LL picks up on this, and not wanting to look like an Uncle Tom he shouts loudly “Where else the fuck you gonna drink it?” – I still calmly said “Well I know that some zoning allows open containers” – his response (and purposely very loudly with the intent so that the other patrons can hear) “Not around here, there’s not, maybe yall can in White World, but not around here, don’t be bringing your RACIST SHIT UP IN HERE TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!!”
Oh gawd. I could have instead recited Maya Angelou’s I KnowWhy the Caged Bird Singsand he still would have found some vehicle to call me a racist, he was just literally spoiling for a confrontation that I sensed was coming sooner than later. Apparently so did the Italian owners of the bodega as they were looming near, not to protect me, but just to keep an eye out. When I complimented them several times on what a great sandwich this was, they didn’t want to return the pleasantry out of fear.
LL just kept letting me have it – I have been all over the world and walked many miles on many streets but this was the first time I was truly terrified and convinced that it was only a matter of time before something was gonna go down.
Here is an example of the exchange – me trying to make nice – “Hey man, who do people tell you that you look like?” – he answers “LL Cool J, I know that, I don’t need some white motherfucker telling me that, what now you think you know more about LL than us, you little white motherfucker?” –
I didn’t wanna make any sudden moves but I had to get out of there. I wanted to show that I wasn’t afraid and decided to finish my sandwich like normal.
Another patron looks at me and says loudly “That sandwich good?!?!” – I nod yes – He gets inches from my face and screams “WELL EAT IT THAN YOU WHITE MOTHERFUCKER!!” – I calmly smile and nod and finish my sandwich and make my way to the exit.
I make it outside and head to the park but after a few steps some other guys who must have seen me inside yell “Hey Opie, how was your fucking sandwich?”
I have no idea what made me do it, but very passively I actually started walking toward them and said “Hey yall going to the concert?” –
They were stunned, they couldn’t believe it, and just nodded. In hindsight I think what saved my ass was that maybe because I’m so skinny it would have looked bad for them to kick my ass or because I showed no fear, or maybe they just thought I was too stupid.
And technically I was, because right then, with the last piece of daylight I had left I should have just called it a failed experiment and headed back to the subway and got the fuck out of there. Instead I headed straight back to the park.

To unpack things a bit, this was a free show in the heart of a neighborhood that grew up with these artists. What that means is that if any of these groups were playing anything less than walking distance for any amount of money the show would have attracted 200 people. But its like a fireworks display, the entire family can come for no money and its closer to walk to than the subway. So people/families that don’t normally get out much, this was a real treat and all of those comforts resulted in about 10k people showing up.

Salt-n-Pepa hit the stage next.  After 25 years in the business, they were still energetic and fun.
Both Salt and Pepa were keeping it sexy even as they reach middle age. Pepa wore short denim shorts and a revealing black top. Salt was a little more conservative, with a loose silver blouse and tight, shiny black pants.

But it was definitely a family friendly show, at least for their set. There was no cursing. At one point, they even brought some of their children and other young relatives on stage, which was a lot of fun.  Less interesting, however, was when Salt brought out her husband Gavin, who appeared to have no interest in being on stage, for the song Whatta Man.Thankfully, Pepa stepped in and asked for an audience member to dance with her. This produced one of the most fun
moments of the night, as the guy who came on stage was a mere 18-years-old and slightly intimidated by Pep. But she made him wrap his arms around her and dance. He smiled while Pepa rapped her verse.

And it got even better when they announced an unexpected special guest — Kid ‘n Play! The rap duo came on stage full of energy and performed one song, Rollin’ with Kid ‘n Play.The audience shouted out the chorus. And when Kid ‘n Play broke into their famous foot tapping dance, thousands of people screamed with joy.

I needed that – I was still so shaken up over what had transpired at the bodega, and was so angry. I was mainly upset that what they had taken from me was now the ability to enjoy this, and Kid N Play made me forget it temporarily.

Public Enemy’s set started strong. They had a solid three piece band — bass, drums, and guitar — that started it off. Then the Public Enemy sirens started to sound, and Chuck D. jumped out front and started with Public Enemy Number one.
Last to take the stage was Flava Flav, and audience enthusiasm was high. A big reflection of Flavor Flav’s celebrity that Public Enemy gives him his own personalized entrance. “Say what you want, but we all got one of these in our family,” explained front man Chuck D, as he affectionately introduced Flav “The key is not to have two of ’em!”

 

It was playful but hinted at the strained relationship so much so that when I used my crendtials to get a better look, I could hear them openly arguing with each other, and the source of this seemed to stem from Chuck D’s frustration with an obviously very stoned Flav when he went into the first of several digressions that interrupted the flow of the show. Flav thanked everyone for supporting “my second career, which is called reality TV” which got some laughs, cheers, and jeers. This eventually lead into a rousing version of 911 is a Joke.

 

 

Photos –

Roy Turner
Erez Avissar
Nicki Digital
Chris Becker