#Raekwon

Classic Hip-Hop as The Sugar Hill Gang Celebrates 40 Years, Wu-Tang Return to the 36 Chambers & more

The Sugar Hill Gang Celebrates 40 Years of Hip-Hop w/ The Furious Five & More – August 30th – Gas Monkey Live – Dallas, TX

This will take a bit of unpacking: As a life-long fan & student of Hip-Hop, how could I resist the originators right? I actually saw The SugarHill Gang in Austin at SXSW almost 20 years ago in the most unsuspecting of circumstances (that also involved a funny story regarding Damon Albarn & an impatient bartender but that’s a tale for another time).

Sugarhill Gang is celebrating the 40th anniversary of their iconic hit ‘Rapper’s Delight’ which sold over eight million copies since it came out in 1979. I had to be here for this right? But I wasn’t sure what time they were going on & I’m not 19 anymore so I don’t have the time (or the patience) to get there 3 hours before they go on. I gotta get in & get out & that’s what I planned to do on this night but this venue often doesn’t make the kind of info necessary to do such things available as often that would be ideal. So I arrive, feeling like I was way too early, & that was only confirmed by the nice girl at the Will Call window (who was kind enough to let me photograph the set times:)

Yup I was about 90 mins early – But man I had a good parking spot and had already eaten so I thought, “Ill just chill here in the car, catch up on messages” etc. Weren’t very many cars in the parking lot so I was sure I wasn’t missing anything inside. Suddenly my attention is forced to notice the blaring siren of an ambulance pulling into the parking lot and rounding the back of the venue. I’m not jaded to ignore a tragedy so trust me when I say that it didn’t appear my attention to it was needed 30 secs after it was given. In a flash, the 90 mins had ended & the ambulance seemed to be long gone as well, when I loaded my camera & headed inside.

Once in, it was deafening how empty the place was, easily less than a 100 people in a venue that can hold 3,000. I was standing there with appeared to be the only other photographer when I struck up a conversation with him. I’m as social as they come but normally the conversations I’m forced to have with other photographers at live events is excruciating. It parallels schoolyard one-upmanships with (usually) men I wouldn’t let in my house, so it was refreshing the meet this dude whose Instagram handle is BurphDate Lasagna which as I learned is a tribute of sort to his mother who no matter how poor or old, would always make lasagna for her children on her birthday. If that doesn’t sound heart wrenching beautiful a) Check your pulse & b) You should hear him tell it.

So rare to connect with anybody these days but especially a complete stranger & for whatever reason we just really bonded and small talk led to real & meaningful conversations & that’s how I was able to get to hear that story that touched me so much I couldn’t wait to write about it & share it with my own family. Cheers to you my friend.

Now as much as I was enjoying chatting with BL, it did start to occur to me that man, quite a bit of time has passed & what the hell was going on???
That’s when BL informed me that he was in fact there as a hired videographer for the previous opener & that ambulance I had heard? Well it was for one of those guys who sadly had somehow broken their freaking leg during their set (Note to self: Never miss Cure For Paranoia ever again). I asked BL if he was here when it happened & he said no as he also had just arrived.

Finally after another large chunk of time passes, the show finally begins:

The Sugarhill Gang is made up of original members Wonder Mike (Michael Wright) & Master Gee (Guy O’Brien) as sadly Big Bank Hank (Henry Jackson) passed away at age 57 in 2014 due to complications from cancer.

Now I was a bit confused as it was supposed to be The Furious Five (minus leader GrandMaster Flash) but now we went straight to Sugarhill so I was thinking that with all the ambulance shenanigans that somehow the FF were not gonna get to play due to time constraints.  However I quickly learned (much to my delight) that to mark the 40th anniversary along with fellow Hip Hop architects Grandmaster Melle Mel and Scorpio of The Furious 5, they have joined forces to form a supergroup. This is a hugely significant event in Hip Hop culture, these two groups put the genre on the map.

Grandmaster Melle Mel and Scorpio, along with fellow MCs The Creole Kidd, Keith Cowboy, and Rahiem, have created some of the genre’s most iconic songs, including platinum selling classic ‘The Message’, the first Hip Hop group to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Anti-drug song ‘White Lines (Don’t Do It) was covered by mega new wave band Duran Duran in 1995 & hits like ‘Beat Street’ and ‘Step Off’ have become genre defining classics.

Ok great, but how was THIS show? – The shame of my lack of trust in their abilities to wow us poured over me within the first ten seconds of their set, they KILLED. From the get-go the SHG members Master Gee and Hen Dogg were in high intensity at its best, bringing no cheesy clichés, just pure slick values. Even Hen Dogg pulled off his top hat, shades, tracksuit and cane get-up. Their coolness was paired beautifully with their reflective jokes on their age and the journey they’ve been on to get to the now.

Melle Mel didn’t miss the chance to spread a positive message either, commenting on the quality and meaningfulness of their lyrics: “We ain’t here to talk about drugs and how many people we’ve shot.” Nor did he neglect his opportunity to show off his muscular physique, which was humbling as this dude is much better shape than I & he’s could easily be my dad haha

Setlist:

8th Wonder
It’s Nasty (Genius of Love)
Ain’t Nothin’ But A Party
Livin’ in the Fast Lane

Furious Five Set:

Freedom
Beat Street Breakown
King of The Streets
Superappin’
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)
The Message

Encore: 

Jump Around / Apache
Rapper’s Delight

In true hip-hop style, to prove that 40 years later, their music is just as vital and worthy as it was back then, stamping out any doubts that legendary performers could live on in such an honest, sparkling, smooth form.

Wu-Tang Clan: Return To 36 Chambers – October 4th – The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX

It is no broad boast to call “Enter the Wu (36 Chambers)” — the first album from the Staten Island hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan — one of the most powerful and influential debuts of the last century.

From its incendiary 1993 start, Wu-Tang Clan had an auteur’s cinematic touch (credit producer and film fan RZA) and an aggressive rawness that, when mixed with the rap ensemble’s superhero-inspired takes on martial-arts movies and the art of war, was unique.

Add to that a street vibe that miles away from the rap that was popular at the time  — which ranged from the jazzy optimism of De La Soul and Digable Planets to Dr. Dre and Snoop’s smooth West Coast G-funk — and Wu-Tang Clan was, as they often say, nothing to f— with. And it was that hard-edged debut that Wu-Tang Clan was celebrating for the 25th anniversary of that landmark album.

Here, original Wu members RZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Master Killa, GZA and U-God, with auxiliary members Cappadonna & DJ Mathematics performed a happily sloppy but no less incisive version of their debut album, along with multiple other group and solo tracks.

Amazingly they were all here! haha I’ve seen Wu Tang shows in the past were their was always at least one missing (& other cases where far more than one).
Ol’ Dirty Bastard was represented onstage by his son named, naturally enough, Young Dirty Bastard who aptly took on tracks that featured his dad, such as “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” and “Got Your Money.” YDB’s growling raps and lurching stage moves proved that the Wu fruit had not fallen far from the tree.

The group members staggered their stage entrances, starting with a throbbing, menacing “Bring da Ruckus.” By their third track, however — “Clan In Da Front” bumped up against “Wu-Tang 7th Chamber” — the ensemble was in full flower and full flow. With its layered raps, cackles, barks and shouts of “Wu!,” their a chorus of chaos nestled against slamming stammering beats. To go with its punkish verbal energy, the Wu’s staging was a fast mess of constant motion, with each man bouncing before or behind the other.  Often times RZA or any other member would come to the front of the stage & start dousing the crowd with champagne. They were definitely ready to party. And so was the crowd as this place was packed so far to the gills that at times not only was it uncomfortable but even perhaps unsafe.

Method and Raekwon were the most vocally commanding members of the group at this show, with RZA and Ghostface the most subdued. But still, audiences members could easily single out the nuances of each man’s voice during their turns or verses at the mic. Cappadonna’s hyper-quick verse during Ghostface’s “Winter Warz” and the flighty fight songs between Masta Killa and Ghost — such as “Duel of the Iron Mic” and “4th Chamber” — allowed each actor a dramatic, angry soliloquy.

Still, a united Wu-Tang Clan is always better than its separate parts — in fact, what truly came through during this set is that Wu-Tang is as much a family as it is a group.

“How often do you get the full Wu-Tang together?” asked Method Man.

Not enough.

Setlist:

36 Chambers Set:

Bring da Ruckus
Shame on a Nigga
Clan in da Front
7th Chamber
Can It Be All So Simple
Da Mystery of Chessboxin’
Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit
C.R.E.A.M.
Method Man
Protect Ya Neck
Tearz
7th Chamber Part II
Conclusion

Run (Cappadonna song)
Reunited
Severe Punishment
Duel of the Iron Mic (GZA/Genius)
Ice Cream (Raekwon song)
4th Chamber (GZA/Genius song)

ODB Tribute

Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Got Your Money
Brooklyn Zoo

Encore:

Gravel Pit
Triumph
C.R.E.A.M (reprise)

Photos –

Roy Turner

Vice Turns 20 w/ Scarlett Johansen & More (Dec/2014)

Vice 20 Party – Dec 5th – 2014 – Duggal’s Greenhouse at the Brooklyn Navy Yard – Brooklyn, NY

Tired as hell and it’s still raining out, but I was getting it together and catching my second and third winds with the anticipation of something that could be quite legendary. Vice – the irreverant global conglomerate – the taste maker for hipster worldwide and the corporate band for purists alike is turning 20 years old and to celebrate they were reaching deep into their stylish pockets for a blow out of trust-fund proportions.

When I arrived I expected a shitshow to rival the one earlier at the Foo Fighters but since I was a bit late the lines weren’t too insufferable and then you had to take a shuttle bus to the actual spot, three blocks away.
I arrived to long lines of mobbed open bars as usual (thankfully I’m not a big drinker so I really could care less) and free food trucks that were pretty underwhelming but who am I to complain, they were free, and for a poor kid from Texas it’s nuts that I’m even here to have an opinion on it.

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Music began at eleven but it was well after midnight when I arrived so I missed a few of the opening numbers but what they had lined up was a truly special, one-of-a-kind curation that combined hipster actors with forged on the spot supergroups and everything in between.
With a drink in my hand and a falafel in the order I made my way to the stage just as Nick Thorburn from the Rapture was hitting.

“House of Jealous Lovers, will always be the soundtrack to that magical summer when I first moved to NYC in 2006.
Next came something awesome, completely unexpected and my fave moment of the night when these too-cool-for-schoolers let some of my fave metallers onstage –
Dave Ellefson of Megadeth, Alex Skolnick of Testament, and Tony Foresta of Municipal Waste  for a medley of Metal classics.
For most of the night, Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs & co. served as backing band to a variety of singers (though there were just DJs for some rappers, and a few bands played themselves).
And here comes Wu Tang’s Ghostface Killah and Raekwon doing classic “Daytona 500Ghostface Killah and Raekwon

Meredith Graves of Perfect Pussy introduced her cover of The Strokes’ infamous “New York Cops” by saying that black lives matter in reference to the recent senseless violence of innocents by police brutality and the protests in recent weeks that have divided the city.

Meredith Graves

It was mainly about covers, playing stuff everyone knows from unlikely sources – such as Jonah Hill (with director Spike Jonze on guitar) doing Drake’s “Marvin’s Room” and though not her first foray into the music world it was still other wordly just to see Scarlet Johansen in person, let alone see her sing Joy Division.

Jonah Hill

Scarlett Johansen

That buzz carried into an appearance – and actual performance – by Russia’s famed protest punks Pussy Riot, doing a fitting version of Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon” (and referencing those protesting across the country that night over recent grand jury verdicts).Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina. To cheers, Alyokhina, in her characteristic heavy Russian accent, soberly and firmly read from notes on her phone: “I might not have the right to talk about American problems, but I think that murder is murder everywhere.”
Pussy Riot member Sasha Klokova then sang Le Tigre’s 1999 electroclash hit, “Deceptacon.”

Another great moment came when Zinner’s band doing one of his own songs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ breakthrough “Maps” with Karen O herself on vocals.

A crush of people moved forward for the next guest — Lil Wayne. So I made my way to the back

Lil Wayne

I can’t stand this dude and he’s second only in poseur rap to Kanye but maybe first in inspiring white rich kids to apporpriate something they” truly never understand.

A party like this one would seem to cost just about a zillion dollars, but asked about the total expense of the event, Hosi Simon, Vice’s global general manager] demurred. “It’s actually not a whole lot,” he said. For its 15th anniversary, Vice spent $250,000 to put on a Halloween party. Five years later, “It’s more than that,” he said. “But if you look at the lineup, it’s a multimillion dollar lineup.”
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Party host Andrew WK closed it all out with a bang. A lot has changed over the past twenty years, but one thing’s remained a constant: Vice knows how to throw a fucking party!
VICE has grown up in the past two decades, from shock value drug stories to their own Emmy-winning HBO series  The 20th Anniversary Party admittedly wasn’t really about their current hard-hitting nature but more about their hard-partying history – and being an actually successful media business.The entire event was filmed, so you’ll be able to see it for yourself soon.

Photos – Roy Turner
Laura June Kircsh
Ryan Muir
P Squared
Greg Christman

Celebrate Brooklyn Festival + Cibo Matto Returns & More (July/2011)

Celebrate Brooklyn Festival w/ Raekwon – Prospect Park – July 9th – Brooklyn, NY

The Prospect Park Bandshell is probably the best place to catch a hip-hop show in the New York City summer. Yes, you’re going to have to stand in a line that stretches beyond the park’s BBQs and jugglers to get a metal detector wand waved in front of you, but well worth it.

 

 

 

 

Raekwon‘s hourlong headlining set, however, made no concessions to anybody—
The night went essentially like this: one verse, one chorus, annoying explosion sound, flighty banter—repeat approximately 22 times in a mere hour His DJ dropped manic fragments of old-school rap songs as Rae blurred past his 90-second rhyme sprees, burning through song after song after song—new ones, old ones, shit off Immobility that you totally forgot existed, he had even more that he wanted to do until he was cut off by the 10:30 curfew.

At one point, he asked the crowd if they liked where hip-hop was going, which was received with a resounding “boooooo.” Thankfully, he assured us all, “Rae ain’t going nowhere. Rae right here with a new pair of sneakers.”

Set list:

C.R.E.A.M.
Can It Be All So Simple?
Da Mystery Of Chessboxin’
Glaciers Of Ice
Ice Cream
Surgical Gloves
Gihad
Criminology
Verbal Intercourse
Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Your Beef Is Mine
Heaven & Hell
Rainy Dayz
10 Bricks
About Me
Yae Yo
Broken Safety
Rock N Roll
Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit
Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Triumph

A great relaxing day in the sun – I had been telling her about the park, and showed her aroundand we walked around and ate at one of the great sidewalk cafés’ in the neighborhood.
Since Brooklyn was the theme of the day, I suggested we check out this party in Brooklyn, Nancoteque that I’ve hearing so much about.
We managed to have a good time, but I wouldn’t go back. Got raked over the coals by the door-chick and it just wasn’t what they were advertising and all in all pretty lame.

Cibo Matto – Brooklyn Bowl – July 12th – Brooklyn, NY

One of the best nights of my life, we had just come from eating at the Dressler, which was one of the best meals/experiences of her being here, and I couldn’t begin to exaggerate my anticipation for this show. I’ve been waiting so long for this.
I was fortunate to see a pair of “soft” reunions within days of each other earlier this year to benefit the relief efforts in Japan after a devastating earthquake, where they quickly assembled a played 3-4 songs as a part of a revue. But tonight was going to be the real deal and I didn’t get to see Cibo Matto back in the day, and in the 12 years since they broke up, I think I’ve listen to their music every single day, I’m an obsessed crazy fan of theirs and I love it.
I wasn’t the only one excited, the air was tense with excitement and though Erin didn’t know anything about them previously other than what I had been schooling her on, she’s real good about feeding off of and supporting my excitement.
While Miho Hitori addressed the showgoers, it was apparent that these folks were already keyed in and ready to have a good time.

 

 

   They began their set with Beef Jerky as the audience and I sang along with every word and truly began to groove out. I was fully losing it the whole time and especially when I heard the opening notes to Sugar Water. Miho’s voice was instantly hypnotic as the sway and bounce of the track dripped effortlessly throughout the performance. The sweetly alluring performance of Moonchild with Miho’s vocals backed by surprise guest Sean Lennon.

Miho and Yuka performed two new songs as well, Tenth Floor Ghost Girl and Check-In. Considering that both tracks are indicative of the future of Cibo Matto and their new sound, they were surprisingly quite modern without the loss of the duo’s edge, which is exciting about their upcoming album. After almost an hour of play, they attempted to close out their set only to return for an encore after a most raucous and spirited bout of applause and cheers – and Miho is still so freaking hot.

Setlist:

Beef Jerky
Le Pain Perdu
Sugar Water
Spoon
BBQ
Moonchild (with Sean Lennon)
Tenth Floor Ghost Girl
Sci-Fi Wasabi
Check In
Birthday Cake

Encore:

Blue Train
Know Your Chicken