It was an exciting night brought to you by the folks over at Mindz-I Entertainment. Seems like every show they present, it gets bigger and bigger. This time wasn't any different when they hosted a bunch of rock and Hip-Hop acts at Toad's Place. As you can see from the flyer and the photos, it was a wild and dope night.
The show started at 5:30pm on that Sunday and didn't end till around 1:30 in the morning. When I tell you that I was beat, trust me and know that that's an understatement. The night turned out great with all the music each act performed as well as the breakers in the audience. It was pretty dope to see artists I know such as DJ Mo Niklz, Duece Bug, Chuck Nickles, Blacastan and Pruven on the same stage as Mr. Lif and the legendary KRS-One and perform along with Mr. Lif even. Apathy, a really talented MC out of CT and affiliated with the Demigodz, hosted the evening and got to enjoy it from the sidelines.
With so much to recall, I figured I'd let the photos tell the story. You know The Mad Bloggers had to be there and I didn't let off with the camera work either. So here's a bunch of pics you can take a look through and see what you missed if you didn't go or reminisce on the night if you were there. Check it.
We're taking it back OLD SCHOOL, keeping it REAL and "fuze-ing" Hardcore and Hip Hop all in one show...
With performances by:
KRS-One
PLUS:
dUECE bUG with ITZ URBOI
Mr. Lif
Hate Your Guts
BC Connect
Jacobi Wichita
Political Animals
Kali Ma
Sean Strange
Ocecmic
MetaMusick
Brothers Rock & more!
Survival Kit is an ode to KRS-ONE & BUCKSHOT's incredibly rich history of music. Their classic hits have been reinterpreted by today's artists to watch:
Track Listing: 1) Survival Kit (Intro) by DJ Sherazta 2) Gotcha Opin Original (RMX) - Tanya Morgan (produced by NVME) 3) South Bronx (RMX) - Cause, The Kid Daytona & Chaundon (produced by NVME) 4) Buck Em Down (RMX) - Christian Rich (produced by NVME) 5) Sound Of Da Police (RMX) - Diz Gibran & Shawn Chrystopher (Produced by ILL TAL) 6) Shit Iz Real (RMX) - Ruste Juxx (produced by NVME) 7) Step Into Our World (RMX) - Team Facelift & Jade (produced by ABADDON) 8) Talk Shit (RMX) - Torae & Skyzoo (produced by NVME) 9) MC's Act Like They Don't Know - Sha Stimuli, Promise, J.A.M.E.S. Watts, Fashawn (produced by NVME) 10) I Got Cha Opin 09 - Kardinal Offishall & Buckshot (produced by Havoc of Mobb Deep) 11) Past Present Future - KRS-ONE, Buckshot, Melanie Fiona & Naledge of Kidz In The Hall (produced by 9th Wonder)
Despite my wanting to watch the opening Cavs and Celtics game, my Twitter fam quickly convinced me to watch the BET Hip Hop Awards. I was watching the Tweets and laughing hysterically. Soon I joined the fun.
Let me just say that BET always guarantees disappointment. The over display of Gucci Mane (aka Leather Lips) and Soulja Boy Tell Em (aka Mr. Sharpie Shape Up) was just ridiculous. Every other performance featured those two fools and since this was a “Hip Hop” show, I couldn’t figure out why. It’s not like they are real Hip Hop artists. Hip Flop is more like it. Souljah Boy came out with his Sharpie hairline and at first glance, I thought he was Flava Flav. His marketing team put together a helluva package. He came onto the stage looking uncomfortably “hard and from the hood”. Saggy skinny jeans and a bunch of hollow gold around his neck. He looked terrible. His outfit was definitely influenced by his woman (ahem… Trina). As for the performance well, you already know. I had to listen and rewind the performance a few times to hear what he was saying. He and Gucci Mane need to see a speech therapist because their speaking skills are the worst. Gucci raps like he has a mouth full of marbles … How the hell did he get a record deal sounding like that? I guess that masks his wack-ass lyrics.
And can somebody please direct Jim Jones to the shower ... Mmmmmkay?
Oh and Busta, Canal Street is not the place for Award gear. Perhaps you could pick up an accessory or two but a whole outfit, no bueno.
They did re-birth a lot of artists who we haven’t seen in awhile. Missy Elliot (who had some fabulous hair *makes salon appointment*), the Goodie Mob reunion was great!! Cee-Lo looks like he shrunk though. Snoop was there too looking fabulous with his Dominican blow-out. I hope those young boys had their notepads out because Snoop knows how to do the damn thang. The show opened with Jay-Z (O_o) and Jeezy. And after that, every commercial was Jay-Z inspired (that must have been in the performance contract).
Now here’s where BET messed up. This was a Hip Hop show … Right? Well, in between the commercials was a 3-5 minute piece called "The Cypher" … well that was the best part of the show. They could have just played all of those in a row and I would have been happier than a pig in slop. You had artists old, new, non-English speaking rapping in a group and they were freestyling!!! For minutes at a time, BET actually represented Hip Hop. I am by no means a fan but lyrically, Nicki Minaj gave me something to listen to. She definitely needs to ditch that “Barbie” image and her mechanical voice. At that point, she might gain me as a fan (I said MIGHT!) Joe Buddens held his own as well. Gsan did the damn thing in Portuguese (but it would’ve been better without the sub titles #BETfail). Nipsey Hussle is another one to watch. His lyrics are beastly. He sounds a lil Snoopish but I am sure he’ll break free of that copied image and create his own. The best damn Cypher of the night… Mos Def, Black Thought and Eminem with DJ Premier on the 1 and 2’s. Dammit BET, why weren’t these Cypher’s stage performances? That was a humongous programming fail and this is why I think you folks at BET/EBT have no idea what you are doing.
If you missed last night’s Cyphers, here they are. Enjoy the first enjoyably vision ever on BET…
First Group: Nicki Minaj, Joe Buddens, Crown Royyal, Buckshot. Second Group: Nipsey Hussle, KRS-One, Gsan and Wale. Third Group: Mos Def, Black Thought and Eminem
KRS-One & Buckshot finally did a video to the fire track titled "Robot". I'm sure you have heard about it. And if not, this video should refresh your memory. Take another listen to the lyrics. Hip Hop music needs a mainstream revamping. Check it out...
"You rappers singing too much ... get back to rap ... you t-paining too much..."
Jay is saying what a lot of heads had been saying for a while on blogs and underground music in his new track D.O.A. Remember that KRS-One and Buckshot joint that dropped a month or so ago, Robot? Yeah, KRS-One and Buckshot pretty much hammered auto-tune there. You know what folks said, "they're haters." Why? Cause them dudes had an opinion. They questioned their age and why they were taking shots at the industry, because apparently that was played out in some circles. That's dumb shit. Take shots at the industry when they're not representing real hip-hop and creativity. That's cool with me. But Hov said it now, so let's see what impact it has.
Some say he's an idea biter on this track. We dig Jay, but we have to agree. Yeah, heads are taking shots at Jay over it but by and large, most people are feeling it because it's Jay. We gonna rock with that Robot track more out of respect though. What would have been dope is if Jay had teamed up with KRS-One and Buckshot and done a collaboration track from jump.
Hmm, guess Kanye's next album won't be like Heartbreak.
But hey, what does The Mad Bloggers know, we're just music fans.
Jay-Z "D.O.A."
KRS-One and Buckshot, "Robot"
The Word from Twitter after we threw out "Jay dropped DOA and set off a debate... Some like it, some pass on it ... How do u feel?"
@SPMidniteMusic @madbloggers hes saying that music is about passion and the will to get better. in other words. to many souljaboys and autotune not enough hip hop artist
@madnewsblog @madbloggers you are right. its just decent not a classic. Jay isnt capable of creating another classic
@Dean_Big @madbloggers im feeling it. it is a sound that is missing from hip hop of late. #Jay-Z
@MentalElastic @madbloggers Not a classic record but I like it.
@MzSuiGeneris @madbloggers Lyrically he's killin' them out there. He's not saying anything new, he basically just aired it out. He can do that. I respect it.
@Dannigyrl @madbloggers I don't like it. But I think hip-hop is so thirsty now for REAL talent & REAL lyrics, that we are settling. It's not a classic
From time to time we're going to allow some other heads speak via the blog. Dam is a friend of The Mad Bloggers and dude definitely goes at in on different issues. He'll be featured from time to time on the blog with his thoughts.
We know the following is a controversial statement. Soon as I saw this posted as his FB status I knew cats were going to come for him. I quickly jumped in with, "You know heads are coming for you son! Haha! They about to murder your email. Blow up the cell. They coming son! They coming!" But we strive to post real things from real people. It's a thought provoking statement
From Dam's FB status, "Since we keeping it 100. Can we honestly say in 2009 that Biggie and Pac were the best that ever did it? Biggie to me was decent... clever and witty punchlines, but definitely had fast foward material. Pac was and will always be wack to me. I never liked his music and I felt he was one of the biggest frauds and hypocrites in hip-hop. I never had neither of these cats in my top 5, or even top 10. But that's just me.."
See, told you it was a controversial statement. Other heads quickly joined in and offered names like KRS-One, Kool G Rap and Rakim as the best. And the B.I.G. fans and Pac fans definitely joined in saying dude was crazy not to include them in the top 10 of the best emcees, if not calling them the greatest.
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Twenty-five minutes after the original post, Dam responded to folks saying he was just seeking attention with, "Ask anybody who knows me, I don't say shit for attention I say exactly what i feel, people either agree or they don't. I never ever ever ever ever liked Tupac. I was a BIG fan, but in retrospect, he wasn't that great. I can think of many artists who were better than Pac and BIG and still are better. Biggies subject matter was limited. To be honest, I was a backpacker and still am. I like my shit underground. I had major issues with commercial shit back then and I still do today."
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Then forty-five minutes after we posted this joint another friend, Ced, joined in on the debate. Dude knows and appreciates good music. I had to update and give you his side.
Ced joined the debate with, "Man I had to stop breathing hard to answer this. Pac actually had a variety of meaningful content. In his early days he was more like an activist poet than a rapper. His lyrics really addressed issues rather than just intricate poetic devices about shallow things. Your friend hasn't said much about who is better than Pac and why. I think your friend should take a class on poetry and storytelling and read the lyrics for me against the world. Some people just aren't smart enough to catch what's being thrown.
Btw... Pun's mechanics are untouchable... Eminem has tried... listen to the Infinite album... and if u notice he still using a lot of rainman shit in his videos and music... its code bro. Kool G Rap's style changed my life... when I first heard Road to the Riches, I listened to it like 27 times in a row. Kane is who got me into poetry in the first place. Rakim had emotion filled content with an emotionless flow.
All that being said... I would like to know WHY dude feels the way he does. because it sounds like he's just talkin to talk. And he must of forgot all the albums before All Eyes on Me. Cause I don't know anyone who can really go toe to toe with him content wise... and he may not have always been consistent but he was real. There is no one realer in the mainstream, period."
Where are you at on this debate? Join in and comment below!
KRS-One ("Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone."), aka KRS-1 aka Kris Parker aka The Blastmaster aka The Teacha aka The Philosopher aka Kris, etc., a main staple in the hip hop community since the early 90's came to Connecticut's Toad's Place for the third time and I was fortunate enough to make this show. It's my second time seeing him here and nothing has changed. KRS-One puts on a great show. He's definitely from the old school and still has that amazing ability to connect to his fans to this day still.
He went through a bunch of his classics like Black Cop, Step Into A World, Sounds of The Police, to his verse on "Classic" that featured Kanye, Nas, Rakim and DJ Premier, My Philosophy, I'm Still Number 1 and The Bridge Is Over including many more. And they all had the crowd on their feet, hands high, reciting verse for verse. But as KRS-One does in all his shows I've seen, he also freestyled, a skill any real MC should have, for a good amount of time. Also got some of the crowd involved, inviting them on stage to participate as well along with the B Boys that were in hand to breakdance on stage while they all freestyled.
Overall, it was a great night for Hip Hop. Considering this was the place that he had a bottle thrown at him last time around, this night around ended in peace, fun, and classic hip hop from a legendary MC. I took some pics and some videos you can check out. And I apologize for the quality of them. Still working on upgrading that. Hahaha.
Video of KRS-One freestyling while breakdancing B Boys take the stage. (Sorry for the bass in the video.)
I'm really feeling that new KRS and Buckshot joint, Robot. I wondered how other heads were reacting to it, so I scanned a few blogs and checked out comments. For the most part, heads were really excited about the single and the KRS-One and Buckshot project overall. I did come across one comment that I just couldn't agree with.
"KRS and Buckshot make an entire song about the state of the industry, and we are supposed to bob our heads and dance to this? Where is the rhythm, the groove, the swing in the music? Even their spoken parts sound like a lot of dry talk that happens to end up with rhyming words, but the soul of the poetry itself (if that's what they call this) is buried in this boring press-conference and history lesson. It's not entertaining anymore to make music about the industry. It's old. These MC's are old. This song is old. This press conference has been delivered over and over and over again. Let's make fresh and new music and move the people"
The dope thing about opinions, is that you can counter it with one of your own. With this comment it's just clear that the point of the song obviously went over the head of this listener. It's obvious dude is probably more interested in buying, listening and supporting crap. These MCs are old?! Woooow. KRS-One is a pioneer and is much hotter lyrically than a lot of the cats running around with a record deal.
Guess this guy loves auto-tune copy cat tracks. I mean, a little bit is okay. But every song it seems has a bit of that damn auto-tune. All of a sudden real singers don't get bought in and paid to do a hook anymore - not when the rapper can just auto-tune the chorus them self. I'll listen to this "press conference". I'll listen to them go after unoriginal heads.
You know how I realized dude just didn't get it? "...we are supposed to bob our heads and dance to this? Where is the rhythm, the groove, the swing in the music?" Yeah, because all tracks are suppose to be that instructional dance trash that fills the radio airwaves. Come on man.
Robot, produced by Havoc of Mobb Deep, is the first track off of KRS-One and Buckshot's Survival Skills in stores August 25th on Duck Down Records. This is another one of those tracks that popped up in the email (thanks to our people at Mac Media).
Robot is real! They come straight at the current auto-tune trend and the copy-cat mentality of the craft. Remember Roger Troutman? KRS-One and Buckshot do.
This track is just an indication of a dope album on the way. According to the press release, "Survival Skills has confirmed features from Mary J Blige, Slug of Atmosphere, Immortal Technique, K'NAAN, Talib Kweli, Sean Price, Naledge of Kidz In The Hall, Smif N Wessun, Rock of Heltah Skeltah and Geo of Blue Scholars. Production on the album includes tracks from Havoc, of Mobb Deep, 9th Wonder, Black Milk, Marco Polo, Moss, Coptic, KHRYSIS! and Ill Mind."
You just got to love the stuff that shows up in your email from time to time. Received a link earlier to a video from Tony Touch's show on Shade 45, where KRS-One and Buckshot were guests. While on the show they apparently free-styled for a ten-minute stretch. This is just part one (Click to View). KRS-One and Buckshot have a studio album in the works, Survival Skills, that hits stores in August on Duck Down Records.
