burnt_hiphophead

Ice Cube [A+]. He rocked the crowd and it got me listening to and loving all his old and new albums. I got threatened by a big biker because I was jumping around, so pumped, and kept bumping into him. I would travel to see Cube again.

Snoop Dogg [B-] and [F]. Saw him twice. First time, he kept the crowd waiting like 90 minutes after the last opening act but he came out and was pretty solid, put on a decent show. Second time, he came out and I think he was either way too high (unlikely) or super burnt out/hung over. He couldn't carry a tune, basically I could've done a better job with his songs and that is by no means saying much. Earned the F and I'll never pay to see him again, sorry D o double G.

Kanye [A]. I know, he's more of a producer, but I'm putting him here anyways. Saw him while touring after Late Registration and he was amazing. Went for a good hour and a half straight with very very little down time. Played with an orchestra and backup singers. Played the piano while he rapped on a couple songs. Expensive ticket but well worth it. I wouldn't go out of my way to see him perform his new shit but at that time, wow.

Reflection Eternal [A]. At Rock the Bells this year. I've heard live recordings of Kweli where his voice is extra raspy and not sounding so hot but that was not the case. He was probably the best sounding rapper I've ever seen, in terms of vocal clarity and not missing lyrics. They were great, lots of sing along parts for the crowd. I forgot how many great songs Hi-Tek has produced.

Big Boi [B+]. Had some technical difficulties but came through. Very funny on the mic in between, didn't sound forced or anything. Played his hits. Thumbs up, only downside was the lack of Dre 3k.

Cypress Hill [C+]. Good show, bonus points for getting super baked on stage in front of cops who were throwing people out for doing the same in the crowd. B-Real's awesome. A highlight was the drummer who played almost a full kit (including cymbals) with his hands. For some reason I wasn't as into it as other acts I've seen, but they were still very fun to watch.

Nas and Damian Marley [A+]. Headliners from Rock the Bells. Unreal. Check the videos on youtube. Highlights were 'one mic' (Where they dimmed the lights and it was just Nas and the best djembe player I've ever heard), the big rasta who just waved a flag in a circle on stage for their whole set, and the One Love/One Love medley.

GZA [C+]. He spent a good deal of time complaining about the sound system at the venue. Thought he was kidding but he kept at it so clearly he wasn't. Great voice, crowd was really into it singing along, but his complaining kind of bummed me out, I thought it sounded alright.

Classified [A]. This grade includes his crew that generally tours with him, like J-Bru, Mic Boyd, Chad Hatcher, etc. I've seen Class four or five times now and will go again when he tours this fall. Can't wait. They always rock the crowd and what really stands out with these guys is they hang out and party with the crowd afterwards. I'm usually incoherantly drunk and exhausted by the time they're hangin out but nonetheless it's a great time. Couldn't recommend seeing them enough, ticket prices are always cheap, and his albums just keep getting better.

2pac [A+++]. I wish. Only saw his 'live at the house of blues' DVD. Safe to say it would've been the best show ever? I'm leaning towards yes.

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Wildcard, bitches! - Charlie Kelly

al-Mu'akhkhir

Class comes through the 204? Since when?

Er for some reason I have it stuck in my head that you're from WPG.... Perhaps I'm incorrect?

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Geeno

Method man always talks about beating the sound guy down, a lot of rappers do. I think it's a game, cause when Cage did it the sound guy was smiling like he expected it.

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Black

mehtod man A+ but it was my birthday and i was so blown

jedi mind tricks-B

r.a. the rugged man-A! he was great. after the show i went up to him all like "hey dude awesome show blah blah blah hip hop appreciation and what not" and he just looks at me and says "ya. buy my cd." HAHA made my night.

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formality known as higherlearner84, la coka nostra and finding balance.

Jack Straw

The Roots - A
Snoop Dogg - C-, he dropped the classix then str8 into the mainstream b/s
Three 6 Mafia - C just avg. definately party music that is meant for you to just laugh, dance, and have a good time to. No deep musical qualities here.
Nas - B+ pretty decent.
Kid Cudi - B- new guy with youth and energy on his side.
Also saw Boots Riley from the Coup with Galactic, which was good. Boots has stage presence.

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The time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted -John Lennon

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. -John Muir

One man gathers what another man spills...

myxomatosis

This'll take me a fair bit. Good thread though burnt.

Only dude I've seen be real dick about the sound was Busta at RTB 09 in DC. Geeno I wish Cage woulda been on the sound guy when I saw him because the sound was absolutely fucking godawful.

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oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird
and why can't that always be
tossing aside from your birches crown
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me

last.fm
blog deal (updated 12/22/11)

Grieves

I'm sure I'll forget some...

Ludacris - [F] Anger Management tour the year Eminem's third major album came out, it was at the tacoma dome and his sound dude pumped the bass to levels that made the rest of the mix uncomprehenable...He opened so I didn't expect much...

Xzibit - [C] Same as above, better mix, he was at the height of his career so it played like a greatest hits set..Never been an above average rapper just clung onto the right scene at the right time and it showed...

Eminem - [A] He did it all, had theatrics, was at the pinnacle of his career, everyone was there to see him, plenty of guests, great set, did like 4 encores...Mind you this was back in 03 when he was the shit...

Kanye West - [B] Sasquatch 04, Right before his second album came out, played between Wilco and Modest Mouse which was a pretty odd mix...He didn't have the litany of hits so most of the songs were snippets/test versions of upcoming songs...His dj was sick and despite not being that well known had the audience going...

Blue Scholars [A] Seen em 5 times now and they have been great every time, most memorable was Sasquatch 05(06?) in the rain on the second stage...

T.I. - [B] Bumbershoot 08...For a generic rapper in a stadium he did pretty well, did some great freestylin to beats/samples that he would never get clearance to, talked about his recent arrest, did what he needed...Downgraded a grade because his set was hit and miss, too many no-name/crew guest spots...

Brother Ali [A] Bumbershoot 08...Best rap act I have seen, ever...

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Geeno

Another thing, when I went to RTB the main stage artists suffered from a shitty sound set up. Everyone sounded like shit until the last few acts.

The indie stage was fine though, Brother Ali, Slug, Murs, Ant, Grouch & Eli, Mr Lif, Blueprint were all good.

Sage Francis was even alright but I'm simply not a fan

MF DOOM was late and either I was tired or it was mediocre. I guarantee he would be awesome in a smaller venue. That's how I felt about BCC reps, Talib/Mos, Wu-Tang (who never can gather all members, and definitely plays the same set everytime with some random ad lib shit)

Method Man himself is probably one of the greatest entertainers of our time, I'm dead serious. I've seen him four times and he is always the premier MC, keeps it way fresh, physical performance is always insane. Plus he's a nice guy and was willing to sit and chat with my drunk ass. Redman was acting all bourgie and wasted, good stuff but Method Man gets the crowd going whether hes with Wu or Red.

Bukue One, this indie guy that does work with Del The Funkee Homosapien, this guys a fucking great MC out of the bay area. First time I saw him he was skating around the venue before it filled up, ollied a tipped garbage can and did some other stuff. I've gotten to chat with him twice, he's a true hustler. This guy will do custom art on anything for a low fee, it's good stuff too. His raps are great too, his production on his releases are great too.

T-Double a guy out of Austin who's connected to the freestyle fellowship crew, he was really good too.

I love it when super underground guys do their own DJing in addition to rap.

Cage was alright, the venue sucked but it was cheap and he did do Agent Orange and Suicidal failure... I'm not up on nor big on his new stuff but overall he was way better than Yak Ballz from The Weathermen... that guy was kindof a homo tbh.

Del and A Plus are always good but they do the same set thing and get wasted, cool guys though. A plus is very short but he's mad cool, high standards for weed and I can appreciate that.

Psalm One - Awesome female MC. We've discussed her before, I really enjoyed her performance. She worked the crowd and jacked contemporary pop beats and reworked them to be more appropriate, that was awesome cause it was clearly fresh and mocked the pop tracks. Female MC on that gettin some head jaunt, just hilarious.

Big Pooh - Ill MC. His name is Big Pooh cause he's a huge friendly dude. We exchanged words for a bit and I bought his album and had him sign it.

Junk Science/Iller Than Yours (theirs?) - Two seperate groups underground dudes from brooklyn, very awesome performance with some impressively sick beats (DJ Snafu gets specific props)

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burnt_hiphophead

Every year man, for instance Sept 16th at the Pyramid. I've seen him there a few other times, it's a decent little venue. And yeah I'm not from the peg but have been doing school there the past couple years. Cool city but man does it take forever to get anywhere.

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Wildcard, bitches! - Charlie Kelly