By PerpleReign on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 4:00 pm
Half the people at Saturday’s Rock the Bells had no clue who Naeem Juwan was, but that didn’t stop Spank Rock (who was supposed to be joined by Amanda Blank, but she bailed in favor of going to a George Michael concert) from providing the only source of true hip-hop entertainment that day. Juwan, Devlin and Darko drew an impressive crowd, all screaming, all grinding and all smiling, to the tiny side stage, and had everyone, from the hipsters in red plastic shades (Mos Def was sporting the same kind), to the trashy broads in bikinis, to the bros in Hollister t-shirts, singing “shake it til my dick turn racist.” By the end of their forty-five minute set, they had the whole crowd on stage sweating, half naked and screaming as Juwan swung from the light rigging. They had people singing and rhyming into the mic. They had people laughing. They were, oddly enough, the truest hip-hop act there, if I do say so myself. They elicited the most positive response, drew the largest active crowd (technically, there were more people sitting in the main arena, but the bored looks on people’s faces during the Pharcyde’s set made my heart break) and deepened the crowd’s love when Juwan threw a chair at a trio of bro dudes in the front row.
It did seem odd that a side stage act triumphed in the crowd department, especially over all members of the Wu-Tang present (Method Man, Raekwon and Ghostface). But then again, it seemed like every single person there, both concertgoers and talent, were phoning it in. The festival’s M.O. was “true old school hip-hop,” complete with people walking around in “I Used to Love H.E.R.” shirts, supposedly geeked on seeing Rakim, Afrika Bambaataa and Native Tongues De La Soul and the headlining (reunited, again, but only for the sake of the tour) A Tribe Called Quest. And if the impressive lineup, which also included Nas, the aforementioned Tony Starks and Dead Prez, didn’t drive the message of true hip-hop home, basically every main stage act rhymed over the same classic breaks, as if to remind everybody they were at a hip-hop show and not Camp Bisco or a DMB fest, which was hard to remember, considering the number of dudes I saw shirtless, bleeding and pouring beer over their heads while being escorted out of the Comcast Center was at least seven, within one hour. And the place wasn’t even at full capacity by the end. I saw more hours clocked in line at the Rockin’Rita stand than I did seeing people actually listening to the music. And for all the game talked and forced enthusiasm, Rock the Bells was similar to a tailgate, but with louder and more superfluous and shitty bass levels (which was no doubt worsened by the lack of bodies to absorb the extra noise). Rock the Bells 2008 made me want to go home, listen to 3 Feet High and Rising and weep.
By PerpleReign on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 6:00 pm
This past Sunday wasn't just the day that Kanye West pulled the dead mom card on live TV during the Grammys. It was also the premiere of the second season of the brilliant, piss-in-your-pants comedy, The Whitest Kids U' Know (Sundays at 11pm, on IFC). In case you have been sleeping on your cutting edge comedy troupe game, The Kids are a group of Brooklyn based SVA alums who give the Mr. Show dudes a run for their money (and I will laugh at anything, absolutely anything David Cross does). Made up of Trevor Moore, Sam Brown, Zach Gregger, Timmy Williams and Darren Trumeter, Jr., the troupe has been garnering acclaim for sometime now-Variety named them one of the “10 Comics to Watch” in 2006. The premiere had my roommate and I weeping as Sam’s ever-present ball sack kept pulling a Where’s Waldo? and as Trevor got too much info on his first date (hint: she handles menstruation by air-drying). If the writers’ strike had you bummed, and you had residual bummed-outness from the loss of Chappelle’s Show as I did, rejoice, because The Whitest Kids U’ Know is here to make everything OK. And by OK, I mean offensive, uncensored, raw and out of control. If you think Michael Cera is the cat’s pajamas, do not sleep on this show. And since the weather has been turrrrrrrible as of late, cop season one which is now available from Genius Products and catch up with the goofy and spot-on humor that is only gonna get better this season.
