Hey all! Live Buzzer Kelsey here.
Monday night was one of epic proportions at The Bluebird, one that I'm still bragging about to all of my friends that *sadly* could not be in attendance (sorry, friends, but it's true). A bit of hip-hop? A live 10-piece band? An encore featuring all of the night's acts that included a cover of The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"? Pinch me now.
In lieu of writing a full-fledged blog, here is a link to the article that I wrote for the Indiana Daily Student about this year's Hip Hop Live! Tour.
A couple of additional things to note:
-Phonte from Little Brother approached me before the show and was sweet as can be. He saw me diligently taking notes and literally told me he was going to give me a quote after the show. Psh, yeah!
-I wasn't sure if I would like David Banner's set, but I found myself dancing along just like everyone else. And he really did ask the crowd to chant his name about....23948329 times. It was great.
-The live band, the Rhythm Roots All Stars? Man. They were on fire. Congas, bongos, a steel drum, trumpets, a riveting guitar player and a wicked bassman---wow. Their sound added a completely different element to the live hip-hop show---it was the hip-hop show the way it SHOULD be.
-Highlight of the night (besides, you know, the cover of SUGARHILL GANG): Groupies haphazardly wandering/dancing around on stage. Maybe you had to be there.
-Talib can inspire. Really, I found that I stopped dancing and stood, jaw agape, quite a few times during his set just because his performance awed me that much.
-"Do I have any Black Star fans in the crowd tonight?" My response: "PLEASE PLAY 'DEFINITION', PLEASE." And he did. And it was wonderful. Thank you, Talib. I only wish Mos Def could have been up on stage to join you (and probably melt my face off with greatness).
-Memorable quote of the night: "I HAVE A FEVER AND THE ONLY PRESCRIPTION IS MORE COWBELL!"-Talib Kweli (This then inspired both David Banner AND Phonte to try their hands at playing one. Awesome.)
It was a phenomenal show, to say the least.
Check out this video I took during "Hostile Gospel Pt. 1 (Deliver Us)" by Talib Kweli's set. Holy goodness, he's great.
Here are a few more pictures taken by the lovely Emily Dwan. She wasn't afraid to throw some 'bows to get up front.
