Posted on 06/16/2008
As the gods would have it, Summer Jam rolled through Denver this past Friday night, same time as the 3rd annual indie hip-hop love fest, Paid Dues. I bumped into some dude at a bar after the show who’d gone to see Weezy instead. So how was it, man? It sucked, there were tons of fights. Sounds tight. It blows my mind how dichotomous hip-hop has become. It’s on some serious Democrat/Republican ‘ish and as much as I wish we could all just get along, the vacuous space between major and indie, popular and underground, or whatever, at least provides cats more on the grind with inspiration to show and prove that much harder, especially live. There’s a serious difference between someone who just manufactures hot records and those that are true entertainers, tried and true through years of touring in order to feed their families. Friday night was an exhibition of the latter in glorious form.

With a flow so sick, paid dues, then came out the crevices with homepiss, shows I rip.

-Yakballz

I cleared the barely apparent security check in time to catch the end of Yakballz’ set. He took his shirt off and started jumping around the stage like a banshee, all while it was still light outside with only a hundred people or so in the venue. But dude was vibing as he closed out with the hypnotically ominous banger “The Freak Show.” Everyone reacted and I remembered what’s so cool about indie rap shows is that cats aren’t nearly as inhibited. Fun and crowd participation are copasetic on all accounts. I bounced to the merch table to chop it up with Yak and grab his new Scifentology 2 CD. “Man, not to start on a tragic note but condolences for Camu Tao.” “Yeah thanks, man. It’s so sad, he was so ahead of his time.” “Agreed. Last time I saw him he was on some 3000 singing shit but harder. Anything ever come of that material?” “Yo, wait til you here the album. It’s like that Outkast/Gnarls style but better.” “So how’s the tour been going?” “Man, I’m not even here to perform so much. I’m a fan. I’m here to see De La!” True that. And as the night progressed, it was easy to spot plenty of other cats peeping their peers’ performances.

Lights, camera, spotlight, feel like the Howard marching band at the stoplight.

-Naledge

Kidz In The Hall must have taken a cue from Yakballz’ semi-nudity because as soon as those two hit the stage the energy got pushed to the roof and Naledge’s long-sleeved RockSmith crew came flying off. “Black Out,” the intro track from their sophomore album, The In Crowd, out now on Duckdown, is a party starter for real, a la “Know The Ledge,” anything Bomb Squad, or any otherwise dope shit from around 1990. The Kidz definitely know their history and part of that history is rocking a party. Naledge’s stage presence is well honed for someone so young and Double-O plays triple threat by DJ’ing, dropping the occasional verse/killing it as hype man and by brandishing sticks to knock out beats on electric drum pads. “Mr. Alladatshit” was a crowd pleaser but nothing compared to this summer’s hottest track (yeah, Weezy’s “A Milli” is blazing too), “Drivin’ Down The Block.” Fists got pumped to exhaustion. The electro claps set the pace for neck snaps and the bass was hitting so hard it tickled my feet. I guarantee Masta Ace is happy with the way they sampled his voice on that. After a lap through the crowd and a big “Fuck Soulja Boy,” the Kidz dipped and things stayed steady on the right track.

Aliens have landed in Denver.

-Supernatural

Scratch from The Legendary Roots Crew stepped up to play Hey DJ for a bit before Supernatural joined him on stage. He amazed a solid chunk of the crowd, some of whom I doubt have ever seen a guy do such crazy shit with only his voice. Choice beats, scratches and vocal snippets got looped thru a sampler and Scratch just built and built to a crescendo of wowed applause. I’d call his dancehall medley including “Murder She Wrote” and “Ring The Alarm” a personal highlight. Supernatural came out sparking further awe with a slew of off-the-top Colorado references, an “If I Was President” free over Dead Prez’ “Hip-Hop” (courtesy of Scratch), and spot on impressions of Busta Rhymes, Slick Rick and Big.

 

My Mama woulda killed me for seeing Lil’ Wayne!

-Murs

Despite the man’s ever-increasing production responsibilities, Murs managed to reign in 9th Wonder for the Paid Dues tour this year. It’s immediately clear why these guys make great music together. A constant stream of shit talking and laughter consumed the stage as soon as 9th threw on his beat for Jay-Z’s “Threat” for Murs’ entrance. Murs was like, “I had you first. I made you famous!” They stuck to their joined catalogue of Murs 3:16 - The 9th Edition and Murray’s Revenge, laying out certified jams like “Murs Day,” “L.A.,””H-U-S-T-L-E,” and “Bad Man!” This was the shortest set of the night, which is props to Murs since he’s the father of this whole event and obviously hasn’t let his administrative role inflate his ego. That said, he did show off a nasty running man as well as land the Kid ‘n Play jump through the leg move.

 

 
 

You need to cut the noose but you don’t believe in scissors.

-Sage Francis

Sage Francis did not land the Kid ‘n Play move, not even close. In fact, he looked more like an Appalachian lumberjack than a hip-hop head, but all doubts were put to rest as he stomped around solo under the hue of blue stage lights ferociously ripping through two Alias produced bangers, “Sea Lion” and “Escape Artist.” But it wasn’t all deep and emotional. Sage killed it double-time over M.A.R.R.S.’ “Pump Up The Volume” after which he proclaimed, “I could do a kickflip over your Mothers’s tits” and made an ill-advised attempt at the aforementioned dance step. He closed his set with “Damage” but spit it over “Ante Up.” Dude definitely knows his stuff as do the youth out there. I may have been able to do “Breakadawn” word for word but a portion of the young crowd was straight up reciting this cat. Nice to see some kids still interested in lyrics.

 

Utilize it to the fullest, be true to yourself and stay humble.

-Gift of Gab

When it comes to paying dues, you gotta mention Quannum. The Bay Area/Sac Town collective has been innovating uncompromised styles and sounds for well over a decade now. And to really appreciate these guys’ prowess, I advise seeing them live. I told someone in the crowd that Gift of Gab from Blackalicous probably has the best breathe control since Big Daddy Kane. I got a blank look. 30’s a bitch. Anyway, Gab and Chief Xcel took the stage and laid into “Blazing Arrow,” the title track off their sophomore full-length, followed by “Rhythm Sticks” from The Craft. Gab announced they had a special guest and your boy Lateef The Truth Speaker ran out and nailed his verse from “It’s Going Down.” He and Xcel did “Lester Hayes” off their collabo Maroons album but a real highlight came when Lateef performed the Latyrx classic, “Lady Don’t Tek No.” That’s one of the coolest funkiest jams and smiles abounded as Lateef sang; She don’t like violence but she can throw them things so don’t let your guard down... But never one to be out done, Gab launched into “Chemical Calisthenics,” effectively shocking on-lookers with his endless breathless darts and verbose knowledge of the periodic table of elements. Gab and Lateef, currently known as The Mighty Underdogs, treated the crowd to “Gunfight,” the first single off their new collabo EP, The Prelude. Look out for The Mighty Underdogs full-length come Fall. The set ended with Blackalicous’ cautionary tale, “Deception” off Nia and chants of La Di Da Dada Di Da echoed throughout the audience well beyond the crew’s exiting stage left.

 

Now I’m something like a phenomenon, I’m something like a phenomenon.

-Posdnous

Man, as soon as I heard “Potholes In My Lawn” come on I knew it was gonna be live! It’s wild seeing De La now, 20 years into their groundbreaking, uncommonly consistent career. They haven’t lost a breath (though Pos did allude to the mile-high altitude) and the crowd was immediately bouncing harder than it had all night. “Stakes Is High” further ignited then Mase left the DJ booth like a young Tyson as he rushed Pos and Dave, throwing fake body blows and commanding a mic for his third of “Pass The Plugs,” then playing Redman during “Oooh.” Dude was more excited than R. Kelly at recess! I think this was the moment a lot of us recognized that love, that element of fun that might not be so common in a lot of hip-hop these days. When an artist really lets go, it’s hard not to be right there with them. The Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh! of “Ego Triipin” had everyone pumping fists, including almost every other rapper in attendance. That led into a barrage of timelessness including “Me, Myself & I,” “…Saturday’s,” “Buddy” and “Ring Ring Ring.” 6 hours in, the show ended past midnight.

There wasn’t a single fight. Strangers gave pounds and exchanged favorite lyrics. Every set I witnessed was practiced, polished and delivered with true professionalism. I didn’t see any strippers and I’d put my money on Heineken not Ace Of Spades champagne. Who can say what underground means today… who cares? Different eyes got opened to different styles and a sense of respect permeated the humid-ass air. Is hip-hop dead? Never, if cats like these continue paying dues by keeping it live.

Camu Tao Rest In Peace .

- Jeff Artist