Posted on 10/27/2008
After last year’s awesome selection of Brother Ali, Ghostface and Rakim, Hip Hop Live did it again with one of the strongest shows I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe looking at a lineup that included Little Brother, David Banner and Talib Kweli should have made that obvious, but I was not prepared for such a consistent night of exciting music. Even the opener, Atlanta’s B.o.B, held his own with the house band, The Rhythm Roots All-Stars, as he bounced his way through some highly literate Dirty South party tunes reminiscent of vintage OutKast. Not many knew the words to his songs, but by the end of each one, people were singing along. He performed with such reckless abandon that it was only appropriate for him to close out his set sitting on a stool with his acoustic guitar, plucking out the beautiful love song, “Lovelier Than You.” To go from such convincing bluster to raw, vulnerability was a bold move that many hip-hoppers are too image-conscious or ill equipped to do, but B.o.B ran the gamut with ease. As David Banner later showed, going from impromptu PSAs about achieving your dreams to the next song of gunplay and club life, such diversity doesn’t work when the sentiment is insincere.

Despite his inconsistent subject matter, David Banner performed his behind off, sometimes a little too literally, as he tripped over a monitor at one point and crashed to the stage. In a split second he was right back up, parting the crowd like Black Moses so he could run through the people for his hit, “Like a Pimp.” The next time he was in the crowd, he stood atop a chair for “Get Like Me (Stuntin’ is a Habit).” In between, he ran around the stage removing his clothes and climbed up to the balcony, inching his way along the rail, but showing no fear of plunging to his death. Whatever is to be made of his lyrics, with a live band, the music itself was hypnotic. Since Banner of late has become a talking head for hip-hop, often saying his lyrics are grimy because that’s what the people want to hear, it’s only fair to point out that he’s probably right. Before performing “Play,” he asked a fan which version they’d rather hear, the explicit “tryin’ to get your p*ssy wet” or the tamer “tryin’ to get your body wet.” As Banner launched into “I’m tryin’ to get your p*ssy wet,” it was similar to a moment earlier in B.o.B’s set when he invited women from the audience up on stage while he did “Night Life.” Some of the girls started dancing around, but two of them took it to another level, bending over and grinding on each other for B.o.B’s pleasure, something he never asked them to do (though I’m sure he didn’t mind). You can’t blame the music, the artist or the media for the extra grit, just those cruddy broads, proving that maybe hip-hop at large only feeds us trash because it’s really all we want. “Play” along with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (yeah, that one) and a rock version of “9MM” all added up to the most non-stop, energetic set of the night. It almost felt unfair to have Kweli, not exactly known for his kinetic performances, follow Banner, but he had some extras in store.

Before Banner and the headliner hit the stage, though, Little Brother kept the crowd warm with their grown man party music. The highlight of their set was Phonte’s rebellion against dancing that requires a class, a la Soulja Boy. Instead, he provided the LBTST, “Little Brother Two-Step Tutorial,” to help the White folks keep the rhythm to “Two Step Blues.” The lessons continued with “Slow It Down” as Phonte chastised young men for relying too much on ‘e-courage,’ that is, saying foolishness through technology that they’d never have the balls to say to a woman’s face. LB’s mature, Average Joe set was a drastic contrast from the jumping around craziness of B.o.B, but pulled off a lot of charm and wit to engage the crowd in a totally different way.

Starting off with “Going Hard” set the tone for the rest of the night as Kweli went through some of his harder, thought-provoking songs, mostly from Eardrum including “Give’em Hell,” “Listen,” “Hostile Gospel” and “Holy Moly.” He even segued into “Hot Thing” from Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” (yes, he sang, sort of) and brought a hype Strong Arm Steady onstage for “Go With Us” and “Can’t Let It Go.” A welcome remnant from Beautiful Struggle was the old school inspired, “We Got the Beat” that returned the crowd to its dance party mode. More guests followed as Kweli’s Idle Warship outfit joined him onstage for “Black Snake Moan,” a ghetto disco joint that couldn’t be further from what has been established as ‘typical’ Kweli music. It threw the crowd for a loop, too, but I always encourage so-called weird music from unexpected places. If that means the next Electric Circus or Worldwide Underground is afoot, then it can only mean good things for hip-hop. Of course, “Get By,” “I Try” and other two word song titles were in the mix with Kwe closing the show with his verse from Kanye West’s “Get’em High” with Buckshot from Black Moon joining him onstage for a freestyle to the hip-swerving beat. It might have been the most guest-laden show I’ve ever seen Kweli do, but none of it watered down his style or took away from his lyrical skill. The band thumped its last drumbeat as the clock struck one, bringing another dope tour from Hip Hop Live to a satisfying end.

- Candace L.

For some live video from the night, check out our News Blog.