A lesson in real rap, #afterthebreak…
The Roots Present Hip Hop: A BET Experience at Club Nokia featuring:
The Legendary Roots Crew
Warren G
Method Man
Redman
Doug E. Fresh
Talib Kweli
(06/28/14)
It’s a yearly tradition…when the Legendary Roots Crew fly west to celebrate the BET Awards Experience with a headlining show at Club Nokia. I’ve always wanted to see Questlove, Black Thought, and the soulful entourage live. Call me smitten by all the east coast tall tales. “The Roots are hip hop,” you hear. Not just west coast or east coast. All hip hop. They live, breathe, and die for their art. It keeps them, like the energizer bunny, going. Their BET experience was built around showcasing & preserving some of the artists that were scattered / left behind by spoiled rap fans over the years…while having a good time celebrating legendary music. This isn’t a event to be missed. I’ll tell you why.
Again, not gonna stress this enough, you don’t wanna miss this show. The initial start time (11 P.M.) was later than the normal. That’s okay. I took a nap to prepare myself for breaks between acts. Figured we’d be there until at least 3 A.M. Nope. The Roots played legendary for two hours straight, no breaks, while guests jumped in every 15 minutes. The music didn’t stop to breathe. Quest wouldn’t let it. He kept the drum beat pumping as Tariq channeled each guests featuring artist (like Nate Dogg. RIP!) on top of spitting classic Roots poetry. All of this would’ve happened whether Club Nokia was sold out or not. It’d be the same show. Warren G would’ve regulated, Meth & Red would’ve ripped the roof off, Professor Dougie E. Fresh would’ve educated with his lyrical wordplay, and the Roots would still be playing.
Still can’t believe I got to rap “Regulate” in the same building as Warren G. Can I high-five my 10-year-old self? Is that possible? G-Funk never dies. He actually came out with “Do You See”. Back the fuck up. Even now, it’s still hard to be Warren G. Same old shit, different age.
Loved Redman and Method Man too. Those two homeboys really haven’t lost their swagger. As high energy I expected from all the Def Jam spots I use to watch. Their tag team performance drew from both their solo & collaborator sessions. Check out “Da Rockwilder” below:
Method Man came out with his iconic “Bring The Pain” to kick off their set at the exact moment I just happened to lose my shit. It wasn’t all music, however. Redman got on the mic at one point steaming about the current state of rap. He praised the room for supporting “real” hip hop. Still wonder if he was talking about Yeezus? Would like to see Redman kick Tyga’s weak ass.
Cause it doesn’t get more real than Doug E. Fresh. One of those game masters who, despite looking older, still has mad skill behind the mic. I kept saying, “look at him beat boxing like he’s on the playground.” Oh, he brought the Doug E. Dance too. Breaking into dance at any chance he could get. Mr. so Fresh ended his set with a back & forth rhyming session with the crowd. It was like beating a Grandmaster in a video game. Solve a complex puzzle & you get to go home. Took a few fun rounds to get it perfect. Two points for crowd interaction.
The lights came on two hours later. No encore. Our hip hop lesson had come to end with an artist who help started it. A testament to how true art never dies. Hell, I didn’t want them to stop. The Roots could’ve played for another two hours. I wasn’t gonna leave until Club Nokia pushed me out. This was the most well rounded hip hop show I’ve covered in my blogging tenure. Why would I turn my back on that?
Props to Questlove, Black Thought, James! (my favorite) & the rest of the guys for one hell of a performance! You did present Hip Hop, all right. Now, dem kids will never be the same.