This Saturday was living proof of how a show does not need to be packed or widely promoted to be an awesome time. The Knitting Factory was far from capacity but the crowd was full of people free-styling, break dancing, and writing rhymes in books as the Beat Society dropped dope beat after dope beat. The ever changing cast of the society was made up of, this particular Saturday, DJ Rhettmatic, Jake 1, Marco Polo and Kev Brown. Each of the producers sat behind their own toys that ranged from Mac laptops and keyboards to turntables. This made the stage appearance really underwhelming. It looked like a computer geek fest gone street. But oh what sick sounds those computer fools were making. Too much Hip-hop sounds like a cheap spoof of itself but the music coming from the Knitting Factory was far from that. They had a mature quality to them. There were unique samples from classical music that gave the music layers. It was nothing short of a Hip-hop symphony. Cut and dry, the sound was dank, heads and arms were bouncing but the stage show left the crowd after something more.
So what saved the night? The mighty Perceptionists. Mr. Lif seems to embody everything positive in Hip-hop. His lyrics have the slight odor of a formal education and his political message is one that I would take to DC and yell on that a^^hole from Texas’ front lawn. Not that he would listen or anything. While on the album Black Dialog, the other half of the Perceptionists, Akrobatic, seemed to be a bit of a weight, kicking basic unimpressive rhymes that sounded like he was trying to keep up with Lif. But after being reminded of his appearance on stage I found out why the man does have a following. Lif and Ak have odd symmetry that works. The pair bounced off of each other in word and physical performance that made up for the aesthetically unimpressive Beat Society.
The highlight of the group show was “Memorial Day.” The chorus had the house screaming, “where are the weapons of mass destruction” in the continuing protest of US foreign policy and unjust war. Each of the two did some solo stuff, highlighted by a verse of Mr. Lif’s “Live From the Plantation.” I went MONKEY SH^T. There is something really special about hearing one of your favorite songs live. It was the one of two times I put my camera down all night.
Fresh off of a review in Elemental Magaazine, Kev Browns neo-soul beats and frequent use of a sample of his own name had people hooked on. His excellent beats and heavy promotion for his justifiably anticipated album gave the feeling that Kev Brown was one of the stars of the night.
The show was full of good music and an abnormally creative and social group of heads. While the energy was not off the wall all night there was this awesome peaceful, together vibe that made the show well worth the bucks and gas.
