Let it be known, those publicists at MSO can throw one hell of a party. Apparently that is no secret as they sold out The Key Club on Wednesday, November 9, to celebrate the release of the album S.P.I.T. (Spiritual Poetry Ignites Thought) by the by-coast free style juggernaut
Supernatural. Not the most recognizable of names, Supernatural is known for his fifteen-minute plus battle with Chicago MC, Juice. The battle stands in infamy because nobody can agree on who handed who what appendage, or if the exchange was simply so vicious that each MC essentially exchanged entire bodies. While Supernatural is also noted for his, umm supernatural ability to steal the voice and style of different rap icons including The Notorious BIG, Xzibit and Busta Rhymes it was really the free style that brought the interest to the crowd. Rumors of entire guest spots being done in studio and off the dome both come as credentials and a dark spot over the rappers name and reputation. As the emcee conversed with the crowd from the stage it seemed at times he had something to prove with his new album. He needed to show his fans and contemporaries that he has the ability to sit down and write.
This evening was about as Hip-hop as it gets. The indie rock constituency usually seen at underground shows was not in attendance. Instead, the house was wall to wall with true lovers of Hip-hop. LRG and Joker brand clothing seemed to be the dress code. Even with promotional flyers getting the word out about the open Hennessy bar the pit in front of the stage was thick and impossible to navigate through. From start to finish each act that took the stage had all eyes on them. Each punch line garnered loud and hugely enthusiastic responses from the house. Memo to KRS 1: The real Hip-hop is over here.
The guest list was practically a who’s who of the LA rap scene. LMNO was slated to perform so it was not too surprising to see the rest of the Visionaries crew. Also in attendance were members of Cypress Hill, PrincePo, and Aceyalone. DJ Rhettmatic of the Beatjunkies was took care of the wax all night.
It needs to be said that Supernatural is all that is Hip-hop. The man owns the stage when he’s on it. He commands all of the audience’s attention because his lyrics are worth hearing. He can free style until the cows come home, go away and come back again and have you laughing the entire time. And finally it seems he has proven that he can sit down and write an album.
Supernatural flipped a number of tracks off of the new album, including “Internationally Known”. There was, hands down, the dirtiest free style session I have ever heard in my entire life, where the crowd was taken to task to give words and to hold up random products from their pockets and let Supernat spit about them. A highlight was a condom that the owner was quickly busted on for never getting a chance to use. The night took on a feeling of significance when Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 took the stage to back Supernat up. I really cannot come up with a word to describe the duo that spell check does not underline in red. The cop out phrase is probably unbelievable.
Even after the show had ended B-boys kept breaking and nobody wanted to go home. P.A. systems had to be used to start the mass exodus out of the club. After a WEDNESDAY night like that, I can’t wait for the man to put on a Saturday show.
Check a couple tracks on Myspace
