LimeLight

HipHop Gets Live at the Troc.
By Manuel Agurto
12.3.07

In the world where mainstream rap is considered real hip-hop, it’s hard to tell who’s a true hip-hop fan. However, standing outside Philadelphia's Trocadero Theatre, it was almost impossible. The whole block in front of the theatre, which spanned from 10th street to 11th, was filled with people, all waiting to see two of hip-hop’s biggest legends – Ghostface Killah and Rakim – along with relative newcomer to the game Brother Ali. The Rhythm Roots All-Stars, a 10 piece, Latin infused band from LA backed the three MCs, making Hip Hop Livemore than just the name of the show, but actually bringing hip hop alive. The crowd boasted guys in fitted hats and dress-sized shirts to girls in dreads sporting grateful dead shirts, all pumping their fists and nodding heads to classic anthems such as Rakim’s “It’s been a Long Time” and Brother Ali’s “Truth Is.”
But while hip-hop has turned mainstream on the radio and the television, absolutely none of it was present at Hip Hop Live. The evenings first performer, Brother Ali, made that clear, with introspective lyrics laid over old school laid back beats, it was like traveling back to 1987 when hip hop was only allowed for people with skill, and the money was just a bonus. Dressed in a flight jacket and a throwback Allen Iverson jersey, Ali spent as much time paying tribute to the legends he was performing with as he did rhyming in his southern tinged voice.

As Brother Ali left the stage the drummer started on a very familiar beat, and as it got louder hand formed Ws were raised and a chant of “Wu-tang” was started. The band exploded into the first song and 11 guys who were not Ghostface came on stage rapping, but the real explosion of sound came when the Wu-tang legend himself came on stage. Ghostface stood in the middle of the stage almost godlike with his entourage surrounding him, and in his orange shirt, white hoodie and his football-sized chain he rocked the hell out of the packed court sized theatre. About three songs into the set, the smell of weed started to waft into the air, the air of a non -smoking space. The smoke was coming from the stage, from three of the guys of Ghostface’s crew, and the only thing they did the whole time was smoke. On the other side was two other guys drinking, and with Ghostface’s frantic running around and brazen rapping, gave his set a very music video-esque feel. The only thing missing was girls dancing, but by the time “c.r.e.a.m.” came on girls had already made their way to the stage to dance along with the rappers.

The real treat of the show however was at the very end, as the boom boom crack bass and snare of “I aint no Joke” came on, and the master MC, Rakim came on. Rakim ran through a set of classics from all his albums, and would often cut out to let the audience rap his songs for him. To his credit, the whole crowd consistently nodded their heads, as they sang along word for word. No doubt that these were real hip-hop heads, couldn't catch them dead at a Soulja Boy show. As the show finished, Brother Ali was headed out of the door, and when asked about working with Rakim he said “He was real cool, one of my legends since I was young. He was cool about everything you know, even when doing regular shit like ordering food; a real pleasure to work with.”