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Date: Friday, October 25th, 2002
Location: River Street Jazz Cafe in Wilkes-Barre, PA
4:30pm - My show is in three hours and the Black Lung Brothers
concert is in four and a half and I can't get a hold of anyone.
4:31pm - Screw it I need food; I'm going to the mall to get
a slice of pizza.
6:30pm - Ok, I talked to everyone, now I just have to wait
for them to get here.
6:45pm - My Mic Check on WreKC mixshow on WRKC 88.5 FM in
Wilkes-Barre starts 15 minutes early.
Sorry for that brief time breakdown, but anyone who has ever
put on a show, promoted for one, or helped organize one, will
know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not saying I had
a significant part in the show, but my OCD was acting up again…so
you know..haha
Aktober 25th will definitely be marked as the highlight of
my month. The night officially started with King Just and
Funk Wizard Snow dropping by my Mic Check on WreKC radio show.
Not even five minutes went by; when the Krush Unit and SubHoodz
family called and said they were entering Wilkes-Barre and
would be at the studio shortly. Arriving to literally Krush
the airwaves was Stress, Havoc, Stiff Lou and Mainframe of
the Subhoodz, along with Side Effect and M-Ski. Everyone got
their chance to spit on the mic over insane type beats by
Stress. After we all closed the show with phat freestyles
hen we trooped over to the River Street Jazz Cafe to continue
the party at the Black Lung Brothers concert.
We were only there a short time before Funk Wizard Snow jumped
on stage to handle his business as emcee for the evening.
His first duty was introducing Side Effect and M-Ski, and
if you've never seen these two live you have never seen a
live show before. From lyrics to stage presence, this pair
set off the night with a bang and let the audience know just
what kind of show they should expect. Aside from the music,
the energy and fun that they had on stage showed how much
love they have for their craft, and that HIp Hop should be
something to have fun with and enjoy. They run through an
extensive melody of Hip Hop classics and made them sound as
fresh as ever. They finished things off with a twerked out
rendition of the Art Of Noise classic Moments In Love.
Right on the heels of Side and Ski were SubHoodz rockin the
stage and throwing hand grenades. It must be a Krush Unit
thing, because these guys were very comfortable and commanding
on stage. Though they didn't use their live band setup, the
crew showed that they can perform anywhere & anytime with
just as much intensity. They simply plugged in the MP and
unleashed an intensely funky fury.
Wilkes-Barre was the location of the show but Philly wasn't
the only other city representing. Arcane trekked up I-81 from
Baltimore to bless the stage. With Arcane in the house it
meant that both the Greater Philadelphia Hip Hop Alliance
and Maryland Hip Hop Alliance were reprresented in the WB.
Now what do you get if you mix storyline rhymes with a little
spoken word, comedy courtesy of Timmy Grins, and a DJ who
can also MC in BaltimoreHipHop.com's DJ Face? How about the
quartet known as Arcane. This group took stage performance
to a different level as they created an atmosphere around
themselves and opened it up wide enough for the audience to
experience. Of course most MC's usually base songs around
themes or storylines, but this group told entire stories and
managed to keep the song's theme centered for even those ADHD
Hip-Hoppas.
Last but not least to the stage were the headlining Black
Lung Brothers. The East Coast faction of the crew was represented
by emcees Jaeon and Tommy Mula and the lovely and talented
vocalist Nicole Zollo (WB natives Dor and Manny Thornton represent
BLB out in San Francisco). Collectively they gave the audience
exactly what the previous acts had already gotten an enthusiastic
crowd accustomed to- an appreciation for real, live, Hip Hop.
I usually hate to use the word "real," because everyone
says it so often, but to use any other word would be an injustice
to the Black Lung Brother performance. Both emcees got their
time to shine, along with laying down a groundwork for shows
to come in our area. As for Philly's Nicole Zollo, I'm still
trying to decide which I enjoyed more- looking at her or listening
to her. So until then I'll just say that she is a very talented
artist and will definitely be getting her own shine. There
was the part of the show where women were stuffing bills in
her shirt and jeans but I'll leave that vignette alone for
now.
Well, that concludes my review, and I just want to give a
big shout to everyone that helped make the show a success.
Unfortunately, we don't have as many fans and groups as bigger
areas (i.e. Philly, NYC, Baltimore), but it's definitely a
good feeling to have people come into our town and represent
so we can put on a good show. We are definitely trying to
lay down groundwork for more things to come, so until then…
Black Lung
Brothers
SubHoodz
Arcane
Side
Effect
Greater Philadelphia
Hip Hop Alliance
Maryland
Hip Hop Alliance
Review by Diesis-I
Contributing writer- PhillyHipHop.com
Host of Mic Check on WreKC mixshow on 88.5 FM- King's College
in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Member of the Greater Philadelphia Hip Hop Alliance
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