Rock The Bells @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
If there's a singular take-away point from Sunday's Rock the Bells show, it's that hip-hop has built up enough cache over the years to warrant a day-long concert attended by folks ranging from their teens to those with gray hairs in their goatees, at near capacity levels. That's impressive.
Even more impressive might've been the main stage's power lineup: Rakim, De La Soul, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, Nas, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface, and A Tribe Called Quest. Serving almost like the little kids' table at Thanksgiving's Day dinner, with the exception of Afrika Bambataa, was the second stage where up-and-comers The Cool Kids and B.o.B. performed. For the sake of brevity, I'll spotlight some of the more memorable performances of the day.
Supernatural: It's been some years since Supernatural first got attention for, and won, an epic freestyle battle with MC Juice. As the show's hype man, he and Scratch, of The Roots fame, provided more than adequate filler in between sets. He asked people to give him objects to incorporate in his freestyle. Whether it was a Geico ad, phone, or Obama pin, Supernat made it work. Quite frankly, it was amazing to see how quickly his mind worked.
Rakim: He's on just about everyone's top 10 list of best emcees, if not #1. Although there were acts before him, The God was the real kickoff. The crowd volume and rap-a-longs increased immensely the second he hit the stage. Whether it was "I Ain't No Joke", "Paid In Full", or "Juice", he came with a force that would put most other rappers to shame.
Nas: With all the controversy over his latest album's proposed title and his protest of a certain news organization, Nas has been garnering headlines. Given all the ups and downs in his career, it was good to hear him recite the lines that made him get attention in the first place. "N.Y. State of Mind", "Represent", and "The World Is Yours" were prominent in his set.
A Tribe Called Quest: I didn't see the whole set, but if it was anything like "Oh My God" and "Lyrics To Go", I'm sure it was memorable.
There was one major disappointment: Wale's set lasted for only 10 minutes. He said he would be coming back at some point during the show but, as far as I could tell, never returned. He did a couple of tracks, including "Nike Boots". I was hoping that since he was back on his home turf, he'd get a little more shine or we'd at least we'd get to hear "Back In The Go Go", but no such luck. If it was any consolation, D.C. native DJ Kool got stage time with Method Man and Redman, and, of course, performed his signature track.
Despite the Wale downer, Rock the Bells was a solid vehicle to showcase a ridiculously high level of talent. More importantly, though, it pushed to the forefront acts that, by industry standards, are over-the-hill. By direct effect, folks who day-by-day are aging out of the stereotypical hip-hop demographic come to support their favorite emcees or groups and relive memories of their younger days, or at least I know I did. So let's hope the temporary Fountain of Youth that is the Rock the Bells tour keeps going. I need a reminder ever so often about why I like this music.