photos by Brook Bobbins

Talib Kweli / EPMD

The energy and atmosphere was so Hip-Hop in every way! The crowd roared as the legends of the game hit the stage. A top memorable moment of the event was the LOX reunion. Styles P, Jadakiss, and Sheek Louch all hit the stage and performed classic material. They all did solo verses as well. The crowd went crazy when Styles P did his verse off Rick Ross' " B.M.F." Overall it was a great night for Hip-Hop. If you were there you would have felt that love, that energy and most important, you would understand that Hip-Hop is not dead. -[MsDramatv.com]

Yo MTV Raps of 1990s exploded onto the stage at Best Buy Theater on June 30th, as Hot 97 hosted a lineup of hip hop greats from the era and beyond. Headlined by Talib Kweli, the show featured appearances from EPMD, The Lox, Large Professor, M.O.P., Keith Murray, Nice n Smooth, Brand Nubian, and many many others. Pictures from the show, which include shots of DJ Premier, Pharoahe Monch, JuJu of The Beatnuts, Lil' Ceasar, and many others, continue below...

Continue reading "Talib Kweli, EPMD, The Lox & many more Saluted Hip Hop @ Best Buy Theater (pics)"

by Black Bubblegum

Marty Markowitz and Ralph McDaniels

The theme of this summer has been rain, and though the skies opened up halfway into the 5th anniversary show of The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival on June 20th in Empire Fulton-Ferry State Park, that didn't stop the crowd from swaying to the classic beats and rhymes by a stable of 90s artists. Thankfully the organizers of the DUMBO show thought ahead, and though it was a little packed in there, everyone stayed perfectly dry inside the emergency tent.

With all the veterans of hip hop on Saturday's lineup, you'd think that the most kinetic performance of the day would come from a Grand Puba or Pharoahe Monch. You'd be wrong. Oddly enough, the least "conscious" MC and the one that I always felt was slightly overrated, Styles P of D-Block (fka The Lox), delivered an energetic performance of hits that was matched only by the energy that the crowd bounced back. I was shocked, though pleasantly so.

I was glad to be wrong about Styles P, and I definitely learned a few other things that rainy Saturday:

Continue reading "the 2009 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival - in pics & review "

From 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Central Park SummerStage

The influence of "Video Music Box" stretches far and wide, as the show is one of the first and longest running outlets for Hip-Hop since the genre's inception. Twenty-five years after its debut, Ralph McDaniels hosts a celebration concert featuring performances by a who's who of hip-hop icons from the show's history and beyond.

DJ Jazzy Joyce, The Crash Crew, TSki-Valley & Spoonie Gee, Luv Bug Starski, Sugar Hill Gang, Joe Ski Love, Entouch, Special Ed, Dana Dane, Naughty By Nature, DJ Clark Kent, Ralph Ray Dejon, OC, Chubb Rock, Jeru Da Damaja, Milk Dee, DJ Chuck Chillout, Jeff Redd, Red Alert, DJ Kid Capri, Nice N Smooth & Special Guests.

Wordless Music presents the free show happening tonight in Prospect Park. Deerhoof and "Metropolis Ensemble: The Rite: Remixed" are on the Brooklyn bill. You can't do both, but you could go to Summerstage and listen to the Brooklyn show on your radio. It will be live broadcast "on NPR affiliates nationwide and WNYC.org locally (7:30 pm tonight)."