Hiphopnerd

You know who else is a Black Star?
Just getting home from an extremely enjoyable day spent outside at Chicago's Union Park, where Microsoft threw a free hip-hop concert to promote the Zune. The lineup (Little Brother, Bilal, & Mos Def) looked good and the price was certainly right. All you had to do to gain admittance was pre-register online. I'd actually completely forgotten this thing was happening until randomly clicking onto a Zune blog Friday afternoon at work. I filled out the registration form immediately, but the completion screen said that all tickets would be emailed by Thursday so I had doubts as to whether I'd be send a ticket or not. Luckily it did arrive that evening, and there was no need to find alternative Sunday plans.

The weather was absolutely perfect- 70 degrees, no clouds, & a breeze. No hassles finding street parking or getting in. The environment was fun & inviting, the sound system was loud & clear (among the best outdoor setups I've heard), and the music...well the music was phenomenal.


Not that live yet
I didn't even spend all that much time standing in front of the stage actively watching. The music could easily be heard from every corner of the park, so you never felt like you were missing the show even if you were taking part in the other activities or standing in line for food.

Around the World & 3-point contests were being held continuously at the basketball courts, with each winner receiving a Zune. I competed in the first (16 person) 3-point contest, tying for first place with 7 baskets and forcing a tiebreaker round. Of course I proceeded to shoot miserably (1 basket) during the tiebreaker, effectively gift-wrapping and hand-delivering the prize to my opponent. I'm still a bit pissed about losing.


Levitation
There was also a tent with Xbox 360's setup inside of grills as well as Zune listening stations featuring songs from artists performing at the Live At The BBQ events. I listened to Common's new single a couple times, and played a little Guitar Hero, NCAA Football '08, and Fifa '07, all of which looked gorgeous on those LCD's.


Hot grillin'
And true to the event's title, there was BBQ being served. Unfortunately you had to hand over money for it...but both the prices and the food were decent. The smoke and scent of grilled meat wafted through the park all afternoon, adding to the chill atmosphere.


Large Brother?
I caught most of Little Brother's act, and they sounded quite good. DJ Flash was on the tables, Darien Brockington provided the background singing, and Pooh & Fonte ripped the mics. They did a few songs from their upcoming Getback album, although it was kinda weird to keep hearing them mention 9th Wonder in all the old tracks.

Bilal was up next, and though I didn't watch any of his set, it was great to hear "Sometimes" & "Soul Sista" amongst the songs I wasn't familiar with. There's no doubt that the man can sing...and it's a damn shame that the public still hasn't gotten a second album from him.


Kweli Is Professor X
The next artist to get on stage was surprise guest Talib Kweli. He brought along Jean Grae, who served as hypewoman & female singer. He ran through a bunch of stuff- older hits, cuts from the Madlib collabo Liberation, Lonely People, and of course Get By. Kweli has definite weaknesses as an MC, and they certinaly aren't masked in live settings...but he manages to put on excellent shows. Tons of energy & enthusiasm, and there are certainly some wonderful tracks in his catalog that he can pull out for instant crowd appreciation. Kweli's finale was Respiration, which allowed Mos Def came out to do his verse, and then take over the stage for his set.


He now calls himself M. Def & Mos Love
The funniest line of the evening: "Due to technical difficulties, the live shit will been delayed'. The turntables weren't working properly for a few minutes, so Mos apologized with that line and kicked something a capella. He touched on some stuff from "New Danger" & "True Magic"...but it wasn't long before Kweli joined him back onstage and it became more of a Black Star set. At one point, in response to Mos' repeated questions of what song to do next, Kweli answered "Dick In A Box" and proceeded to sing a handful of lines from that. They were definitely enjoying themselves, and it was so great to hear the two of them together as they ran through Black Star tracks. The live rendition of Ms. Fat Booty included an interlude of Gregory Isaacs, Bonita Applebum, & Passin' Me By before returning to the middle of the second verse. Mos' DJ (Preservation) put together a dope little mix of the original records sampled in a variety of songs by Common & Kanye & other Chicago artists. The set ended with Re:Definition, Umi Says, and then the chorus to Travellin' Man, which is slowly becoming one of my favorite songs. A very nice way to end the night.


Goodnight
I left the park in a really good mood, having heard 6 hours of great music (even the between set DJ selections were quality- lots and lots of classic hip-hop tracks) for free on a ridiculously beautiful day. There's no doubt that I've been pretty disillusioned with hip-hop lately...and even the concerts I've been to have left me feeling unfulfilled. But this was just a celebration of quality hip-hop...artists and music that bring back memories, that I still remember the lyrics to, and that still hit me in a way that (as much as I like them) El-P & Sage Francis don't. I left feeling good about hip-hop music & life.

It kinda reminded me of how I felt after watching Chappelle's Block Party. And if you ignore the fact that this was sponsored by a huge oft-hated corporation, they were kinda similar events. Or maybe it's just cuz Bilal, Kweli, & Mos participated in the Block Party as well and performed many of the same songs I loved tonight...