By Odeisel
Legends never die. They exist always at their apex in our memories. If we are lucky, we lose them before they decline, and our vivid memories are preserved in amber. We don’t see Jim Brown or Barry Sanders get old on the field. We don’t see a fat and balding Steve McQueen or James Dean. But what happens when we see Willie Mays dropping fly balls? What happens when we see Jordan in that Wizards jersey? In Hip-Hop we treat legends a bit different. They are relegated to their corner. New Hip-Hoppers respond to our memories with a what-have-they-done-lately attitude of severance over reverence.
Organized Konfusion are legends in their own right. Their catalogue was strong both lyrically and musically, pushing the boundaries of the art form past existing limits; unafraid to experiment with ideas and structure. They recently got back together in NYC and appeared on stage for the first time in a decade. With so much time out of sight and mind, (Pharoahe’s Internal Affairs solo was 1998), would they still be able to generate the same energy?
The show was hosted by the scintillating DJ JS-1 and featured his considerable talents in the element of DJing. Cutting and scratching with laser precision, he stopped the show many times to properly give just due to the recently departed Roc Raida and showed us that the art of Dee Jaying is still being kept alive by dedicated practitioners. His skill was quite honestly something that would make you think twice about some of the record selectors running around calling themselves that.
The opening act was the Poor Righteous Teachers, another gone but not forgotten group. As frontman Wise Intelligent took the stage, bereft of his dreads and sagging with hat low, the audience initially was unaware of whom he was. He opened without sidekick Culture Freedom to music that the crowd was unfamiliar with. Once he dropped into his familiar rapid-fire flow and his man took the stage, however PRT was in full effect.
PRT did all their classic joints, much to the fans’ delight and Wise Intelligent kicks a couple scathingly brilliant freestyles, letting the audience know that old is not synonymous with over. They even brought out Chip-Fu who just obliterated the stage with a rhyme that was lightning fast but slow enough to not be unintelligible. Still lyrically crisp, Chip was proof along with Wise that age doesn’t necessarily correspond with skill slippage.
Organized took the stage and the love was still there. They still had a legitimate chemistry together. They had a very engaging rapport with each other and with the audience. The crowd was full of fans, so it’s hard to say how well they would have done with an audience that didn’t know their catalogue but they did have energy.
As a group, their music is very lyrical heavy and as such sometimes you can’t afford to really rock or else you’ll miss something, but it’s always impressive when you hear that rapid-fire flow with Monch’s booming voice behind it. Prince Po hasn’t had as much time recently in the public light as Monch and it showed as his voice began to fade as the show went on. He did drop a very heavy freestyle about love and relationships form an angle you’re not used to hearing and that went over very well. He also kicked solo joint “Rage Against The Machine.”
The group went through a medley of their more prominent songs including first song “Who Stole My Last Piece of Chicken,” “Hypnotical Gasses,” “Stress,”and “Walk Into The Sun.” I was disappointed with their rendition of classic “Bring It On,” as Monch refused to go into detonation mode and kill one of the best delivered verses of all time and settled for a cock-teasing, slower rendition/pseudo remix. It’s just as well, as you would have probably heard my voice all over the video anyway. They got the crowd back in line with “Stray Bullet.”
The highlight of the show was easily hit song “Fudge Pudge” which featured O.C. batting cleanup. After a mini love fest on stage, the hardcore O delivered the national anthem of the Keep It Real kingdom with ever fresh “Time’s Up.” No matter what ever of Hip-Hop you love, this song always seems to speak to someone who’s getting light but isn’t on the level. They closed with a guest appearance from Hakeem from Channel Live and beat box legend Rahzel.
All in all it was a good show. It wasn’t mind blowing, but it was really good to see the group back together. You could see the love for this music and each other still there. The set was broken up a couple times by speeches from each with Monch affectionately calling Prince by his real name “Larry!” Moments like this connect you to the Hip-Hip life. A celebration of a legend’s passing. The continuance of careers, and the reunion of friends, the love of the music and a connection to an era is the history of a culture live and in effect. Hip-Hop lives within and celebrations like this are just more proof that real culture never dies.
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