TALIB KWELI + David Banner + Little Brother + B.O.B. (CMJ 2008) @ The Nokia Theatre

By Döc Holidæ - Phantastiq Cypha - 10/25/2008

Some may not fall for the big city and bright lights of NYC but when you’re waiting in line to see a concert at the Nokia Theatre, in the heart of Times Square, with all the energy NYC has to offer on a Saturday night… well it’s hard not to. Lady Oracle and I arrived to a huge line outside the theatre at around 8pm thinking we might be pushing it for a CMJ concert, especially since so many shows had issues with CMJ badges not getting in but luckily when the line started to move we got in and found spots front and center. I have to say I was amazed to see so many empty seats in the theatre moments before the opening acts were set to take the stage but as someone pointed out to me; this is New York, there has to be a million things taking place on a Saturday night. The show started with The Rhythm Roots All-Stars performing some classic reggae and hyping the crowd up for the evening and they did a great job. I’ve always loved when live bands back up hip hop artists and I dare say RRAS would give The Roots a run for their money. My favorite band member was the guitarist, with his un-coiffed  afro and a guitar that looked too heavy for him to play, he still busted out with some of the most amazing solo riffs I’ve ever heard. 

After RRAS did their set, B.O.B. took the stage. Hailing from ATL but doing his best to not sound like everything from the south, B.O.B. performs with a swagger and confidence that has you quickly singing his praises. Although he avoids the south, he can’t help but sound like many of his fellow ATLiens. Thing is I never really cared, he talks about not being like the commercial rappers but there isn’t anything wrong with commercial music that couldn’t be fixed with removal of big business. The best song he performed had to be “Haters”, which features a catchy hook and an almost children like sing-song to it.

Most shows in Montréal have really long horrible breaks between performances, so when B.O.B. left the stage I was worried that we the crowd would be standing there with nothing to do for an hour. I could not have been more off; within less than 10mins from B.O.B. leaving the stage, Little Brother came on and started off strong. This was my second time seeing Little Brother and both times were at CMJ showcases. The 2007 show, Little Brother shared the stage with Psalm-One, Evidence (of Dilated Peoples) and Brother Ali. In 2008 they may not have been the headliners but they are still on a solid tour. I really can’t remember any of the songs, they performed. It was a mix of smooth vocals and strong lyrics on top of the live band and the occasional preaching by Phonte on what real hip hop stands for.

After what seemed like the shortest pause in concert history a young man took the stage in a plaid cap and red hoody with Peter Griffin a la Che Guevara on it. I wasn’t sure who it was and I couldn’t recognize the voice either. Eventually the artist started stripping layers off the more he got into his set. It took me awhile but I came to realize it was David Banner himself! He had completely changed his look but was still representing Mississippi to the fullest. Eventually he was down to a wife-beater and jeans, with the Mississippi tattoo on his back shining through. It’s hard to describe his set because so much happened in the time that he was on stage. He fell backwards over a speaker, but also crowd surfed; all in the span of 10 minutes. At one point early on he ran into the crowd and kept rapping as if there weren’t a couple hundred people trying to grab at him. He also ran into the nose bleed seats at the back and later on climbed up the railing to the balcony and performed while hanging on with one hand. Needless to say David Banner isn’t just a rapper, he’s a performer. I don’t mean to take anything away from Talib Kweli but Banner could easily be the headliner for the Sony Hip Hop Lives tour. The best moment in the Banner set was when he asked the women in the audience if he should say the word pussy or body while performing his hit song “Play.” To my surprise most women in the crowd yelled out pussy and so he performed the explicit version. I like the fact that he asked first, because most performers would just assume that it’s ok.

I know I have one more performer to write about; Talib Kweli. The only thing is I don’t have anything to say that I haven’t said in my other reviews about him. Talib is all about hip hop, he loves it, he believes in it and for that reason every one of his performances is something worth seeing. I will say that when he started singing Bob Marley and the crowd didn’t react much, his reaction of “this is my shit and I don’t care if y’all ain’t feeling it” was perfectly justified.

All in all, the entire concert alone made the whole trip to CMJ in NYC well worth it.

Tune into The Phantastiq Cypha with Doc Holidae every Friday from 10AM - 12PM