Words By Khalid Strickland
Pics By Eric Russ
The traveling, independent Hip-Hop festival known as Paid Dues rolled into NYC’s Nokia Theater last week and it was quite an event to say the least. The concert’s line-up was rock solid: Rakim, GZA, Buckshot, Murs (accompanied by his frequent co-defendant, 9th Wonder), Kidz In The Hall and Blackalicious. Guerilla Union, the organization that also coordinates the Rock The Bells tour, gets mucho props for making this joint happen. The Nokia’s been host to some pretty hot Hip-Hop shows this past year; the EPMD jump-off in April, which I documented at TSS, was particularly off-the-chain. How did Paid Dues rate? Let’s find out…
The Crowd
Early on in the show, the size of the crowd was respectable, but sparse. Even the White fans were on C.P.T. But as the show progressed, the crowd began to swell. By the time Buckshot performed midway through the concert, the Nokia was packed. There were hordes of fans rocking Wu-Tang shirts in attendance; The “W” will never die, record sales be damned. The concert-goers were cool, though, no tension whatsoever. People were there to enjoy themselves, not to ice-grill each other and throw down. That can be fun too, but not once at Paid Dues did I feel the slightest need to grab my shank (Nokia security must really trust the press).
While I was at the bar copping another Guinness, I noticed Billy Danze of M.O.P. and his manager Laz-E-Laz standing about four feet away from me, ordering drinks. You’d probably think otherwise after listening to M.O.P.’s music, but Billy was amicable and *gasp* even had a smile on his face. Fans kept walking up, showing crazy love, and he didn’t hook off on anybody. It reminded me of back in the day, when you’d be hanging at clubs like The Ritz or The Grand on any given night and famous rappers were partying amongst the crowd, without fear. I got all misty eyed and shit.
Grade: A
Chick Factor
Being that this was an independent Hip-Hop festival, I didn’t know how many babes would show up. I’m sure GZA and Murs have their fair share of female fans, but if this were a concert that featured Fabolous and LL Cool J, you know there’d be flocks of birds. Plus, the Nokia Theater is located in Times Square, where all the movie theaters are. So I figured all the ladies would skip the concert and peep Sex and the City instead. The aforementioned EPMD concert had a nice amount of hot women, but I went to that gig with wifey, and she’s always cock-blockin’. Read the rest of this entry »
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