There were plenty of wild verses and equally frenzied cuts as prodigious MC-DJ duo Eyedea & Abilities took the Abbey Pub’s stage in Chicago Saturday night. Reunited after a two-year hiatus, the boys from Minneapolis seemed energized as they worked through new, old and spontaneous songs.
The sell out crowd seemed to know all the words when E&A went by the book on cuts like “Man Vs. Ape” “Exhausted Love” and “Paradise” but the duo spent much of their set testing out new tracks some of which came together on the spot. With either Abilities cutting up a beat and Eyedea jumping in with a rhyme, or vise versa, they knocked the rust off their rapport and came together to trade notions and solos.
Eyedea’s rhyme style is still completely untamed with cadences more inspired by Coltrane’s horn than Rakim’s mic, but Abilities brings a more grounded flash to his work behind the decks. He kept things going when the party flagged, weighing down the occasionally garrulous lyrics with choppy kicks and snares.
It was good to see E&A back on the scene again. They bring a unique energy to the hip hop world, and they’re probably bringing it to your town soon as the “Appetite for Distraction Tour” rolls on.
You didn’t give credit to my photo.
you didn’t give credit to my picture.