After having to arrange the logistics for the One Nation Hip Hop Summit earlier that day (more to come later), I was burnt out. Nonetheless, I sat my way through traffic on my way to downtown LA to hit up the Los Angeles State Historic Park for this year’s We the People Festival. Given the size and magnitude of the line up, I was expecting a bigger crowd. It may have just been the dispersion of people among one of the many stages at festival. Not to mention, the great array of vendors that displayed their creative articles for sale.
I got there a bit late. Actually besides missing Look Daggers, I was on time to see the RZA tear up the stage. With a tribute to ODB, C.R.E.A.M, Triumph, and a few other Wu-Tang classics, RZA left me with my hands in the sky, throwing up the infamous WU sign.
Up next was DJ Z Trip. Nobody else wanted to watch the set, but I am glad I convinced them. Z Trip did a whole set tribute to Barack Obama. Sound Clips of speeches and propaganda were being scratched into dope beats, making the product a festival banger. I must say it was a great set. Bringing music and consciousness to the crowd, Z Trip was def fulfilling the We the People standards.
I got to the second stage at the end of Eligh and Scarub’s set, but they sure did tear it up. Scarub was rippin flows on the mic as usual, highlighting the underground hip hop scene in Los Angeles. Nothing like a fab pair of Living Legends on the stage.
Now back to the main stage… Tom Morello was dope. I can remember the first time I heard Tom’s skills back in middle school when my brother would blast Rage in his room. Nothing has changed. If anything, I was able to focus more on his talent seeing him solo, than I had seeing Rage together. Tom covered some Rage Against the Machine classics, as well as some solo pieces. I had to rock out with my…. Rock out with my camera out!
When I got back to the second stage, a tall street team dude handed me a Murs poster, and walked through the crowd, filling people’s hands with the Murs For President propaganda. Murs was definitely one of the highlights of the night. What a “Bad Man” he was, teasing us with some new hits on his newly released album- Murs for President. Talking about “L dot A dot, Southern California,” he had the crowd with their hands in the sky, bobbing their heads, singing along. His cool mop do was hotter than ever, but aside from his hair, Murs was quite a character on stage. Rippin it up like he meant it, this emcee showed LA what greatness can come out of the underground scene. Another Living Legend, his appearances is def one that everyone will remember.
Somewhere in between my time waiting for a set to start, and walking back from the social beer garden, I got to catch a few peeks and audio by Barrington Levy. Nothing like some fresh reggae and herb smoke to fill the environment at a So Cal Music festival. Hey, it’s almost legal right?
Main Stage: EPMD was so classic. These Hip Hop originators definitely brought some flavor to the stage. Erik and Parrish Making Dollars took me back to when I first fell in love with Hip Hop. Rhyming to all the classic cuts like “You Gots to Chill,” and “the Crossover,” old hip hop heads were distinguished in the crowd. It wasn’t strictly business, so the set was FRESH FRESH!
And wrapping up the second stage: Dilated Peoples. After the conference earlier that day, I can say Dilated earned even more of my respect. Nothing like watching an artist perform after you have heard them speak knowledge about hip hop. The set was great and they made it real live and active like always. They covered some “Neigborhood Watch” and “20/20,” not to mention “When worst come to worst” off the Expansion Team album. They surprised us a bit with Erick Sermon, who I had just seen, coming to remix the legendary track, “The Platform.” Much respects. Ev caught a solo song and chased the dark clouds away, while Babu ripped up the one and twos. Rakka topped it off with some knowledge. Such a great way to wrap up the second stage. This group of well rounded hip hop artists were welcome, appreciated, and applauded as deserved.
My feet were throbbing by the end of the night, and my brain was on overload. All in all, it was a great Hip Hop filled day :)
Here are some photos of the event:
Downtown Los Angeles- view from the We the People Festival
2Mex representing Look Daggers
Behold a Palin Horse
Mendee Ichikawa of Look Daggers – AMAZING VOCALS
RZA Showing You Love
You Can’t Stop Me Now!
Wu forever!
Z-Trip on the tables
Z’s Obama Mix
Shifting Gears
A Family Affair: Tom Morello’s mom introducing her son
Tom Morello – A.K.A the Nightwatchman
Shredding the guitar!
Watchman’s message
One Man Revolution
Parrish Making Dollars
Erick, RAH!
EPMD taking it back to the classics!
Dilated Peoples – their Platform
Givin’ props to the crowd
Les Claypool rockin’ the Whamola
One of the many faces
Monk & “Elvis” Claypool
Obama posters by Shepard Fairey
Political expression
LA vs War presented by Yo!
Anti War poster
Tom Morello’s and Serj Tankian’s KPFK radio program
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