One of the most anticipated albums of the year in underground hip-hop circles is undoubtedly Soundbombing II, a compilation mixed by J-Rocc and Babu of the World Famous Beat Junkies, including artists such as Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli), Company Flow, Sir Menelik and Shabaam Sahdeeq. So it follows that one of the most anticipated shows this year in underground hip-hop circles would undoubtedly be the release party for that album. |

On Wednesday night (May 18), DJ Mr. Len of Company Flow warmed up the crowd, spinning back-to-back classic joints by Wu Tang and Mobb Deep, as b-boys breaked and shoulders brushed. To the dismay of many, the scheduled host, Slick Rick, had cancelled, but his legendary old-school partner, Doug E. Fresh, manned the mic instead. And though Doug E. did not perform -- disappointing all the beat-box fans in the house -- he succeeded in getting the crowd hyped to a level closing in on hysteria, after introducing the show with a treatise expounding on the robust bond between the early architects of hip-hop and its current practitioners. "What all the performers on stage tonight have in common is originality," said Doug E. "They all do their own thing and don't try to copy each other, which isn't too common these days."

No one could accuse the first act, R.A. the Rugged Man, of being unoriginal. After coming on stage in shirt and tie, the flabby-bellied blue-eyed rapper proceeded to tear off all his clothes (down to his tighty-whities, mind you) and stomp clumsily around as he spit remarkably dope rhymes all over the place. So dope, in fact, it almost didn't matter that the audience was staring at his sweaty ass-crack (almost). Shabaam Sahdeeq took over next, accompanied by Organized Konfusion's Pharoahe Monch, who always awes the crowd with his ill flow. Pharoahe led the audience in a "F--- Giuliani" chant and launched into a song attacking the New York mayor. Staying on the political tip, Company Flow's El-P followed, dropping some more criticism on AmeriKKKa from their new track "Patriotism."

If you haven't heard of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, it's time to come out from whatever rock you've been sleeping under because these are the brothers who are going to take us into the new millennium. Mos rocked a couple of joints, first with Medina Green, then with Mad Skills and Mr. Eon of the High & Mighty, before introducing his partner in rhyme, the sharp-pointed lyricist Talib Kweli. If anyone is qualified to bring about a return of political consciousness in hip-hop, Mos Def and Kweli are the ones to escort it in. Few other rappers can quote passages from Toni Morrison (as the duo did on "Thieves in the Night" from their Black Star album) without losing the street cred of their Brooklyn hometown -- and beyond. Erudite or not, it's the duo's sheer skills that make them the emperors of the new era of hip-hip.

Fans mouthed every word, as the twosome rocked tracks off the Soundbombing II album ("Definition," "Brown-Skin Lady," "Astrology"), even though it was just released the day before. New material, freestyles and unreleased underground classics ("Universal Magnetic," "2000 Seasons," and "Fortified Live" with Mr. Man from the Bush Babees) became sing-alongs, as well. Mos and Kweli know how to keep a crowd entranced with their stage presence, and constantly surprised their fans by flipping the script and switching to dancehall stylee and back to hip-hop as smoothly as Olympic swan dives.

As if all this wasn't dope enough, Common and Sadat X of Brand Nubian closed the show with "1-9-9-9," already an underground hit and the first single off Soundbombing II. The highlight of the evening, undoubtedly, was when Mos Def and Kweli joined Common on "Respiration," a song that uses striking imagery to describe the artists' hometowns as living, breathing organisms. They turned the room into just that that night. And as the crowd seeped up from the underground and onto the Manhattan streets, they seemed to see their city in a whole different light.

MARK CHAIT
(May 21, 1999)