Stonesthrow

Thanks to a Tragedy Khadaffi party prior to the evening’s main event, the show was late to start. But once out-of-towner’s Stonesthrow commandeered S.O.B.’s, they had DJ Romes getting things toasty for the hungry hip hop heads. And as a special treat Stonesthrow A & R man Egon also did a DJ, holding it down with some of the rarest funk that you never heard of outside of a comp put out by hom or one of his friends. After naming names of songs in his set, he threw out copies of some the records he had played. Each and every one a rare treat, Egon distributed a small fortune in vinyl to the crowd. When Wildchild took the stage heads were ready. He delivered the goods, but sometimes it seemed he was more excited than the crowd. As a resident, it’s easy to forget that New York gave birth to hip hop. But Wildchild remembered and made it a point to remind the crowd regularly. A high point in his homage was when respect was paid by inviting Percee P onstage to perform “Knick Knack”. Percee is a New York City fixture, long since eschewing the major label route and often found hustling tapes and CDs in front of Fat Beats. Percee P’s guest spot and a capella marked the midway point of the set with Wildchild holding the stage solo for the rest of his set, at most yielding to DJ Romes for a scratch solo. Various Stonesthrow members milled around on stage, but stayed out of the spotlight. Chris Manak AKA Peanut Butter Wolf AKA CEO of Stonesthrow and Dudley Perkins were there with superstar guest DJ J.Rocc capturing it all on his ever-present video camera. That guy has been taping shows since I started seeing him in 1997. I often wonder where all that footage is. After one to many one mores, Wildchild abdicated the stage, admonishing all audience members to stay for Madlib. Just to make sure, he shared a sweet story about meeting Madlib on the playground in junior high and breakdancing together. Finally it was time for the main event, Madlib. J.Rocc started it with a medley of beats by Madlib, Jay Dee, and their joint project Jaylilb. After all, this was the release party for their long-awaited joint project, Champion Sound. The mega-mix finished and perfectly executed, Madlib took the stage. He shouted out everyone, including his imaginary mushroom-induced alter ego, Quasimoto. A producer who rhymes, Madlib held the mic for the entire set. J.Roc of the Beat Junkies manned the decks while Madlib prowled the stage like a blunted b-boy. He popped and locked his way through a set that was incredibly understated compared to the high energy of Wildchild. Even though Madlib is known as a producer, Lootpack EP’s and full-length, Quasimoto, his white label releases, and the Jaylib project means Madlib has more than a full set of material where he is on the vocals and the beats. The mellower vibe kept the crowd below boiling to the disappointment of Madlib who quietly asked the audience “Are you cool or do you want another?” This roused the audience for a minute as they demanded more. Then to piss everyone off, he did an untitled Jaylib joint off of an extremely limited run white label. Fewer copies were pressed than there were people in the room, but that didn’t stop anyone from feeling it as Madlib instructed the audience to listen to how he fucked with the kick drum on the beat. Just to make sure everyone got it, J.Rocc worked the EQ across the kick drum break beat. Madlib tried to field requests for the his last number, but realized he had forgotten the lyrics to most of the songs requested. He asked audience members if they knew the words, when he got an affirmative back he admitted that he didn’t and pointed out that he was a producer, not a rapper. Instead he decided to step behind the decks and cut it up over his reinterpretation of Monk Higgins’ “Slim’s Return” taken from Madlib’s Shades of Blue remix project on Blue Note. Although not up to the level of technical expertise displayed earlier by DJ Romes, it was more rhythmic and musical experience than scratch happy. The call went out to Dudley Perkins to take the hold down the fort for the rest of the evening, but he was drinking at the bar with Quasimoto. Wildchild had kept the stage for too long. Despite that, an anticipated and hoped-for Lootpack reunion never transpired despite the presence of all members. As I left, J.Rocc took the final watch, and began what I’m sure was a great DJ set but I had to go. No matter, since I had come to see Madlib the Bad Kid. I picked up his latest fan club 45 on the way out the door — one for me and one for you if you can catch me on eBay.