It was definitely an experience. I don’t know how to classify it in it’s entirety, but it had great moments. It’s taken me time to figure out how I felt about the festival, but I’ve finally come to grips.

We made it to the festival around 4:15 PM to witness the end of Tech 9ine’s set…which scared the shit out of me.  Maybe I just don’t have the experiences necessary to enjoy his music, but it’s, for lack of a better term, white-trash rap.  I don’t feel like his presence was really fitting for a “Hip-Hop” show.  His rhymes are for shock value and pointless at best.  Sure, the face paint made it entertaining, but the reason I was there, the music, sucked.

We quickly moved on from the Nickelback of rap to Eternal Reflection, Hi-Tek and Talib Kweli’s new project.  Talib has been very open and vocal about his career recently with the new trend of Twitter, so it was good to see what him and the YOTB (YearOfTheBlacksmith.com) crew was doing.  His rhyme scheme was impeccable as usual, but it was obvious that they didn’t want anyone to get a full glimpse of their new album.  It was like a show and tell performance, where he would rhyme for 16 bars then Hi-Tek would play some of his older beats, they would talk over them, and repeat.  I didn’t mind, I just would have liked a like continuity to the music side.  Great job though, and a well deserved spot on the “real” hip-hop tour.

Next, a band that I admire, and wish to have the musical knowledge and know-how these guys do.  The Roots.  For how talented this crew is, the receive about a tenth the credit and recognition they deserve.  Philly’s finest are chameleons on the music scene, with an Emcee, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and a drummer, QuestLove, that can literally play any genre, style, speed, or era.  For those who still argue hip-hop is for the talentless, listen.  The band came out with high energy, which should have been reserved for the end of the show, but I’m no concert promoter so I’ll keep my mouth shut.  My opinion:  Best Performance

There was a brief interlude with KRS-One involving some of the best freestyle lines I’ve ever heard, and they weren’t written.  He dropped his towel and would rhyme about that for a minute, and then his partner on stage dropped one of the best lines I’ve ever heard:  “I will show you how to rap so consider me a python, I will shoot  bombs like a Canon or a Nikon (pointing at two different cameras).”  It was ridiculous.  Brian’s Add: Not the right line, but I don’t expect you to remember it after almost 2 weeks.  All I remember is that it was better than that and that it wasn’t about shooting bombs.

BigBoi:  I wish I could say that I have the same respect and praise for Big Boi as I did earlier in his career, but it’s obvious he’s fallen off a bit.  I don’t think he remembers who he entered the business as.  He was the conscious part of the duo, while Andre 3000 was the eccentric part.  Big Boi is now caught up in the “swag” epidemic.  His show was bad.  Just bad.  He can still rap, but he’s lost the ability to entertain.

Finally, Damian and Nas.  We left a bit into this set:  It was getting late, we were hungry, we work in the morning…need any more excuses.  But it was fun.  Both are extremely talented and their upcoming project will require and demand a listen.

Damian and Nas have a new album coming out titled Distant Relatives…here’s a snippet

Overall, the festival was a diet version of last years.  It was great to go for free, but I would have been let down if I had paid.  Hopefully they are able to keep the festival alive, but it needs to be brought back to life.   Best of luck KRS-One.