Kamaal "Don't Call Me Q-Tip" The Abstract Brings Out Kanye West @ The 2011 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival!

CHRIS LIVE AKA SHAKER SAYS: Woooooooooow! Will wonders never cease? On Saturday underneath a scorching hot New York City Summer sky Kamaal "Don't Call Me Q-Tip" The Abstract was joined on stage by the 1 and only Kanye West for a frenzied run through of a healthy handful of some of A. T.ribe C.alled Q.uests greatest hits (NOTE: And reportedly Yeezy got in some solo work as well) live @ The 2011 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival! Shock, awe and good tunes ensued. Big S/O to the homies Wes Jackson and Pamelina for successfully organizing and pulling off this massive event - even if there were few if any signs of any real indigenous Brooklyn up-and-comers there. Whatevs. Shit was still a good look for the culture. It is what it is.

Respect The Architects: Beats, Rhymes And Fights: The History Of A Tribe Called Quest (Official Movie Trailer)(Directed By Michael Rappaport)

CHRIS LIVE AKA SHAKER SAYS: Rather than give Y.O.U. the misty eyed musings of a child blessed enough to have been fortified on golden era Hip Hop and all that it encompassed, I will simply state that no matter how many times Lupe Fiasco attempts to smudge the direct lineage between himself and A. T.ribe C.alled Q.uest, there would be NO him without them. The same goes for Drake, Kid Cudi or any of the current crop of emo Twinkies®-filled rappers whom trade on angst and, while certainly easy for someone like me to poke fun @, do mostly expand the emotional vocabulary of Hip Hop for the better.

See, before there was "Gangster Rap" or "Backpack Rap" there was only Hip Hop. The thugs from back then know the seminal A.T.C.Q. album "Midnight Marauders" back-to-front AND can wax equally nostalgic about how Rakim Allah was able to finesse "Mahogany". This is all OUR street culture. Universal. Real recognize real. I can't wait for this documentary to drop! Respect the architects.




BONUS:

Today's assignment: Brush up on some classic Tribe! You're welcome. You're ALL welcome!