B.I.G.G.I.E. A.K.A. B.I.G. get it Biggie

Christopher George Latore "Big Poppa,The Black Frank White, The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie" Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997)
Follow the link below for a Live recording of Biggie's classic London concert held at the Hammersmith Apollo in the mid nineties.

R.I.P. B.I.G.

EPMD Live in london

EPMD are one of my favorite groups of all time but until recently I had only seen them once at a disappointing concert at the Sherpherds Bush Empire in the late 90s where they had performed 5 track then left the stage only to be sent back on stage by a security guard to do his favorite song. When I heard they were coming back to the UK again I got myself some tickets and hoped this time they would give a more satisfying performance.

Veteran London MC Rodney P and Skitz took the stage before EPMD and warmed the crowd up nicely dropping some dope UK flavor and reminding us of how dope UK artists can be. Rodney displayed his mic skills and Skitz showed how well he can handled the wheels of steel. The it was back to the DJ until EPMD hit the stage a bit later than I would have liked, once agin US artists don't feel the need to display the level of professionalism that the likes of De La Soul, MOP and the Roots do every time but this is soon forgotten when Erick and Parish rip into Its my thing which sends the crowd insane.

They drop all the early classics that you would expect them to; Please listen to my Demo, Gold digger, You Gots to Chill, Rampage, Crossover, Headbanger, Rampage, Richter Scale and Never seen before. They also did a couple of solo joints too but to be honest they were never as good separately as they were together and the same goes for their solo joints performed live.
DJ Scratch was there too and he did an entertaining little DJ routine which featured the obvious moving the crossfader with his mouth and the not so obvious picking up the turntable as he mixed a "Pick it Up" sample. Although Scratch didn't get too technical he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.

Erick did a couple of lines of "freestyling" but to be honest it wasn't that good and I never came to see him freestyle. I came to see them do as many EPMD joints as possible and that was the problem. Although what they did do was great and performed well it simply wasn't enough for a group with such an outstanding back catalogue. Where were the other dope tunes I wanted to hear? Knick Knack Patty Wack, Jane, I'm Mad, Rap is outa Control, Manslaughter, Give the People and Hardcore amongst others? But after only an hour E & P left the stage, with no encore.

Would they have done this in the US ? I doubt it. Then again if they were in the US they would have probably been on the bill with a load of other rappers so maybe in that situation an hour on stage is acceptable but when you are the main act and not being supported by Redman, Das Efx or Keith Murray an hour is not good enough.
To summarise what they did do was great and they moved the crowd, no doubt, however for a duo with such an amazing back catalogue an hour is not enough.

Rae & Nas on Wu Tang Vs Shoalin

It seems like Raekwon is out to knock Ghost of the top sport as Wu's most productive member and this continues with next week's release of Wu-Tang Vs Shoalin. Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang is the fifth studio album by Raekwon, scheduled to drop on March 8. Confirmed guests for the album include Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Lloyd Banks, Method Man, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Rick Ross, among others. With production from; Scram Jones, Erick Sermon, Havoc, Bronze Nazareth, The Alchemist and Evidence amongst others.
Rae began writing the album in early 2010, and finished latter that year, with the album's completion being announced on December 7, 2010, on the Shade 45 Morning Show. Although a number of artists such as Scoop DeVille, Pete Rock, and Kanye West, were reported to have worked on the album at one time or another, their contributions did not surface on the final version.
Check the track-list below and a link toa sample track, Rich and Black featuring Nas

01. Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang
02. Every Soldier In The Hood feat. Method Man
03. Silver Rings feat. Ghostface Killah
04. Chop Chop Ninja feat. Inspectah Deck & Estelle
05. Butter Knives
06. Snake Pond
07. Crane Style feat. Busta Rhymes
08. Rock N Roll feat. Ghostface Killah & Jim Jones
09. Rich And Black feat. Nas
10. From The Hills feat. Method Man, Raheem DeVaughn
11. Last Trip To Scotland feat. Lloyd Banks
12. Ferry Boat Killaz
13. Dart School
14. Molasses feat. Rick Ross & Ghostface Killah
15. The Scroll
16. Masters Of Our Fate feat. Black Thought
17. Wu Chant (Outro)

Rich and Black