Live Report: Elements of Hip-Hop Tour
Club soundmen are rarely called on to mix eight turntables, so the
crowd gathered at Tramps Tuesday night to see the Elements of
Hip-Hop Tour wasn’t all that upset about the short delay due to
technical difficulties. Indeed, the booing only started when an
unnamed MC started rapping before the X-Ecutioners set about a
“real freaky bitch” who “comes out at night.”
For a musical genre still thought of as cutting edge, hip-hop
artists and audiences are hyper-concerned with upholding tradition,
and talking smack about freaky bitches was not a tradition this
particular crowd wanted to uphold. Instead, the Elements of Hip-Hop
Tour — a three-week tour featuring Chicago rapper Common, New York
turntablists the X-Ecutioners and Roots member Rahzel — was all
about musical tradition: human beatboxing, spinning the wheels of
steel, MC-ing in front of a live band and collaborating with old
friends.
Rahzel kicked things off with forty-five minutes of
beatboxing, eliminating any doubts as to whether the vocal
technique can be as subtle and sophisticated as any instrument by
simultaneously imitating deep bass lines, chest-thumping kick
drums, echoing snare shots and ticking hi-hats. Once establishing a
groove, he began, quite unbelievably, to sing or rap over it,
thrilling the crowd. His mimicry of vinyl scratching, of turntables
slowing down or speeding up, of little dogs barking — of almost
anything — was so exact and wide-ranging that it seemed he could
record an album as dense as “It Takes a Nation of Millions…” with just a
four-track.
Element number two, spinning records, is the province of the
X-Ecutioners (formerly the X-Men until threatened with legal
action). Sharing the stage with a group of rappers trading off
rhymes on two mikes, the four turntablists unleashed a dense
torrent of murky funk reminiscent of Miles Davis’ “Bitches Brew.” Spinning records
is a physical act, and each of the X-Ecutioners wowed the crowd by
scratching behind backs and over shoulders, creating a pastiche of
unknown and familiar beats and hooks.
X-Ecutioner Mista Sinista returned to the stage
for headliner Common’s set, joining a loose, blues-inflected band
of drums, piano, double bass and acoustic guitar. Working the stage
in a green, knee-length raincoat and a cap pulled down over his
ears, Common (“See-to-the-oh-double-em-oh-en,” for spelling
enthusiasts) flowed in an easygoing, conversational style while
spinning his performance conceit: the Hotel Common, where guests
are encouraged to enjoy the myriad moods while respecting their
neighbors.
Songs at the Hotel Common lasted only a verse or two, which
kept the pace fresh and lively, and a guest appearance by De la
Soul ended the show on a sustained note of committed collaboration.
But Common’s best moment occurred during “I Used to Love H.e.r.,”
about a relationship attenuated by money and fame. Wedging jazzy
instrumental choruses between spoken verses, Common and his band
elevated their hip-hop, and pointed a way to an organic future by
drawing on a shared musical