Rappers/MCs Galleries

WBEZ Block Party: Grown Folks Stories (Jan 13) : The BBoy competition got to the top 8 early, and they wrapped up the afternoon with "Grown Folks Stories", which is a series that runs at the Silver Room at 1442 N Milwaukee, here in Chicago. It was a great day for storytelling. For fans of the Moth and other similar events, I would recommend stopping by "Grown Folks Stories". The stories included (Pix are in this order): * Cara kept it moving and told some great stories along the way * Luis sharing about the loss of a loved one * Black Rose * Lily Be letting us know that Hoes get off on the 9th floor * Danny R. (AKA BBoy Mowgli) using his feet to save his skin * (Real) Serena (AKA Fake Stace) showing humility and patience while tutoring Anatomy * Armani keeping his job at McD's by anny means necessary * Dominique enjoying a diverse moment in Madison, WI * Nigel (AKA BBoy Daze 1) helping someone understand what is and is not OK to say * Jasmine doing what she need to do to get home Well done everyone. *** Share these pix and the gallery if you like them. Please leave the watermark in place. You can right-click download you pix (increase the resolution if you want). *** I have a larger gallery of over 130 pix if you want others... The FB feed will have the link.

WBEZ Block Party: Grown Folks Stories (Jan 13)

Rakim @Shrine (Jan 13) : ** Share it if you like it ** After getting tickets a few weeks earlier, it was finally time to see Rakim on a sold-out night at the Shrine. I had been to a smaller show at the Shrine a few months ago, but had never been there for a large show. Before I talk about Rakim, let me just say that the crowd was great and had a much different vibe relative to the silliness I witnessed at SubT last month. I'm glad it was a mature crowd, because the Shrine took forever to get Rakim on stage after opening the doors at 9pm. The broke up the Connect Force cipher, which was smokin' and keeping us entertained, then made us stand around and listen to music for hours. YP, a Chicago rapper, came on for a few songs, but by the time he took the stage people only wanted Rakim. After a wait, Connect Force took the stage and did some nice work, but again, the crowd wanted Rakim. Despite playing some nice stuff, DJ Tony Touch stayed on for too long just playing music... You guessed it, we wanted Rakim. Tony's set was probably 30 mins, and he wasn't that sharp in several transitions, which made it worse. After that, the Bassment's foudner came out, and people just kept chanting for Rakim. He finally took the stage around 12:30 - which was absurd. He took the stage to the roar of everyone in the crowd and did all of his classics. Not only did he look and sound the same as he did back in the day, he was in full control of the stage. Some of the young cats I see on stage are more interested in pretending they're in a rap video than being MCs. If your crew is having more fun jumping around behind you during your set than the crowd that paid for a show, you need to check yourself. Rakim came out, with DJ 33 1/3 spinning, and ripped the stage by himself. His posse? His wife, who sat by and listened with the rest of us. Here are some of my favorite photos from the night. Rakim was outstanding and a true class act. Lastly, I've left these unlocked. Feel free to share. Just keep the watermark on them please. Thanks!

Rakim @Shrine (Jan 13)

Psalm One, Add 2, Black Milk and more (Mar 12) : After catching a short cameo when Del was in town, I got to see Psalm One again at SubT. Once again she threw down and, dare I say, gave the headliner a run for his money 8-) Anyway, true to form, there were plenty of pleasant surprises on the set. Add 2 was the first one... Not only did he throw down a great set, he was great on stage for the photographers in the house. You can see that in this gallery. J Pinder had a familiar flow that repped the PacNW nicely (and thanks for the mellow CD bro). Black Milk blended old school and new school with a great show that was powered by his band. ADd+ and Black on Black Rhyme rounded out a great all around night of hip-hop. Enjoy the pictures... Support the hobby... Retweet/ Share to show the love....

Psalm One, Add 2, Black Milk and more (Mar 12)

Verbal Kent, Vinnie Paz, Ill Bill, Matlock & Moodswangz (Nov 12) : After a long break from SubT, I was looking forward to seeing Vinnie Paz (@vinnie_paz) again. This time, he wasn't bringing the whole Army with him, but I figured the show would be rowdy again. I got a nice surprise as the date got closer when I learned that Verbal Kent (@BIG_VK1) would also be on stage that night. Matlock and Moodswangz rounded out the set with Apollo Brown. Verbal was outstanding (once again), but didn't do enough of my favorite tracks 8-). Many of the people in the crowd hadn't heard of him, but they all left as fans. Matlock and Moodswangz did a nice set and got the crowd jumping before Vinnie Paz and Ill Bill (@ILLB1LL) took the stage. Sadly, they got into it backstage and Bill couldn't let it go. After relentlessly calling out Matlock and his crew in between every verse, the vibe got worse and worse. Eventually, the house lights came up and they cut the sound in the middle of a song. Time for me to go. I hit the exit. By the time I got to my car people were spilling out of SubT because of a fight and bottle throwing. Stupidity. I think I'm done with hip-hop at SubT for a while. Not worth it. Too bad, VInnie Paz was off to a great start.

Verbal Kent, Vinnie Paz, Ill Bill, Matlock & Moodswangz (Nov 12)

10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman - Joshua Bennett @ Jazzapalooza (Aug 12) : This was the 3rd Year Trinity UCC in Chicago hosted Jazzapalooza. Sr. Pastor Otis Moss III is a huge jazz fan, and had a special person come through. Mr. Joshua Bennett perform an truly amazing poem that had the crowd acting like they were in church on a Sunday. "Ravinia on Concrete" was blessed that he came through. Enjoy the poem. It is even better live. Check YouTube. Follow him on Twitter: @SirJoshBennett

10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman - Joshua Bennett @ Jazzapalooza (Aug 12)

Substance (May 11) : When I heard Substance and Kenya were going to be on stage, I decided to make the trip up north. Like a fool, I talked right past my exit and arrived as Kenya was leaving the stage. Here are 19 of my favorite photos. Once again, I had too many good photos to choose, but in the interest of time, I chose a few. I did get a chance to say hi to Dat and Ill before they took the stage. Another strong performance from Substance. The venue (Mayne Stage) was a great spot with excellent concert lighting. The menu look OK, but tough to find something that wouldn't clog your arteries 8-) I guess I didn't go to eat anyway. I gotta talk to my brother Ill Gordon about wearing all black during the shows. Tough to get great shots of a shadow! That said, here are my favorites from the night. Follow em on Twitter and get that mixtape. The first one was nice...

Substance (May 11)

Substance Muzik, Diesel, Merkm Nasty, Jabari, and Shadowlife (Dec 10) : After a good show a few weeks ago, i headed back to the Abbey to see Kenya sing on stage. Camille G. Brown was a nice surprise, and I also got to see some hip hop (note: the Singers are under Events ---> Concerts). Here are some of my favorite photos of the hip-hop artists that night. There is another "unedited" gallery of raw photos. If you performed and want the link to that gallery, email me at keith@kbevphoto.com. Before we get into the photos, here are a few thoughts on what I saw that night. Normally, I caption each photo and put my favorite photos first. I have a lot to get through, so I'll put the photos in order of "favorites by artist". I'll also comment on them in that same order. ** One more thing ** Gear ain't free and it takes a lot of time to get these photos "ready for public consumption". Support the hobby and buy your prints/ photos - you can get larger sizes and photos WITHOUTH the watermarks that way. Consider these copyrighted, so if you use them on your site, please credit kbevphoto.com - if you want some for pub purposes, email me and I can get you some clean photos without the watermark. Thanks... ------------------ My last act of the night was Substance Muzik. Ill and Dre passed me a very solid mixtape and asked me to stick around and shoot some photos of them. Although I was planning to leave before their set, they were nice guys and I appreciated the tape. Turns out, they were fantastic on stage. When you understand the craft, you work on more than your lyrics. Truth is that you need lyrics to be an MC, but Lyrics alone won't carry you on stage. These guys both had the charisma, flow, and stage presence that made for a very entertaining set. I don't know the songs, but these guys ripped it when they "trained on the heavy bag" and "tapped" each other in/out with each verse. Very clever. The "slow jam" they did for the few ladies in the audience was also well done. Too many MC's focus on attitude and themselves. Substance played with and played to the crowd which was really nice. I'm listening to the mixtape now... Follow them on Twitter at: @sUbsTancEmuZik Diesel was another strong set that night. He had the tools for a great show. I have to admit, I was getting a kick out of his hype man, Famous. Famous was onstage essentially Krumping to the beats and rhymes in a way that forced the crowd to show Diesel some energy. That brother was amped up. However, Diesel surprised the crowd by turning over the mic to Famous who proceeded to show he was more than just onstage energy - he can sing. After proving his skills, Diesel and Famous proceed to perform together for the rest of the set. IMHO, Diesel was at his best when he was paired with famous. The beats, the flow, the vocals came together really nicely. Nice job guys. I also got a chance to see Merkm Nasty's debut performance that night. Merkm has a nice flow and showed some of the potential on stage that will carry him for a while. He was clearly focused on his lyrics, because he didn't introduce himself to the crowd or talk much in between songs. He had plenty of support in the crowd, but as time goes on, he'll find ways to get "strangers in the crowd" on his side. Once that happens, his sets will be a ton of fun for everyone in the spot. As far as debuts go, it was a strong showing from Merkm Nasty. Until next time bro. Rob C. Shadowlife did three songs that night. Despite being the 5th or 6th performer that night, he was convinced something was wrong with his mics. As he spit, he kept grabbing more mics to find the one that was working. At one point, he was rapping into 3 mics at once, which was classic. To his credit, Shadowlife kept a sense of humor about it and didn't flip out with attitude like many artists do. He had a good time on stage and did well. Jabari took the stage with Gino East, ID and a other guys whose names I didn't get before I left. Thanks to the Abbey for supporting the local artists. Another good night.

Substance Muzik, Diesel, Merkm Nasty, Jabari, and Shadowlife (Dec 10)

Verbal Kent, Zion I, Grouch, Ghosthouse and Shotgun Wedding (Apr 11) : Although they weren't headlining, One Be Lo and Verbal Kent were the reasons I went to the show. I arrived to head Ghosthouse on stage do their thing. They did some stuff I hadn't heard and some covers. Nice work overall. Verbal and Lance Ambu took the stage next and people that came late missed a great set. Verbal hadn't been on stage since the last time I saw him, but you couldn't tell. Once again, free CD's were the name of his game. Kids need to come watch Verbal and Lance - that's how you'll learn your way around the stage. Shotgun Wedding came up next and, like every trip to The Abbey, they were the surprise of the night. Live band, nice flow, great set! One Be Lo came out next, but his photos are in their own gallery. Zion I and the Grouch closed out the night with a great set that had the crowd fully amped up. They're still touring and tweeting... Until next time.... (PS if you want the full unedited gallery - check the FB page I took a few hundred pix that night) Keith

Verbal Kent, Zion I, Grouch, Ghosthouse and Shotgun Wedding (Apr 11)

One Be Lo & DJ LaJedi (Apr 11) : It's rare when you get to meet one of your favorite artists. It's even rarer when he/ she turns out to be really chill and asks you to come shoot more photos behind the scenes and throughout the show. It was YEARS ago, when I caught One Be Lo at the Abbey. I didn't know what to expect, but Binary Star's MOTU album was fantastic and I wanted to see him live. I haven't been able to see him again until now. Since the Binary Star days, One Be Lo (AKA One Man Army) has been one of the best (and he's got 4 of my 6 most played songs in my iTunes library). OK, enough of that, I don't want him to get a big head. After some pre-show tea and watching Shotgun Wedding and Verbal Kent perform, OBL was backstage with MC Juice catching up on old times. Ka Di, Jeff Baraka and other friends were also hanging out. Nice folks all around. It was nice to see some artists respect the craft and not act like the lunatics you see on MTV and BET. OBL took the stage after DJ LaJedi got the crowd warmed up. As I tweeted, she flipped to a OBL verse right as he took the stage. She was a great complement to OBL. The show was great and One did some of his classics and some new stuff. "enecS no eht kcaB" is one of the best tracks I've heard and it was great to hear it live (and to see so many people in the crowd who knew the lyrics). One was just like last time - he knew how to work the stage and had fun with the crowd - which included working the cameraman (me) into a verse then stopping to pose (#2 below) . Throughout the set, OBL mixed in acapella verses too. Juice took the stage and did his verse from KGB (the best song you probably never heard). Then he did was Juice does: freestyle. He worked out rhymes based on what people shouted or threw onto the stage. It was off the chain. Jeff Baraka and Ka Di joined them on stage too. Again, nice folks. Grown folks. Enjoy the photos. If you are so inclined, follow them at @onebelo @lajedi @jeffbaraka No captions this time. Just photos!

One Be Lo & DJ LaJedi (Apr 11)

One Night Only @Pressure Point Studios (Dec 10) : December 17, 2010 - One Night Only was a great night of songs, poets, and beats. Grown folks left the kids at home, got dressed up, and enjoyed the talent. Our hosts, Unscripted and Saran, found some great artists. The result? An expected gathering of 50 people peaked near 150. "One night only" is going to be to be "a few nights a year", because the fans demand it. Stay tuned for Round 2 in Feb '11. If you performed that night and want a link to the "rest" of the photos from the night, please email me. Join the Facebook pager other photo updates. (links above) Support the hobby. Order your prints! (use code "kbev10" to get 10% off). Thanks. Keith

One Night Only @Pressure Point Studios (Dec 10)

One Night Only @ The Connection (Mar 11) : March 17, 2011 - Another "One Night Only" from Unscripted and Ms. Dunmore = another nice night. Although it ran too late for the crowd, the night was great. Kudos to all the performers for sharing their talent with the crowd. My girl Kenya did her thing (once again). Mr. Bryant Cross shared a great poem for the love of his life, and lots of other did their thing. Support the hobby and buy your prints 8-) The facebook page (link above) has the unedited gallery with the rest of the photos (150+) from that night. Until next time... peace...

One Night Only @ The Connection (Mar 11)

Ghostface, Verbal Kent, Psalm One, and Sheek Louch - Abbey (Oct 10) : Halloween night, I decided to go see some live hip-hop at the Abbey. I usually don't type this much in an intro, but it was a good night so I'll go through it in a bit more detail. I hadn't been to the Abbey in a while and it was better than the last time. On the plus side, the sound system was better than I remembered. On the down side, they still keep the lighting "iffy" for someone trying to take pictures without lighting up the room with a flash. As one of the venues that is committed to bringing hip-hop to the stage, I'll be there. I'm still waiting to we whether Abbey or SubT will ever get the BBoy /BGirl community and the MC/DJ community to do a joint event. They would both be great venues for that. On to the show... I went to see Verbal Kent, whose Fist Shakin' album is a classic that has been criminally kept under the radar. In fact, all of his albums are tight and need more play. It was great to see him on stage again. Although the Abbey wasn't packed, he hit his lyrics hard and entertained a growing crowd throughout his set. As time passes, he's continuing to improve his craft. His new album is short, but crisp. Check it out at http://verbalkent.com/ After VK, Psalm One took the stage. Ok, the twitter record will show the truth, so I can't lie. Despite a tight flow, I was disappointed to see a fairly tacky wardrobe and total lack of presence/ energy during her first song or two. Yes, I was totally fooled. After some breakaway clothes broke away, Fluffy passed her a hat, and she put on some Tims, Psalm One was off the chain. Solid beats and a numerous styles made her the surprise of the night (at least, a surprise to my ignorant a**) To me, her voice sounded like Hurricane G, but she had more styles and raw talent. Her Death of a Frequent Flyer CD was good enough that you should check it out. @PsalmOne on Twitter. Sheek Louch did a nice set and hit a lot of the old Lox hits. Admittedly, I'm not up on his solo efforts, but he just has too many classics not to enjoy his set. Aside from constantly reminding the crowd how high he was, he still had command of the stage. Nice work from the big man. Before Ghostface came out, Technician the DJ (sorry I didn't get more photos of you), got the crowd jumping with some nice tracks. Only downside of the night was some drunk dude and his wife who insisted on letting everyone know that (1) they didn't like being bumped (mind you they were hitting everyone nearby and the place was packed, especially near the stage) (2) if you step on his wife's shoes, there will be trouble, and (3) if you want to start something, just say so - because, as he let us all know: "I got BOND money, B****! I got BOND money." So for those of you following along at home, a drunk guy and his wife (both of whom were relatively small) mouth off to everyone in a packed club and as she eggs her man on, he lets us all know that he came out tonight *ready* to go to jail. How do they prep for the night? "Let's see, I got my cell phone. I have my keys. Oh yeah... Honey. Can you grab me some Bond money, if case I get drunk and start a brawl?" Liquid courage. Luckily, he held it together and after moving to a new spot, I was able to enjoy the show. I hope they got home safely. Ghostface was actually the live Wu-Tang performance I've seen. Go figure. Great set and great command of the stage from a guy who is clearly a polished veteran. Sun God, Cappadonna and others from the Wu family joined him on stage. As the set wen ton, I was reminded of how many sick verses Ghost has put down over the years. Glad I stuck around to see what he brought to the table. *** In any case, there are a few hundred "raw" photos from the night in a private gallery. If interested, email me to check out the Facebook page for a link.

Ghostface, Verbal Kent, Psalm One, and Sheek Louch - Abbey (Oct 10)

SubT: People Under the Stairs (Feb 10) : February 2010, I finally got to see People Under the Stairs (PUTS). I went a month ago, but they had moved the show and I walked into some lame band's set. Luckily, I got my $$$ back. Anyway, LA's own PUTS put on a good show. The duo had the crowd packed and jumping for the whole set. Too bad so many people felt the need to get blunted during the show... They got tossed, but that ish is not needed.... Here are m favorite photos. Sorry to Big Pooh and Earatik Statik. I missed good shots of both of you.

SubT: People Under the Stairs (Feb 10)

Que Billah, H20 Soul, & SIU Crew @ SubT (Aug 10) : After not going to live show for a while, I needed some live Rap/ Hip-hip. Anything would do and it came down to Dom Kennedy or Que Billah at SubT. The timing was right for Que Billah. Overall the suprisingly good b/c I had no idea what to expect. Sam I Am and Ivy League were a nice opening. However, the show took a major step up when H2O Soul took the stage with a live band. You can't beat hip-hop with a DJ and a band. They held it down with a really nice set and Que Billah took the stage to a warm crowd. He did his thing supported by the live band too. I always give props to MC's that rhyme to a live band. All the acts from the night had an affiliation with SIU, which was a nice touch. Well done. I have about 200 other photos from the show in a private gallery. Email keith@kbevphoto.com for a link.

Que Billah, H20 Soul, & SIU Crew @ SubT (Aug 10)

Del the Funky Homosapien, Bukue One, Abstract Giants, Billa Camp and Kid Russell (Jun 11) : When I heard Del was coming to CHI, I had to go and get tickets. I remember listening to Del back in the day (when Everlast was a clean cut dude in a white suit, before he was born-again hardcore and Irish in House of Pain). Anyway, I got tickets to see him despite not know what to expect. The crowd was hyped for Sir Dzl and his opening acts didn't disappoint either. Billa Camp warmed up the crowd with a nice set. As time passed he got stronger and stronger. Kid Russell was amped up, but his musical style didn't fit well with the rest of the night, which was too bad. Abstract Giants were my "surprise of the night". I will say it (yet) again: any hip hop crew with a live band gets my vote. 3 MCs and a full band almost always means "Great Show". These guys were no exception. They didn't even have the full squad - their violin player (yes, I said violin) wasn't there. Regardless, they did great stuff and I'd see them again. I wonder how their CD sounds (hint hint). Bukue One, Del's manager, took the stage and was a one man entertainment show (well, two, because DJ Zac was blazin on the turntables). Bukue was on a skateboard, running interludes ("Let me see your sexy face"), and was his own hype-man. What do I mean? He had two mics, one of which had reverb on it, and he would use 1 or 2 depending what he wanted to "hype up". It was the first time I had seen it, and he clearly knew what he was doing. Mad cool. Del came on and did a full set. It's nice to see an artist at home on stage. Bukue had his back throughout the set and he did some new stuff and the classics. Listening to Del is like getting hit by a lyrical avalanche. The words and rhymes just keep coming and coming. It is difficult to explain the sheer volume of lines that he throws out during a show. Imagine grains of sand at a beach. Exactly. One nice surprise from the night was Psalm One taking the stage a spitting a verse for Del and the crowd. Well done, lady. Alright, a link to the full set of unedited pics (a few hundred) can be found on the FB page. Peace.

Del the Funky Homosapien, Bukue One, Abstract Giants, Billa Camp and Kid Russell (Jun 11)

When I heard Del was coming to CHI, I had to go and get tickets. I re ...

Updated: Jun 25, 2011 9:10am PST

Subterranean - Jedi Mind Tricks and Esoteric (Sep 09) : Perhaps the rowdiest crowd I've seen at SubT was 9/09 for Esoteric and Jedi Mind Tricks (I got there too late to catch Reef the Lost Cauze, but saw him when AoTP took the stage). Given the crowd, it was hard to get too many good shots. At one point, some fool spilled his drink all over me (and splash the Nikon). Thank God it is sealed like any good pro-body should be. When JMT took the stage and brothers started slam dancing, I made my way to the exit, in case it went down. It didn't, which was good. After the show, Jus Allah, Eso and others were upstairs. Again, all really nice guys. *** I think I have some of the AoTP members captioned incorrectly. Please comment with corrections. Thanks

Subterranean - Jedi Mind Tricks and Esoteric (Sep 09)

AFA '09 - Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, Camp-Lo and Locals (Sep 09) : On the only night with Hip-hop at the festival, they had three groups and some local artists. Souls and Pharcyde were good, but I don't know their stuff the way I know artists from AFA in years' past. Still, SoM's "93 'til Infinity" album is a fantastic album, way ahead of its time. UPDATE: Just made contact with Camp Lo on twitter. They just released a sick mix tape with Pete Rock. They put on good show at this event and got the crowd started right. Anyway, here are a few photos from the hip hop stage. If I have some of the names wrong, please let me know.

AFA '09 - Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, Camp-Lo and Locals (Sep 09)

Subterranean - Lord T & Eloise, Earatik Statik, and Alltruisms (Jul 09) : Hoping to see Verbal Kent perform, I trekked back to SubT. Unfortunately, I found out earlier in the week the VK was out, but his Gravel Hip Hop peers, Alltruisms and Earatik Statik, would be opening for Lord T and Eloise. Here are ~30 of my favorites. As always, email me if you want your pix or a link to the rest of the ones I took (~200 more) Lord Treadwell and Maurice Eloise VIII AKA "Lord T and Eloise" came through Chicago with Theodore Roosevelt at the end of July. I had no idea what to expect and figured their myspace page was an exaggeration. Memphis Crunk, or "Aristocrunk", was bass-heavy and high BPM. The crowd had a great time. It was unreal to watch how much energy these guys had for the full hour. T. Roosevelt was a nice add on the drums too. They also covered a few old-school songs - Lionel Richie's "All night long" and Slick Rick's "Children's Story" among them. The were much more entertaining than I thought. Check out their myspace page to hear some songs... And NO, they performed with green lights... I wasn't holding an night-vision camera... I only caught the last 2 songs from Alltruisms. He was nice on the stage, but the crowd hadn't really arrived yet, so it was fairly empty. I bought his CD a few weeks ago (you gotta support indie artists). It was OK, but I think his best verses are on VK's albums and live on stage. Eartaik Static also took the stage and I got a few photos from their show. The beats and rhymes were nice, but the crowd was still sparse. Worth checking out, and they'll only get better on stage as time passes. Peace.

Subterranean - Lord T & Eloise, Earatik Statik, and Alltruisms (Jul 09)

Subterranean - Keith Murray and Midwest artists (Jul 09) : Subterranean once again, this time for Keith Murray and a bunch of Chicago artists (on a work night - not cool). They had so many they started 2hrs earlier than planned. From 1030 to midnight, I shot photos of some Midwest artists. All nice guys. I missed some names and would appreciate a little help if you got 'em. Keith Murray was more energetic than expected and put on a great show for about an hour. I missed him in Chicago last time, because I chose to see Ms. Rachelle Ferrell that night at the AFA. Aside from a botched first stage dive, he was great. Enjoy the pics. If you performed that night, I have ~300 more in a private gallery. I'm happy to share if you email me, I'll send you a link. Ditto if you want the photos in this gallery, just let me know I'll get you access. Consider these copyrighted. If you use them, credit the site and let me know where they're at (yes, that's all). Thanks. - KB

Subterranean - Keith Murray and Midwest artists (Jul 09)

Subterranean - Verbal Kent, Lord 360, BlackCollar, The Opus (Jan 09) : After picking up two of his albums and really enjoying them both, I decided to go see Verbal Kent at Subterranean. I went solo, so I had my gear. All the performers, especially VK, were great to talk with before/ after they took the stage. No bling. Just hiphop. Amen. I missed a few names, so if you have them, please email me so I can update the captions. I also have a bunch of other photos in a private gallery. Email me if you want the link. keith@kbevphoto.com. Consider these copyrighted. If you want to use them, just let me know where (send me a link or copy) and it's all good.

Subterranean - Verbal Kent, Lord 360, BlackCollar, The Opus (Jan 09)

AFA '08 - Nice and Smooth (Aug 08) : Nice and Smooth put on one of the best shows at the Hip Hop stage of the 2008 Festival. Greg Nice jumped into the crowd and spent 3/4 of the show in the grass with fans having s great time. Smooth B joined him at the 1/2 point, and the crowd loved it. Here are the best photos from the show. If they come to a town near you, you must go see them.

AFA '08 - Nice and Smooth (Aug 08)

AFA '08 - Black Sheep, Rhymefest, and Brand Nubian : The final night of the 2008 festival included Black Sheep, Rhymefest, and Brand Nubian. Once again, we'll do this one step at a time: Brand Nubian - These guys did a great show and the crowd had clearly forgotten how whack their last album was. The didn't do the entire first album, but they did enough of it to make it fun. The crowd was full of old heads that knew all the words to every song (I wasn't one of them - except for Slow Down). Lord Jamal gained energy as the night went on. Sadat X had that familiar voice, but ran outta gas and even SAT DOWN at one point. Grand Puba was good, but I always preferred Sadat X. Rhymefest put on a decent show, but the kids on stage was not a good thing. See the captions for more info. It was my first time hearing or seeing him, and I'd watch him again (for free) and listen to him again (without buying his album). Black Sheep was a group of one. Mr. Lawnge is no longer in the group. A "group" of ONE kinda feels the same as an althete going "3rd person" during an interview. In any case, like Special Ed a few days earlier, Dres plugged his MySpace page. Unfortunately, he did so much new stuff the crowd was just standing there wondering what the hell he was saying. Of all the old school artists that have come over the years, he was the one that sounded the least like he did back in the day. He didn't even do "Strobelite Honey" - that's a crime!

AFA '08 - Black Sheep, Rhymefest, and Brand Nubian

AFA '08 - Special Ed, Rage, and Big Daddy Kane (Aug 08) : Kane, Special Ed, Lady of Rage, Swamphouse, and NoTryDo.Sincere all performed on Saturday night. Let's start at the top: Kane put on a great show and still has the voice we knew from back in the day. He did all the classics, and was not peddling new stuff that nobody wanted to hear. After jumping into the crowd for a song, Kane remarked about how tired he was - he'll be 40 soon! Scoob Lover and Kane and did some old school dances for a finale (and probably got medical attention afterwards). Special Ed was also very good in concert and even did his verse from the Crooklyn sountrack! Afterwards he hunt out singing CDs (his new one: "Still got it made") and posters. I spoke with him for a few minutes and he was was a nice guy just enjoying the festival crowd. Hard to believe Ed was 36! The Lady of Rage did a surprisingly good show and the crowd showed her a lot of love. She was the first to admit "I don't have many songs that y'all know, but let's have some fun!" She did her biggest hit, Afro Puffs, but also did some familiar verses from the Dogg Pound album that I had forgotten (but I still knew some of the words) Swamphouse didn't belong on stage in my opinion, although some of the other artists in between the headliners did a very nice job. NoTryDo.Sincere's drumline was a nice change of pace.

AFA '08 - Special Ed, Rage, and Big Daddy Kane (Aug 08)

AFA '07 - Naughty, EPMD, Kurtis Blow (Sep 07) : A year later, the African Festival of the Arts came back to Chicago's South Side with a nice Old School hip-hop lineup. This year, I went on the last night and saw Naughty by Nature, EPMD, and Mr. Kurtis Blow. You get the "Mr." title if you can still move the crowd at age 48. In a nutshell, NN was nice and Treach still raps with a scowl (like that kid at the Humbolt Puerto Rican festival - in the Events gallery). "The other guy" could still flow. When they came to the stage, they reminded themselves there were kids in the audience, and they'd keep the show PG-13. Then they proceeded to curse the rest of the show. EPMD didn't care about the kids. Parrish came out and said form the start, "Excuse my language, but this is how I do hip-hop" They proceeded to drop F-bombs and the N-word at a rate that would make Redman proud. I was never a huge EPMD fan, but they did their thing. The DJ tried to show-out, but he wasn't spectacular. However, for his age, he held it down. They pointed out that this was the first time in a while "all three members of the group" had been together. Am I the only one who didn't know the DJ was a member? EPMD stands for "Eric and Parrish making dollars" (the DJ is not mentioned in there). I guess the DJ is a volunteer, since it doesn't say anything about him making dollars too. Lastly, Mr. Kurtis Blow was amazing for a 48 year old. Still in shape, he rocked the old-school dances and could still get the crowd going. It didn't hurt that most of the crowd near the stage was getting blunted up during most of the show. Kurtis called for B-boys to help him with a song and 7-8 jumped the fence and break danced on stage for a $50 prize. During the battle, Kurtis got in the circle for some footwork and a few freezes. Mad props. Off-script, there was a tie for first and Kurtis offered them each $50. They agreed to a 3-on-3 winner-take-all crew battle. It was live and took up the rest of the time. Kurtis gave the winning crew cash from his pocket. Nice!

AFA '07 - Naughty, EPMD, Kurtis Blow (Sep 07)

EBFRT - MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh (Aug 07) : The Ebony Black Family Reunion Tour is an annual, free event in Washington Park. The free concert this year featured Klymaxx, MC Lyte, Whodini, and Doug E. Fresh. Despite the rain, The Mrs. and I enjoyed dinner and old school rhymes in the park with the other old heads and a bunch of kids who had never seen their parents act that way. Unlike Kool Moe Dee (see photos from last year in "Events"), nobody looked much different. Whodini looked a bit older (but then again, it has been 26 years!). MC Lyte looked and sounded great. I didn't take photos of Klymaxx, but they were jammin' and playing their own instruments. MC Lyte played with a band, no DJ. Whodini's DJ, Grandmaster Dee was off his game. He was skipping records, missing his cues and making a mess of things. Doug E. Fresh is still the man. Unlike Big Daddy Kane, Doug has always had some weak dances, so he can do the exact same moves he did 20 years ago. He'll be doing them for 20 more... and still moving the crowd. Enjoy the pics.

EBFRT - MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh (Aug 07)

AFA '06 - Guru & Kool Moe Dee (Sep 06) : The last big festival of the Summer in Washington Park included performances by Kool Moe Dee and Guru. Along with a few hundred other old-heads, I had a good time right in front of the stage. I took a few photos for those who wonder what they look like now... Yes, they did ALL of the classics. KMD gave love to the old school and point out that "me and LL kept all our beef on wax, we never talked about going and killin' each other like these young guys today". Guru kicked a nice freestyle verse or two between classics. He also spent a good portion of the show dropping F-bombs and referencing weed.

AFA '06 - Guru & Kool Moe Dee (Sep 06)

Abbey pub - Akrobatik, Juice, Mass Hysteria (Feb 08) : My 2nd trip to the Abbey in a month, I went back to see Akrobatik. I went by myself, but did bring the gear. Aside from a few people in the crowd that insisted on getting blunted, the crowd was cool... I could use some help with the names if you have them, please email me via the info tab.

Abbey pub - Akrobatik, Juice, Mass Hysteria (Feb 08)

Kilombos - Poets and Rappers (Dec 10) : On a cold winter night, I decided to go shoot at Kilombos. It was an event put on by Connect Force and the University of Hip Hop. In addition to the Bboys they had the other 3 elements on display. Here are a few pix from the Poets and Rappers. Respect to Kuumba Lynx for bringing the spoken word. Well done. PS Don't forget to check the BBoys section for the BBoys that showed their skills with us that night. Email me if you want the full, unedited gallery (200+ photos) - keith@kbevphoto.com I didn't lock 'em down, so if you used them, please credit kbevphoto.com

Kilombos - Poets and Rappers (Dec 10)

God-Des and She @Nashville Pride (Jun 11) : On a family trip to Nashville, I looked for something to shoot. That led me to Nashville Pride '11. Late in the afternoon, God-Des and She took the stage and I heard a beat that could only mean one thing: Hip-hop. God-Des has a nice party-flow and certainly knew her way around the stage. She can sing. It's that simple. She had a strong voice and was able to hit all the right notes along the way. It was more impressive because a broken ankle had her singing from a chair! I took a few shots during the show, but here are my 11 favorite. More are in the hidden gallery. A link is on the wall of the kbevphoto Facebook page.

God-Des and She @Nashville Pride (Jun 11)

1303 Murs Fashawn Black Cloud Prof :

1303 Murs Fashawn Black Cloud Prof

Jeru the Damaja, Mic One, Prime, Sam I Am and more… (Mar 13) : I wasn't sure I'm make a Monday night show, but figured why not? Jeru the Damaja is an old school artist that I was excited to see. Plus the Abbey (as always), usually comes correct with a few opening acts that I'm glad I had a chance to see. The crowd was much light that normal, which made it an easy night to shoot. Jeru did a nice set and had a lot of fun with the crowd. Younger MC's could learn a lot from watching the Elder statesmen on stage. He did all of the classics, including some I didn't know that well. In retrospect, a lot of his hits use samples from "Come Clean". I can't think of another artist that has used more of his own samples in subsequent raps... Who cares? Anyway, It was good to see him doing what he does. Prime performed throughout the night, including a great set of hip hop karaoke that was a lot of fun. Prime was great on stage, but that wasn't what made him great. He was a true fan of hip hop. He enjoyed most of the other sets and doing his freestyles with the host, MC Dirty MF, as much as he enjoyed his turn at the mic. That's being a fan. The clowns that just want to jump up on stage and pretend their in a video will come and go. Prime was a class act (and a nice guy when he was done). FWIW, Dirty has a presence and flow like Method Man, but was more coherent lyrically speaking. If he's hosting (esp with Prime), you'll enjoy the time between sets as much as you enjoy the sets themselves. Mic One did a high energy set and had some fun on stage too. I didn't know his music, but he did some nice work. Worth checking out again for sure. Dolla Jillz was spitting nicely and was one of the more polished opening acts I've seen at the Abbey. In addition to knowing his rhymes, he had good presence on stage. Qwote and Milla Boy did high energy sets, but still need to work on their stage presence it was a still a little raw. I hope they continue to refine their craft and I'l catch 'em again soon. That leaves me with my TWO surprises of the night. Watch City did a great set with a relatively large crew. Yes, I like live music during the set (Moore was on drums), but the whole crew could flow. More importantly, they worked like an actual crew should on stage. Share the mic. Respect the lead. Enjoy the crowd. It was a little uncomfortable for some when Klye Cole made his way through the crowd, but it was all fun. The energy was great and it wasn't like you were watching a bunch of rookies jumping around at a talent show. Well done, gentlemen. The Second surprise was Sam I Am the MC. I am damn near certain I've seen this brother on stage before, but I can't place it. He was excellent. His flow and his gravity on the stage were more like a veteran than an opener. Granted, he was opening for Jeru, but you know what I mean. He got a strong assist from Encyclopedia Brown throughout his set. If Sam or Watch City is in a venue near you, do yourself a favor and check 'em out. There is a whole 'nother gallery of pix from the night. Email me if you want the link. Peace...

Jeru the Damaja, Mic One, Prime, Sam I Am and more… (Mar 13)

KRS-ONE, Michael Rose & Sister Carol (Apr 13) : I finally got to see KRS-ONE live. I had seen him almost 20 years ago at a NSBE conference and didn't much of it. He was a great artist, but I was too dumb to realize that he is probably one of the top 5 MC's to ever live. By the time I did, he wasn't on tour near me much at all. So I wait... For years... Then The Shrine announced that he was coming! Nothing was going to keep me away, not even a Monday night show. The opening acts were reggae artists Sister Carol and Michael Rose (from Black Uhuru). Sister Carol has nearly a dozen albums under her belt and did a very long set to open the night. She even did a curtain call. Michael Rose was a bit more of a mellow performer with a mix of fast and slower reggae songs. He even did "One Blood" from his Black Uhuru bandmate Junior Reid (who knew?). The best part about Rose's performance was the exaggerated choreography that is the calling card for all kinds of reggae artists. You don't just walk/march/bounce across the stage... You run over there like Shawn T is telling you to dig deeper and high step from side to side (That's an "Insanity" reference for the sloths among us). The openers each did very long sets which was not cool. They were good performers, but they must have been used to being the headliners. When you are an opener, you have to play your position. Sister Carol's curtain call was excessive given that many in the crowd were already cheering for her to leave before she finished her main set. She was very good on stage, but most had come to see KRS do hip hop, not reggae. Rose did the same thing, but it felt even longer. At one point during the set he even did a song while seated. It seemed like he was tired of his own set. No disrespect to either artist, but KRS' crowd is now a lot older than we were 20 years ago. It would have been nice if he could have come out an hour earlier since we can't run like we used to! That said, KRS' crowd is also more mature than some of the knucklehead crowds that come to hip-hop shows, so everyone showed respect for both openers who have literally been on the scene for decades. KRS was the real deal on stage. His act covered several genres of music - hip-hop, reggae, and even classical. Yes, go to youtube and search "Krs-one classical rap" for a taste. He touched nearly all of his solo and BDP hit in one way or another. It was crazy. As expected "The Teacher" took several moments in his show to teach the crowd. He taught about being a real MC, being spiritual, standing for principles, taking care of your body, and respecting those around you. His views on being a real MC were tight and on point for sure. Despite being a fairly self-absorbed MC on stage (with even reason to be that say - he is the #1 MC of all time in my book), he paid tribute to several other artists by letting their beats go and even dropping a few of their verses as a show of respect. They inculdes: Dead Prez, Tupac, Biggie, Black Rob (Whoa), Wu and others. He also gave love to Chicago's house music history and the Pink House (which I don't know). It's worth mentioning that I didn't catch his hype mans name, but he reminded me of Larenz Tate's character from Menace to Society. One of the nice interludes during the show was a break from the music to poetically teach the crowd about the "3 Yous" (Past, present, and future). Essentially (I'm not going to do this justice), the past You has to be happy the present You because the present You should be trying to be what the past You envisioned. The present You should try to "be a friend" to your future You, by making the decisions today that will keep your body healthy in the future. The future You is looking back on the present You, and hoping that You learned from the past You. I think I followed most of it, and judging from the weed in the air, I think most of the crowd felt they were following it too. KRS did multiple freestyles and a cappella rhymes during the show. For most songs, he let the beat drop just long enough to get us hyped, then told the DJ to cut the music way low so his voice would be all you heard. That's how real MC's who don't need auto-tune and over-produced soundtracks can roll. KRS closed the show by signing autographs on stage and offering to take a photo with EVERYONE in attendance. He is, to me, the best MC of all time. Hopefully the pix will do him justice 8-) #GOAT

KRS-ONE, Michael Rose & Sister Carol (Apr 13)

I finally got to see KRS-ONE live. I had seen him almost 20 years ago ...

Updated: Apr 26, 2013 6:51am PST

Murs, Prof, Fashawn, Black Cloud (Mar 13) : I went to the Abbey to check out Murs, who I didn't know that well. I liked his track with Mr. Lif and figured "Why not?". The Abbey almost never disappoints with it's hip hop sets - I am pleasantly surprised every time I go. Tonight was no exception. Murs brought a bunch of talented cats with him to Chicago on their national tour. *** I took over 300 other photos during the show. If you want to see the rest of the galleries, hit me up *** Note: After starting with my favorite shot of each MC, The galleries are ordered: Murs, Curtiss King and Noa James, Fashawn, and Prof Curtiss King and Noa James (Black Cloud music) took the stage first. I had a chance to talk with CK before the show. Really down to earth MC just happy to share his talent with the crowd. It was their first show in CHI so we talked a little about the venue and his background. I knew it would be interesting with he listed Digable among his influences. His flow was peculiar and I couldn't place it. At different times, it reminded me of several different MC's. Regardless, he was probably the surprise of my night. I like tight beats and a compelling flow. He delivered. My favorite part of the set, aside from the great verses, was CK telling us that we shouldn't just take the Black Cloud set as 15 minutes of music. it was "15 minutes of dreams coming true" because he had dreamt of going out on tour for a really long time. His partner in crime, Noa James, also had a strong flow. At times, he reminded me of ODB, but with a crisper rhyme scheme. That said, he crushed a verse that he did with no music AND no mic. That's right, he spit sidewalk style and tore it up. It was really well done. Most MC's try to hide behind over-produced tracks, so I really appreciated that. More importantly, he shared that he's lost over 200# because God got his attention with diabetes when he hit 600#. Too many MC's spend time talking about nonsense on stage. This was really cool and the crowd responded to the honest. Well done, sir. I would def go see Black Cloud music again if they come through CHI. As the get more experience, they will command greater respect on stage that they already do. Fashawn took the stage next and i had no idea what to expect. He was really good and did a nice set overall. He was clearly a veteran on stage and knew his way around. By the end of his set, the crowd was really into the show. I didn't get his album, which I should have. Next time. Prof had about a dozen bottles of water on stage, so I figured he must be rolling with a Wu-Tang style posse or something. Nope. He and his DJ (?) just kept pouring and tossing water all over the place. I gotta be honest, some of the tracks early in the set made me hope it would be a short set. As time went on, Prof's energy (it was unreal... I was tired just watching him bounce all over) made me more and more interested. Then he dropped his track Gampo, which had a nice Toy beat. Song after song, he demonstrated a wide range of skills. He had a nice singing voice, he have several different flows on the mic, and he was a great entertainer/ storyteller/ performer. The sheer range of his talents won me over. I may not have liked all the beats, but I seriously enjoy someone sharing their gift with the crowd and going "all in" when they get a chance to be on stage. My highlight was when he came down in the crowd to sing to "Kelly". We didn't know what to expect, but then he belted out R. Kelly's opening to "Bump and grind". He sounded spot on, and we were in Chicago! That was awesome. Lots of other really entertaining stuff went on during his set. Prof. Respect. Murs close out with a really strong hour+ set of tracks. Again, i didn't know Murs at all, so I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a mature veteran on stage. His rhymes told some great stories. HIs presence kept the crowd energized. I picked up two CDs that I played while I edited these pix. 20 of 23 tracks were great. Glad I decided to buy two. Murs did some great covers that were rearranged and really classy. Giving props to Nate Dogg was really great. Towards the end of his set, Fashawn came out and they did a few tracks together. The young MC's could learn a lot from watching these two command the stage together. Instead of jumping around like clowns in some low-budget music video, these two were a strong duo that complemented each other and made it so that 1+1=3. When this tour comes to your city, you gotta set it. They were mad respectful of each other, gracious to the crowd, and excellent entertainers. That's all for now. Peace, KBev

Murs, Prof, Fashawn, Black Cloud (Mar 13)