Historically hip-hop has always brought attention to the social injustice. Whether it was Public Enemy with “911 Is A Joke” pointing out the disparity between emergency assistance in the inner city compared to white neighborhoods to Mos Def’s posse cut “One Four Love Pt. 1″ in response to police brutality in NYC in the wake of them killing unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo. The message has not been lost and hip-hop has covered it.
This past Saturday I got a chance to drive down about two hours to Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia to see the 2nd Annual Roots Picnic. Of course, with any Roots spectacular, you go in expecting nothing but great music and a fun time. With just a few speed bumps, that expectation held true for the most part. The diversity and caliber that came along with the day’s artists were something that is almost unmatched in concerts these days. There were definitely some let-downs, I am not afraid to say it, but there were also some great surprises that caught me off-guard.
The day started off at noon at the second stage, but I decided to skip all that and get my front-and-center spot on the main stage, so you are going to have to bear with me on that. I am aware I missed some great acts like local group Writtenhouse and Bajah and Dry Eye Crew, but fortunately I also was able to avoid less memorable acts like Kid Cudi and Asher Roth. Nothing against them, but being up front to see The Roots is bar-none.
Hit the skip for full review and pictures…
A group is defined by two or more individuals with correlative talents committed to a common purpose or specific goal. Hip-hop has definitely given us some legendary groups since it first started. Some of these groups even produced some phenomenal solo artists. It was pretty hard to narrow it down to just ten choices. We based the below list on impact, relevance and catalog otherwise there would too many to name. Who gets your #1 spot?
Album Review: Paul White – Paul White and the Purple Brain
Album Review: Inspired Flight – We All Want to Fly
Album Review: Lewis Parker & John Robinson – International Summers
Album Review: Dirty Projectors + Bjork – Mount Wittenberg Orca
Album Review: ceo – White Magic
Album Review: Super Chron Flight Brothers – Cape Verde
