Concert Review: Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek are Reflection Eternal
By Nadia Pflaum in Last Night's Show
Monday, Apr. 27 2009 @ 12:45PM
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Brooklyn's Talib Kweli and Cincinnati-born D Hi-Tek collaborated as Reflection Eternal on the monumental album, Train of Thought, then waited ten years before making a Reflection Eternal follow-up, which is due out this summer. So I worried when the duo abandoned the Granada's stage last night at 11 p.m., having performed for a little over an hour. Obviously, these guys don't mind keeping a fan waiting.
"You know we couldn't leave y'all like that," Hi-Tek reassured as the duo quickly reemerged and a bottle of Grey Goose magically appeared behind the turntables. "It's raining harder than a motherfucker out there. Y'all ain't going nowhere. We're having the afterparty right here."
The all-ages show became a dance-off as Hi-Tek poured himself a screwdriver and Kweli took over on Serato, spinning frat favorites like Big Pun's "Still Not a Player," and b-boy instrumentals for a crowd that happily mobbed the stage. But back to the afterparty in a minute.
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A pre-show mashup of T.I. and Mac Lethal's "Pound That Beer" made for a perfect segue into Steddy P's opening set. Wearing an Approach t-shirt, Steddy P took the stage and recalled another monumental Granada show from back in 2006, when Joe Good opened and KRS-One rocked the house. "I've waited my whole life for this," Steddy P said, before launching headfirst into his solid set backed by St. Louis' DJ Mahf. The beats were dark, the lyrics darker: "In my room upstairs/ Nobody cares/ and everything's painted by Banksy," he chanted in the chorus from a song off Dear Columbia, P.S.
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Then the headliners sauntered in, Hi-Tek repping his hometown with a Cincinnati Reds hat and Kweli in jeans, a green DC hat,
a silver jacket and sunglasses. The MC quickly lost the latter two accessories and kicked off the set with a new song. In it, Kweli dropped CNN-style
current events ("they got the bomb in North Korea") with egocentric
swagger ("Reflection Eternal...haven't heard of 'em? Google it, go find
it, lazy motherfucker"), all in his classically speedy, nice-with-it
delivery. Not for nothing, Kweli helped usher in an era of MCs who
"think before we spit."
Hi-Tek and Kweli reeled the show back into familiar territory with Train of Thought's "Move Something," "Eternalists," and one of my favorites, "Too Late," which asks, "Where were you the day hip-hop died?" Kweli's lyrics are deceptive -- they don't seem so fast until you get dizzy trying to rap along.
"If you're drinking, be sure to tip your bartenders," Kweli told he crowd after a quick interlude in which he and his DJ switched roles and Hi-Tek tried out the mic. "Last time I came to Kansas, they tried to arrest me. So if you're smoking, keep it low."
New songs tend to get a lukewarm reception when a crowd comes expecting old favorites. People cheered in recognition to lines from classics like "Africa Dreams" ("If you can talk, you can sing; if you can walk, you can dance"). So it's really saying something that even Reflection Eternal's new joints, as street-smart as they are political, still got this crowd hype. People gasped appreciatively when Kweli closed out 16 bars with, "Don't know why they acting like Barack is gonna save us."
Kweli and Hi-Tek rushed full-speed through more of Train of Thought's track list with "Memories Live," and "Love Language." They dropped Madlib-produced "Over the Counter," which contains one of my favorite lines: 'Liberation' ain't the hottest vinyl pressing? Yeah right, and the government ain't lying 'bout 9/11.
The pair pretended to leave, then came back onstage with a vengeance, performing "Respiration," minus Mos Def and Common. Hands flew up at the first few notes of"Get 'Em High," off Kanye West's The College Dropout, but rather than performing his verse, Kweli freestyled, Don't need no pig, no swine flu/Just kickin' it with peoples representing KU, and proclaimed, "Yo -- this shit is tight like Michelle Obama's arms!"
A new song called "Back Again" contained the lyrics, No matter where you're from, I will always be in your corner/You can like rap again/ You can say that again. True to his word, Kweli got in the crowd's corner with a remix of the hit everyone was waiting for: "Get By," which brought down the house.
These days, no hip-hop show ends without a J Dilla tribute, and Hi-Tek attempted one, but the screwdrivers were kicking in, forcing him to "la la la" his way through the first track. He finished up by Slum Village's "Fall in Love," and "Raise it Up." Then, the afterparty really got started.
First came the ladies, who clamored onstage to dance as the Wu Tang Clan ordered, "Get the fuck up. Simon says get the fuck up." DJ Ak of the Takeover Show took over on the mic. "I'm getting grinded on over here," he said at one point. "These girls are grinding to everything."
The girls were, in fact, grinding on everything. A cluster of sweaty girls swayed uselessly next to Hi-Tek, guaranteeing their placement in thousands of fan photos.
The crowd in the house grew sparse as the stage accomodated an astonishing amount of dancers, and eventually the headliners were completely obscured by the crowd.
Kweli retreated to safety behind the decks and concentrated on the mix, though he did seem to appreciate a b-boy circle that formed.
Backstage, I asked the duo whether they think hip-hop is recession-proof. "Nah, but Talib Kweli is recession-proof," Kweli said. "Believe that."
A saucy Hi-Tek looped one arm around my shoulders and slurred, "There's no such thing as recession-proof."
Kweli continued, "No matter what happens, people are always gonna need music. The problem is, the music industry is not recession-proof. As artists, we can be recession-proof. We just got to step it up and do our thing, that's all it is."
"That's what I meant!" Hi-Tek protested, to the laughs of the assorted roadies and managers backstage. "The higher you are up, the father you have to fall down. With money, that's what it is. As far as depression, it's like, where your spirit at. If you're cool spiritually, it's like, nothing can get you down. That's what I am,"
"He's depression-proof," Kweli said.
"Pressure-proof. Put it that way," Hi-Tek said.
As for what to expect on the new album, Hi-Tek quoted Jay-Z: If lyrics sold/ truth be told/I'd probably be/Lyrically Talib Kweli.
"We dope as fuck," Hi-Tek proclaimed. "There's nothing that's changed with us."
(Author's note: this review might have been online bright and early this morning, like Joel Francis'. But while the heavy rains forced the Star's reviewer to hurry home, I stayed. Don't worry, Mr. Francis, I afterpartied for you!)
Hi-Tek and Kweli reeled the show back into familiar territory with Train of Thought's "Move Something," "Eternalists," and one of my favorites, "Too Late," which asks, "Where were you the day hip-hop died?" Kweli's lyrics are deceptive -- they don't seem so fast until you get dizzy trying to rap along.
"If you're drinking, be sure to tip your bartenders," Kweli told he crowd after a quick interlude in which he and his DJ switched roles and Hi-Tek tried out the mic. "Last time I came to Kansas, they tried to arrest me. So if you're smoking, keep it low."
New songs tend to get a lukewarm reception when a crowd comes expecting old favorites. People cheered in recognition to lines from classics like "Africa Dreams" ("If you can talk, you can sing; if you can walk, you can dance"). So it's really saying something that even Reflection Eternal's new joints, as street-smart as they are political, still got this crowd hype. People gasped appreciatively when Kweli closed out 16 bars with, "Don't know why they acting like Barack is gonna save us."
Kweli and Hi-Tek rushed full-speed through more of Train of Thought's track list with "Memories Live," and "Love Language." They dropped Madlib-produced "Over the Counter," which contains one of my favorite lines: 'Liberation' ain't the hottest vinyl pressing? Yeah right, and the government ain't lying 'bout 9/11.
The pair pretended to leave, then came back onstage with a vengeance, performing "Respiration," minus Mos Def and Common. Hands flew up at the first few notes of"Get 'Em High," off Kanye West's The College Dropout, but rather than performing his verse, Kweli freestyled, Don't need no pig, no swine flu/Just kickin' it with peoples representing KU, and proclaimed, "Yo -- this shit is tight like Michelle Obama's arms!"
A new song called "Back Again" contained the lyrics, No matter where you're from, I will always be in your corner/You can like rap again/ You can say that again. True to his word, Kweli got in the crowd's corner with a remix of the hit everyone was waiting for: "Get By," which brought down the house.
These days, no hip-hop show ends without a J Dilla tribute, and Hi-Tek attempted one, but the screwdrivers were kicking in, forcing him to "la la la" his way through the first track. He finished up by Slum Village's "Fall in Love," and "Raise it Up." Then, the afterparty really got started.
First came the ladies, who clamored onstage to dance as the Wu Tang Clan ordered, "Get the fuck up. Simon says get the fuck up." DJ Ak of the Takeover Show took over on the mic. "I'm getting grinded on over here," he said at one point. "These girls are grinding to everything."
The girls were, in fact, grinding on everything. A cluster of sweaty girls swayed uselessly next to Hi-Tek, guaranteeing their placement in thousands of fan photos.
 |
The crowd in the house grew sparse as the stage accomodated an astonishing amount of dancers, and eventually the headliners were completely obscured by the crowd.
Kweli retreated to safety behind the decks and concentrated on the mix, though he did seem to appreciate a b-boy circle that formed.
Backstage, I asked the duo whether they think hip-hop is recession-proof. "Nah, but Talib Kweli is recession-proof," Kweli said. "Believe that."
A saucy Hi-Tek looped one arm around my shoulders and slurred, "There's no such thing as recession-proof."
Kweli continued, "No matter what happens, people are always gonna need music. The problem is, the music industry is not recession-proof. As artists, we can be recession-proof. We just got to step it up and do our thing, that's all it is."
"That's what I meant!" Hi-Tek protested, to the laughs of the assorted roadies and managers backstage. "The higher you are up, the father you have to fall down. With money, that's what it is. As far as depression, it's like, where your spirit at. If you're cool spiritually, it's like, nothing can get you down. That's what I am,"
"He's depression-proof," Kweli said.
"Pressure-proof. Put it that way," Hi-Tek said.
As for what to expect on the new album, Hi-Tek quoted Jay-Z: If lyrics sold/ truth be told/I'd probably be/Lyrically Talib Kweli.
 |
"We dope as fuck," Hi-Tek proclaimed. "There's nothing that's changed with us."
(Author's note: this review might have been online bright and early this morning, like Joel Francis'. But while the heavy rains forced the Star's reviewer to hurry home, I stayed. Don't worry, Mr. Francis, I afterpartied for you!)
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