Before any MCs took the stage, DJ Turnament created a long-lost 90s atmosphere not found in many hip-hop spots today. To accentuate the hometown vibe Turnament chopped old Ed OG, Gang Starr, and Slaine records. With the crowd enveloped in the Bostonian brotherhood the first act, Natural, entertained. His set opened with a rapid assault over Nas’s Made You Look followed by a respectful a cappella where he noted, “They say Jay is the best/ My town argues Term, Slaine, and J The S.” While Natural’s set did seem to come natural, his wordplay and crowd interaction seemed lifted almost directly out of a “How to be a 90s Rapper” textbook. Overall a good set for the first opener.
Following the good warm-up of Natural, American Antagonist leapt on stage with his wild red robe flowing behind him. Though this was his first show, Antagonist exuded confidence from behind his cape and glasses. With lines like “I’m a wine drinker, but tote a big glock,” Antagonist portrayed himself as a gangster Hugh Hefner. By the end of his set the strain of his first show got to him and he had to ditch the cape.
In addition to J The S, I was most looking forward to Retrospek’s set. Fresh off their album release (Sleepwalkers Remedy) I expected to hear new tracks and to see a fresh show. Stymied by technical difficulties Retro’s show was almost unable to get off the ground. Once producer Rah Intelligence and, frequent collaborator, DJ Evilldewer fixed the issue, their last song, and my personal favorite of the new record, Just Do It¸came out sounding just right and Retrospek was able to leave the crowd with a positive impression of their new record and of their lively shows.
B-Money followed Retropspek only in order, in terms of quality he fell short. Before he started a single verse he first let the crowd know that he recently had been let off federal crack charges. Spitting rap clichés B-Money desperately tried to get the crowd to sing his hook for Shots of Patrón, though he was met only with a few kind front-rowers head bobbing. The rest of his set accentuated more popular stereotypes about hip-hop culture, as he continued to rap about drinks, clothes, and drugs.
The last opener for the night was the notable collective, Famous Nobodies. All members (Brook, ReaL P, Johnny Bravo, Dutch Rebelle) brought their own flavor to the set, but female MC Dutch Rebelle stood a cut above the rest. In a miniskirt and high-heels, Rebelle mixed femininity with aggressive lines like “call me double dutch/ I ain’t never gone trip up.” Her love for her city is evident from many of her videos (Beantown Ish and I’m Ill), but at the show one line of hers seemed to express the proud feeling of most in attendance: “My city is erupting/ no interruptions.”
Following the FN performance DJ Chubby Chub of Boston’s HOT 97 took to the wheels. He pumped up the crowd in anticipation for the star performer of the night with more classic Boston records. J The S triumphantly took the stage screaming “Dorchester…I KNOW…Roxbury…I KNOW…Watertown…I KNOW.” J’s enthusiasm for Boston continued throughout his performance as he played through new cuts of Last Days like Razor, Higher Ground, and Simple Man. J’s final act of Boston pride was to take a picture of the exuberant crowd, he promised to show the picture to those” non-believers who say ‘Boston has hip-hop?’ Each day it seems the new era of Boston hip-hop is growing rapidly; J The Ss’ album release party further cemented the viability of a new and strong Boston hip-hop scene.
-James Miller
Photo Credit: Grace Donnelly
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