hoodstock

yes, that's what they were calling it. hoodstock. kinda funny really.

on a random block in clinton hill, brooklyn (quincy and downing to be exact) was where the insane production was held. it was dave chappelle's baby... he put the whole thing together and i must say, the line-up was sick: kanye west, dead prez, erykah badu, jill scott, the roots, mos def, talib kweli, common, and the fugees!

the idea behind it all was to create the next installment of wattstax and it seems as though they may have pulled it off. the weather was kind of crazy for an outdoor event, but sara was right, it added a nice element. it was raining for most of the day. the production people handed out clear plastic ponchos to everyone in the crowd, which must have made for some good visuals for the dvd. the sound system was fucked for a good portion of the day too. the left speaker just kept cutting out, which was a big bummer for the crowd. it would get fixed and then be fucked for big chunks of time. like the whole mos def/talib/common portion was practically inaudible! grrrr...

but besides those little annoyances, it was pretty cool to be there and witness it all. i think erykah badu's set was my favorite. she's such a badass performer. she came out in her big crazy afro wig and the wind was blowing so hard, it almost blew the wig right off her head. so finally she said fuck it, ripped it off and did the rest of her set in her natural nappy state. so great! did a fantastic version of "back in the day (puff)" which got the crowd really grooving. awesome.

i was pretty disappointed in jill scott's set. i was really looking forward to her as i've been blown away by her performances before. she did a really ballad-y set, totally bringing down the upbeat vibe of erykah who preceded her. her voice was great, but the song choice was just not in that feel-good spirit of the rest of the show. ah well. the roots were pretty great. and the fugees reunion was amazing. eventhough i had a terrible run-in with security over my digital camera, i still had a good time. it was cool to be there. but i can't wait to watch the dvd, in the comfort of my own home, nice and warm and not standing in the rain.

read the official ny times review here.