SOHH Squad
[With hip-hop heads recently uniting at New York City’s Stage 48 for Naughty By Nature’s 25th anniversary concert, SOHH correspondent Almighty Wise gives his take on the memorable night and speaks to group leader Treach.]
Stage 48 set the tone for this concert correctly – playing a lot of the “true school” raw hip-hop I remember mostly from the 90’s. My wife and I were ushered in by my friend, Marisa Hebert and sat in V.I.P and all I could hear blaring was Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Nas, Ed OG & The Bulldogs.
At around 1:30 am, Smif-n-Wessun came on and hit the stage with “Let’s Get It On” FULL of energy..and from then they set the tone for the show. They tore through their classics like “I Shine (I Love You remix)”, “Sound Bwoy Burreill”, & “Wontime” and they worked the crowd and the stage. At one point, Steele climbed over the railing and surfed through an energetic and eager crowd who was more than happy to carry the emcee around as they bumped to their music. The wife of Sean P (Rest In Paradise) came out along with Rock from Helter Skelter and they assisted her with singing Sean P’s verse from “Lafluer Leflah Eshkoshka”, ending each of the lines chanting “Sean P”! Sean P’s wife then showed off her new tattoo of her late husband on her left arm…a dope tribute to a great emcee.
Later on in the show Jarobi of A Tribe Called Quest joined them on stage for a dedication to the late great, Phife Dawg. As Smif & Wessun sang Phife’s verse on Tribe’s classic “Check the Rhyme”, Tek asked the crowd to put two fingers up for Phife, as Steele told the crowd that “It’s all love”. They ended their show with, “Bucktown” with the same energy they started their show with. DJ Evil Dee was in the back keeping the party rockin’ throughout their whole set. It was a great beginning to a classic night.
After a few of the people cleared the stage, they made room for Black Moon who went right into their joint, “Stay Real”. Buckshot and 5ft came with it…bouncing off each other in true emcee fashion. The veteran emcee controlled the crowd with hits like “How Many MC’s”, “I Know I Got You Open”, and “Who Got The Props”. DJ Evil Dee played double duty that night, rockin’ the second time with the group he started out in. For 25 years in the game…Black Moon sound just as energetic, vibrant, and as dope as they did when they dropped their first single.
As we finally made it backstage we followed behind Treach up the steps towards the stage. Treach gave a pound & hug to Steele from Smif & Wessun and DJ Kid Capri before heading out to tear into “O.P.P.” with Vinnie & KG of Naughty By Nature on the tables. The crowd (and I) was already hyped…but when they did “Uptown Anthem” I almost forgot I had a job to do for SOHH.
I found myself yelling out “Hit a n*gga / Kill a n*gga / We’ll come back!!” and my wife had to take my phone to record their performance while I was caught in the zone. They ripped into “Dirt All By Lonely”, “It’s On” and “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” with a vigor that showed after 25 years…they did NOT slow down. Treach took a moment out to talk to the crowd..a DIVERSE crowd of hip-hoppers and said “Only the real live muddafuckas came out this mudda tonight. Don’t believe everything you muddaf*ckin’ read out hear in this bullsh*t a** social media, magazines, newspapers telling you to hate each other…matter of fact, fuck Donald Trump, yo!”
Treach briefly showed his frustration for the political climate, some of the media, and how it promotes division and hate. He then did a dedication to the late Tupac, his “brother” as he referred to him..pouring some Hennessy down his tatted picture of Tupac on left forearm. Treach said “When I drink, you drink. When I smoke, you smoke. When I f*ck, you f*ck.” Naughty then went into a dedication of Tupac by playing “I Get Around” chanting Tupac…then playing “Hail Mary”. Soon after they they did a dedication to Biggie…playing “Hypnotize” and “Mo’ Money, Mo Problems”. Treach then stated “Tupac is my brother, but Biggie was my friend”. They then returned to their set with “Feel Me Flow” and shut the show down with “Hip Hop Hooray” before walking off the stage to Biggie’s “Dead Wrong”.
The crowd was more than satisfied (as well as I) watching this epic show that ended a little after 3:00 am. Smif & Wesson, Black Moon, and Naughty By Nature gave it their all and showed that hip-hop does not have an age. Even after 25 years, they all performed with energy, and skill….with no backup vocals…just 2 turntables and a mic. I was happy to see that truly, hip-hop is alive and well.
Check out this exclusive interview I did with Treach of Naughty By Nature on Soundcloud below:
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Damn Damn i missed this