On May 15th, 2015…….in a little city some may know by name as Los Angeles……a miracle happened.
A musical miracle. Literally, history was made.
Past, Present and Future were all represented in what was the official launch party for Linear Labs, the imprint of the one and only Adrian Younge. For those of you just crawling out from under the rock in the Geico commercial, Younge is hailed by many critics as the future. Producer extraordinaire, aficionado of analog, musical score and editor of all that is Black and Dynamite (can you dig it), composer of the sonic and psychedelic AND quite frankly as I see it, one of the most important people in entertainment today. This night, he brought together a star studded lineup that would rival a Coachella appearance.
Upon entry you see and hear DJ Numark, from the Hip Hop super crew Jurassic 5, spinning tunes and breakbeats for the crowd, while DJ Rhettmatic, another legendary DJ is helping out with early MC duties…..DOPE.
Around 930….something starts to happen. Talib Kweli walks out on stage to say what’s up to the crowd…..WAIT, why is Kweli here? Is he performing? Is he replacing Fab 5 Freddy who might not be able to make it? IDK? Who cares? It’s Kweli. Then, before you can figure out what’s going on, Rhettmatic and Kweli introduce the man himself, The host with the most, Mr Yo MTV Raps and ambassador of all that was and is FRESH in Hip Hop, Fab 5 Freddy. He wastes no time in introducing himself, kicking off the evening and bringing out Adrian Younge & his band, Venice Dawn. As the band gets into full swing, in what looked to be a seamless transition, Younge’s special guests start to hit the stage. First is Karolina, a powerful and gifted voice from Eilat, Israel…who has the kind of voice you would expect to hear for exuberant joy or when going into harmonious battle with spirits. A true gem. Next is Laetitia Sadier, who hails from France and is the soothing soulful voice of the group, Stereolab. By now you are engulfed in holy melody and angelic chords, from the guest singers as well as the back up singers. Then enter Bilal. Many of us will remember when Bilal touched down from the Heavens and Cosmos to join Common on the DJ Premier produced track, The 6th Sense. We also remember his album, First Born Second. Tonight DEFINITELY did not disappoint. Younge and Bilal are working on a project to be released in June and from what happened this night, it will be magic. Bilal, stepped onstage as if he had achieved the highest level of Saiyan transformation right before a battle for the Earth. Straight beast mode.
WAIT. wait wait wait.
I ALMOST FORGOT SOMETHING.
Ali Shaheed Muhammad, DJ and member of the legendary group A Tribe Called Quest, was onstage, playing support and in rare form. Not just Guest DJing like the flyer suggests. No….even better. One moment he is playing the Vibraphone, the next he is playing keys, then the vibraphone again and in one of the most natural moves I have ever seen, removed the bass guitar from Adrian Younge during a speech and took position with the band. LIKE SERIOUSLY?! This guy is talented and for people who think Hip Hop doesn’t have TRUE talent, ALL WE DO IS STEAL SAMPLES AND HAVE NO SKILL, I challenge you to get back in touch with TRUE Hip-Hop. Ali was everywhere and it was inspiring. Intermission. Break.
Act 2
The band once again takes the stage, musical guests in tow…..but with a feeling like we haven’t seen it ALL yet.
We hadn’t. Out of left field Younge brings out Wayne Brady (Who’s Line Is It Anyway?, Chappelle Show Season 3 “Is Wayne Brady going to have to choke a b*tch?”), who shows the crowd more of his talent and humor and overall charm then could be imagined. A true talent indeed. First, he goes improv per request of Younge. He grabs a random woman from the audience, the band begins to play and he sings a song and raps to her, while also throwing lines to her husband about how he will steal her, while he is still in the crowd. The next part of the showcase was to perform some old hip hop songs, which seemed novel and fun to do, until the band starts playing a familiar melody. Something vintage. Something 90’s, something dope…something, FRESH. They started playing 93 til Infinity. What a dope instrumental to hear live, and just as you begin to accept that this will be a Wayne Brady/Adrian Younge moment, Younge calls pause AND Opio from Souls of Mischief comes out and blows the crowd away with his rendition of the classic song, while Wayne Brady sings accompaniment.
Just as you feel like nothing can get better than this, Bilal kicks off a new song from his upcoming project with Adrian Younge, entitled “Money Over Love”. Halfway through the song, it gets a bit more real, as Kendrick Lamar walks out to drop his verse on this powerfully written song and adds just the right amount of jet fuel to this raging fire started by Adrian Younge. Simply amazing. If you missed this night, I encourage you to find them quickly and catch a show, because one day it won’t be so easy to get front row for a Linear Labs event or a Venice Dawn show.
Upon review, this was easily more entertaining then a kiss between an old icon trying desperately to remain relevant and an arrogant yet highly talented rapper, who bored a certain Coachella crowd to sleep by singing his lullabies for 80% of his headlining Sunday set.
All in all, Adrian Younge is doing something for music that is unique yet familiar, vintage yet still brand new. He has captured the ear and attention of music lovers, so much to the point, that he is getting to work with a lot of great musicians. Many he grew up listening to. And in this process, he is reigniting that inspirational spark so needed in popular music today. His band is a testament to that. These guys all have a personality their own and together they are a force not only to be reckoned with, but a group to remember for the ages.
I said it a couple of years ago, that Hip-Hop would be sampling Adrian Younge as if they had stumbled across some secret unreleased Black Moses tracks, and it has happened and continues to happen. From Kweli to Jay-Z. G-Unit to Boot Camp Clique. What the future holds, I can only imagine, eagerly.