From about 1990 to 1994 I used to mix De La Soul whenever they hit the local college scene. That was my 1st experience with true hip hop and they were great. I also did about a half dozen Run shows, but never found him appealing until he became Reverend Run. His material then had true messages with meaning. My most memorable hip hop/rap show was Public Enemy at Burlington Auditorium in VT. At mid point in their show they started going off about white oppression and slavery. I was on a three foot high riser in the middle of the house surrounded by a 95% black crowd of about 2000 and I didn't have so much as a tan. My sweat was dripping on the console, but there wasn't even a glance tossed in my direction. They were just making a statement through their music and not trying to incite or stir up trouble. That gave me a new outlook on the genre until I did Lil' Kim at the Fleet Center. The crowd was predominantly young teenage girls. They were all singing along with Kim's songs, but the lyrics were hard to understand in the echoing arena so I put on some headphones and had a listen. I was hit by a wave of filth that would put Dice Clay to shame and all of those young girls were singing right along. It still freaks me out to remember it.
Another time there was this hip hop band that was totally incredible. They were a man and a women in front. Behind them was a DJ and a full band. The talent and tightness was top notch, but I can't remember who they were. Somebody please help with suggestions.
Here's a funny story. Our company was doing a Run show at Tufts. I was ill and stayed home. During the show a ring flew off of Run's finger into the crowd. They stopped the show and his entourage of tough guys came on stage and demanded the ring be returned. They also did the same thing at the show's end claiming that the ring was worth thousands of dollars. They never got it back and our guys at the show never mentioned it to me. A week later I'm setting up a show and suddenly this massive gold ring studded with gaudy diamonds falls out of an amp rack. It was like hitting the lottery, but I couldn't imagine where it came from. The next day I found out about the Run show. For sh!ts and giggles I had the ring appraised. The jeweler pointed out the black spots in all of the diamonds and the cheap setting. He wouldn't even make an offer calling it complete junk.
