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Hip Hop Thu Jun 07 2012
Review: De La Soul @ The Shrine
To celebrate three years in the business of good vibes, good music, and an ambiance and audience to match, The Shrine thanked its guests, two weekends back, by welcoming the near-mythical hip-hop trio, De La Soul, to its stage. The group, made up of Maseo, Posdnous, and Dave, ranks among the greats, of not only the era that birthed similar legends like A Tribe Called Quest and The Wu-Tang Clan, but certainly of all time.
It isn't often the city, let alone the Midwest, gets the chance to see artists that possess the trio's level of influence and legend. It's no wonder then, that as soon as Maseo took the stage, the room filled with cheers, chants, and song requests; and all hands were filled with a cell phone.
Maseo at The Shrine. Photo by Ricardo Villarreal
Their set began with Maseo behind the decks as he set the tone and took the crowd back to the days of the Tribe's Low End Theory with Check the Rhime and other early nineties digs. When Posdnous and Dave joined him, it was a smooth transition to the Native Tongue's classic Buddy. Posdnous took center stage for my personal favorite part of the night, with three attempts at getting the crowd to sacrifice their lungs for the intro to Ego Trippin: Part Two. The rest of the De La classics, such as Me, Myself, and I, A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays", Itzsoweezee, and Breakadawn kept the crowd singing along and bumping shoulders all night. Hearing, Eye Know, would have sealed the night 100 percent but a ninety-nine makes for a pretty great show.
Making a note of their age and taking pride in the fact that they were still doing what they do so well is just one of the ways in which the group maintained a realness and modesty that made them seem like just another one of the fans that loves hip-hop. There was no flash or gimmick to their show. They controlled the crowd with their presence and the quality of their sound. For the hour or so they held the stage, the music was fun again; far from the materialistic, money hungry, or misogynistic tracks of today. Here's to hoping they'll keep it moving until the younger artists catch on.
De La Soul at The Shrine. Photo by Ricardo Villarreal
