By and large, hip hop artists have never joined in on the Christmas spirit. Yes, there was Run DMC's "Christmas in Hollis," but besides that, Old St. Nick and his happy elves have been hands off. This makes sense for the gangsta rappers since there is nothing hard about holiday cheer and bad sweater parties, but what's with the rest of the MCs, DJs, b-boys, and b-girls out there? Where are their two cents on all this merriment? It was only after some digging that I discovered an anomaly in the data: The Grouch's "How The Grouch Stole Christmas" tour. Now in its fourth year, this gathering features the type of underground wish list that would make any hip hop head feel festive. The Grouch, Eligh, Brother Ali, Los Rakas: that's a stacked deck, and after seeing the show on Saturday, I have to say, they pretty much went all in.
Starting us off was Los Rakas, two Panamanian spitters that animated the stage with their youthful exuberance, but couldn't leave a crater. The main issue being that everything that came out of their mouths was basically in Spanish. If the whole crowd was bilingual, not necessarily an issue, but because hip hop is a place where people come to worship words, this creates a situation where the beats have to pick up any of the slack that's lost in translation. But the beats weren't that good. They were more like half blended concoctions of Latin-roots meets Cali bass. A few, like their token weed song, were engaging, but none stuck with you beyond the exit sign like a track from one of their tourmates would. Later in the set, they pulled together some of the missing pieces for me by exclaiming, "This is our first tour!" Exciting for them, not for me.
Eligh's set was the antithesis of Los Rakas': all killer, no filler. Going into the show, Eligh's music was new to me, since I've never kept tabs on the Living Legends camp. I had heard the name, and when I listed off this show's line-up to my friends, I got a lot of "oh, Eligh's the shit" back, but I never took the time to check him out. I should have. When you see him live, what you look upon is a man in full control of his talents, a veteran of the stage and mic who will instantly win you over if you love underground hip hop. The thing you really notice as a newcomer, though, is his flow. It's quick—like Krayzie Bone trying to win a competition quick—and he uses that speed to pack his bars full of cool, imagery-laden phrases. For some artists, a proclivity towards density makes their listeners want to tap out or reach for an Excedrin, but with Eligh that is not the case. His rhymes and their rhythms are able to be admired, because cadence is not sacrificed for volume. It's not some overeager word drunk up there—everything is attached to a reason.
And the reason for Eligh being there—besides the obvious desire to rock a stage filled by an inflatable Santa and snowman—was to support his new album, Grey Crow. Tracks from it like "When I'm A Dad" and "Miss Busdriver," stood out and made me think that it's possible that we had overlooked a worthy contender for our upcoming "Best Hip Hop Albums of the Year" list. All I know is I need that record now. The sickest thing he did may have been rapping with that deep, smoke-torn voice over a fractured guitar riff from Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box." Apparently, this was the first thing he ever rapped over when he was fifteen, and here he was, all these years later, with the skills needed to murder it. Even Kurt probably would have liked it.
When Eligh left us, the stage became a pulpit presided over by the great Brother Ali. Over here at melophobe, we are huge fans of his; we even ordained his last album US the best thing hip hop had to offer last year. So naturally we've also stood before the man as members of a captive audience; and the thing is, he never lets you down. Every time you see him, there is this inclusive quality, this overwhelming positivity that stays with you for a long time after you see him. It's why I think it was crazy for The Grouch to go on after him (but we'll get into that later). This positivity extends not only into his music, but to the sermons that he gives between songs. They are as important to him as the ideas he nurtures into rhymes, and in a lot of ways, they are just natural extensions of what is already in the music. His words, on both levels, are meant to inspire you and chop away at the cultural brainwashing that tells us everyone's differences are bad or should be shunned. This alone would make him a positive force in hip hop, but he also is one of the most gifted lyricists and songwriters working in the genre today. Songs like "Take Me Home," "Uncle Sam Goddamn," and "Forest Whitaker" are fantastic tributes to the pioneers like Rakim and Chuck D who inspired pieces of current mindset. And when you see all of this come together live, it's something you want to experience again and again.
During one of his speeches, Brother Ali addressed the death of his friend and Rhymesayers labelmate Eyedea, who died from an accidental overdose in October. He told us as sad as he was about the situation, he knew his friend would live on through his music and so, every night Brother Ali performs an Eyedea song in his set. On Saturday, he did "Smile," and because Eyedea was also known for his freestylin' skills, he made sure to throw one in there, too. Of course, it was peppered with a bit about how Oregon loves weed—which made the whole crowd lose their minds—but it served its intended purpose as a kindly memorial for a departed friend. Told you: straight positivity at a Brother Ali show.
Finally, it was time for the headliner, the one who stole Christmas and brought such a great line-up with him on this sleigh ride up and down the Left Coast. As I was hinting at before, it was foolish to follow Brother Ali, as simple raps can't compare with the vibe and presence coming off that man. However, by the end of his set, The Grouch won me over. He started slow though. Initially, his voice wasn't as interesting as Eligh's or Brother Ali's; his rhymes didn't seem to carry as much weight; and his enthusiasm wasn't the same. This honestly had me a little worried until Eligh came back out. And even though Eligh kind of bested The Grouch during his own set, it was in this moment that The Grouch lit up and started to fill his position as a headliner. As they went through G&E cuts, he overcame the things that had held him down. It was as if he was gaining power off of Eligh as the bars went back and forth. And from that point on, he was solid. He even did a few verses over Zion-I's killer "Don't Lose Your Head" beat, which made everyone start dancing and waving their arms more than they already were. Another crowd favorite came when he asked them if he could do a few of his verses from a couple of Living Legends songs. He chose standards like "Night Prowler" and "Rabbit Hole," each time getting a bigger round of applause for his rhymes.
I don't know if this mentality comes from being part of a big collective like Living Legends, but The Grouch was extremely gracious with his stage. He invited his DJ, DJ Fresh (who did three of the sets that night) to do a solo (which he did with his shoes) and then perform a verse; he had Eligh out and let him do a killer Grey Crow track called "Shine"; and then to end the whole thing, he had everyone come out and perform the tour's theme song "How The Grouch Stole Christmas." All of this made me like him even more, and The Grouch filled the stage with that sense of togetherness so many people want in their ideal Christmas. My vote: get a ticket and join them in their fun.
