Common & Q-tip @ Nokia Theatre 10.7.07

You gotta love October in NYC! There is the CMJ (College Monthly Journal) Music Marathon & Film Festival coming back to the big apple a little later in the month. (More news on that next week) And just recently the VH1’s Hip Honors festivities took place in the Greatest City on the planet. This past weekend NYC was filled with some kick-ass parties that yours truly had access to, but completely passed them up for work. (Such an idiot am I.)

All was not totally lost. I was given one of the hottest tickets of the eventful weekend, Common & Q-tip performing at the Nokia Theatre in Time Square. I knew I loved Common to the bone, but I didn’t realize just how much I felt Q-tip. The show got even more live when he started spittin from his old joints from A Tribe Called Quest, rhymes from his new album (due out next February), and most memorably when Dres from Black Sheep came out to perform the classic, The Choice Is Yours.

I can’t even forget the unbelievable DJ Scratch killin’ it on the 1’s and 2’s. He somehow discovered a way to spin records and undress ( unbuttoned his dress shirt to uncover the ill Superman T-shirt- how dope was that?)all at the same time….lol.

Then Common came out and tore it down! He did song after song, favorite after favorite (for me) , and from the crowd’s energy, I believe they agreed with me. I haven’t heard “Testify” in a little while, but after he soulfully performed it he made me want to pull out the “BE” album once more. As a native New Yorker, I expect all of these shows to not only be bangin’, but super bangin’ since most performers bring special surprise guest. But I think this one caught me wholeheartedly off guard. The Teacher, KRS-1, stepped out on the stage with Common to spit The Bridge Is Over. As he performed his last song, I began to preach to my friend closeby that Common is one of the few people, much less lyricist/actor, that makes me happy to be alive.

Check out the video recorded by M. Howard.

 

Last night was soo off the hook!

 

Peace & Love