Photos by Erez Avissar
The name of this showcase at the Manhattan hip-hop stop SOB's was "Remember When Rappers Could Rap?", a title that evokes nostalgia on a purely visceral level. A quick scan of the lineup-- self-anointed Southern cross-bearer Big K.R.I.T., pie-eyed weed rappers Cashius Green and Smoke DZA, D.C. upstart Fat Trel, Flatbush wünderkind Joey Bada$$ and his post-pubescent Pro Era crew-- tells you all you need to know about the sphere of hip-hop that the showcase intended to zero in on. (If you required any further hint, consider that the headliner and perpetually wound-licking major-label artist K.R.I.T. named his Def Jam debut Live From the Underground).
The mere physical presence of NYC radio personality Peter Rosenberg made it clear that the showcase's subtle targets of ire were big-ticket radio rappers who sing, kinda sing, just maybe aren't that good at rapping, and so on. (Rosenberg caused a stir earlier this year when he obnoxiously badmouthed Nicki Minaj and her pop hit "Starships" at the Hot 97 Summer Jam concert, a slight that caused scheduled performer Nicki to skip the show altogether.) In a moment following Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era's fine set that perfectly merged solipsism and irony, Rosenberg tried in vain to rally the crowd against "the bullshit on the radio," before plugging his two programs currently airing on Hot 97, the New York hip-hop mainstay.
How do you rectify a showcase seemingly so concerned with back-to-basics "real hip-hop" aesthetics, however, with an audience for said showcase that has an easier time wilding out to a DJ spinning Lil B and Spaceghostpurrp than they do to some of the flesh-and-blood rappers before their very eyes?
Indeed, the crowd was thick for Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era, but from the beginning of the set, they were lifeless, the audience chatter threatening to drown out the revolving door of Pro Era associates taking the stage. CJ Fly made a valiant attempt during his own mini-set, delivering a solid performance that possessed the basics of passion for one's own craft, but the crowd's refusal to engage with him provoked a noticeably (and understandably) upset reaction from him. The outgoing, on-the-rise Capital STEEZ provoked one of the biggest crowd reactions just by showing up, prompting a Pro Era member to comment on the lack of audience enthusiasm before he took the stage: "Y'all are some fuckin' hypocrites." When he stepped down after two songs, someone behind me audibly yawned.
Of course, when Joey showed up, the crowd went nuts, because even though he and his crew are old enough to be President in the rapidly-moving measure of Internet Years, the majority of them are still unknowns and, it must be said, unmoored in front of a crowd when not with their posse's linchpin. And, honestly, it's easy to see why some are putting their chips on Joey Bada$$: on stage, he radiates a fine mixture of easygoing charisma and attention to craft. I caught myself thinking, "Finally, someone who can command a stage."
The stage became packed with people, there were mosh pits (which, if you think about it, is kind of hilarious for a performance from a bunch of kids embracing the languid, beautifully dusty sound of 1990s underground NYC hip-hop). The whole place went bonkers for Joey's best song to date, "Survival Tactics", in which Capital STEEZ dropped the audience's favorite quotable of the performance: "They say hard work pays off/ Well, tell the Based God don't quit his day job." They're still young and promising, and it'll be interesting to watch where they go over the next year.
-- Pre-show stage banter: "Is it anyone's birthday? Well it's my birthday every day!"
-- Good banter gag!: Asking everyone to wave their hands left to right, then saying "Thank you for saying hi to me!"
-- Choice song title: "Steez-Lo"
-- Head-nodding beat selection: CJ Fly spitting over Madvillain's "Meat Grinder"
-- Number of mosh pits: 2
-- Number of stage dives: 2
-- Number of successful stage dives: 1
-- Question I'm embarrassed to admit that I asked myself: Is someone on stage really wearing a Buzz Lightyear backpack?
Go here for all of Pitchfork's CMJ coverage. Check out a complete set of Thursday's CMJ photos in our slideshow or at Facebook.