ALBUM REVIEW: Tabi Bonney – Fresh

By no means is Tabi Bonney a new age baller. He’s a talented young rapper, yes, but he’s not a member of that select crew of new jacks sitting on 360 deals with prime time attention being paid. He’s just as savvy and intelligent as that newest school of performers, but instead is content to be a study in craftsmanship, a true artiste attempting to craft longevity over a strategy of getting rich, buying in and selling out to an industry machine that values iconography over substance. He’s a 9-5 emcee, a man who views rapping as his occupation, and in said occupation, he’s easily one of the fastest rising employees in the game. On latest album Fresh, we see a rhymer busy at the art of creating a solid foundation for a lengthy career, not reinventing the wheel, but in just being a solid nuts and bolts emcee, part Jay-Z, part Special Ed, with a heaping serving of native Washingtonian understated cool. This is not a great flash in the pan of an album, neither is it a superior veteran word smith backed by top dollar producers. But in being amazingly good, and continuing in a now expected constant of solid material it ensures Tabi Bonney a professional space as an emcee. In a redefining recording industry and advanced age of hip hop where making a living wage every year as an independent is just as much of a victory as doing right and killing everything, Tabi Bonney is a success.

http://www.youtube.com/v/L6bQG1PD2Vk?fs=1&hl=en_US

The gem on this record is “Nuthin’ But a Hero.” Breezy synths aimed at drive time radio and abbreviated half note violin chords are accentuated with a delightful, heartfelt love rap by Bonney who is quickly becoming a working class hip hop hero. In not aspiring to no hand lap dances with glasses of Moscato at the ready, he puts forth a notion that appeals to upper middle class non-pedestrian rap tastes. As a professional rhymer slotted at being an upper middle class citizen himself, the ability to aim so specifically to a fan base while still being accepted by the entirety of a population of those who appreciate great hip hop is commendable. Also of note here are his two tracks a piece with Wale and Kokayi. Kokayi, the man responsible for a number of Bonney’s underground jams has really started to expand creatively as an emcee, and excels on “Winner’s Tourney” and “Like a King.” His understated, technically sound and cerebral flow gels quite well with Bonney’s ease of rhyme. Wale is here, the jovial punchline champ an uneasy fit with Bonney’s direct rhyme style which if a fan of dichotomy on a track making it better works, but a Bonney release in many ways succeeds because of a constant meter and style of production that creates a pleasant easy listening vibe. “Like a King” though is overall a fine exposition piece for the below the mainstream surface dominance of DC hip hop.

Newcomer Haziq Ali continues to show flashes of excellence on “The Slacker’s Farewell,” and Raheem Devaughn channels fellow DC soul crooning native Marvin Gaye to success on “Fever.” Pusha T’s laconic boom bap dominance underlines album opener “Make a Killin’,” which while not a radio single, like most of the album is excellent for tour dates as it has an easy hook and unobtrusive production. Having seen Bonney perform live nearly 10 times in the last year, from crowds as diverse as suburban teens in opening for Shwayze to DMV hip hop diehards, and curious, appreciative hipsters at a block party, he’s still at a point where without consistent mainstream media access, his growth is organic and dependent upon his accessibility as a live performer.

Tabi Bonney is a member of the first wave of DC rappers to break nationally. Falling squarely between the punchline driven populism of Wale and the backpacker adoration of Diamond District, it is his rise, driven directly at the average man, woman and child who appreciates quality lyricism, unobtrusive production and a chorus that sticks to the cerebellum like peanut butter to jelly, he’s once again succeeded. Tabi Bonney is not your favorite rapper. Instead, he’s a familiar voice, a comfortable musical blanket that allows the listener to drift away in peace and solitude. In a hip hop market dominated by ignorant men screaming over synths programmed like tubas and rappers speaking like toddlers about eating brains, Tabi Bonney simply wanting to be loved and respected is a welcome break and a voice of sanity in an ever ridiculous environment. Fresh, indeed.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS

ALBUM REVIEW: Ski Beatz – 24 Hour Karate School

I heard motherfuckers saying they made Hov
Made Hov say, “OK so, make another Hov”
– Jay-Z “Lost One”

It’s taken Damon Dash a hot second, but it appears he’s rediscovered the formula to do just that.

Premium grade kush as an influence, classic soul samples and top flight emcee skills from unheralded, underground and cult hero rappers. Is it 1996? No, it’s 2010, and it’s just another day in the life at music impresario Damon Dash’s creative space in Manhattan, DD 172, aka, the 24 Hour Karate School. Ski Beatz is the most important producer that Damon Dash ever discovered. The producer of note on Jay-Z’s 1996 classic Reasonable Doubt, he’s the man responsible for the sonic landscape upon which Shawn Carter got his Bob Ross on, and painted the most incredible of pictures of life, love, struggle and the hustle, and began his meteoric rise. Ski Beatz is back on the scene again, and has placed his solid and inspiring productions in the hands of the next generation on his latest attempt at a production masterpiece and best handle on what exactly is going on in the most hallowed of spaces informing hip hop’s next mainstream money generating generation, 24 Hour Karate School.

http://www.youtube.com/v/OuxUeKPNqvM?fs=1&hl=en_US

As important as it is for Young Money to “fuck all the girls in the world” with their panty dropping, pop trending hip hop Lothario concepts, and Waka Flocka to “Go Hard in the Paint” to keep hood folks ready to start a fight at the drop of a hat, somebody had to bite the bullet and keep shit real. This is a real hip hop album for hip hop people. No, not the hip hop stans who live and breathe for word and phrase and are just as happy freestyling at a bodega as sitting front row at a Nas concert, but me. A 32 year old with a real life, real job, and real aspirations that could very realistically happen at any moment because of grind and dedication. These are the guys and girls who started in front of the bodegas, but ultimately are going to use hip hop to own them one day. In taking the average to the realm of the commercial yet again, this album fills a hole in hip hop that was lacking, and ultimately key to the redevelopment of a top tier economic structure for the genre.

The gang’s all here. There’s underrated freestyler going off like an atomic bomb Rugz D Bewler with the album’s most radio friendly production on “Super Bad.” Wiz Khalifa and Currensy’s “Scaling The Building” may end up confronting large portions of Wale’s More About Nothing mixtape for the best marijuana rap verses of the year. The “Black and Gold” repping Khalifa needed to be here on this album to add to his growing credibility as an emcee past the gimmick of getting high, staying high, and writing high. Currensy shows and proves here too, as clearly the allure of the DD 172 project brought top style from the duo. “Prowler 2” with Jean Grae and Jay Electronica delivers as two of the most discussed sixteen bar assassins in the game put in typical work, Electronica’s verses not up to “Ghost of Christopher Wallace” status, but still solid and representative of his tremendous skill, as this may be a mainstream audience’s first time getting acquainted with him. Camp Lo and Jim Jones here? Expected, but underwhelming, Jones is a marijuana rap godfather, but solid and ineffectual here, lyrics that likely sounded amazing in a haze in the studio not working for a reviewer who is embracing sobriety at the time of review. Camp Lo fail in an epic manner on a synthed out update of the classic kick and snare they dominated in the late 90s, sounding like misinformed old men than emcees who still have something significant to contribute. The album ending instrumentals “Cream of the Planet” and “Taxi” are both solid for exactly what they are, but could’ve been the standouts needed to push this album to even higher stabdards had Mos Def’s verses on them been cleared. “Cream of the Planet” is a Curtis Mayfield on Superfly mimicking bit of excellence, while “Taxi”‘s understated synths lost in a valley of breaks is perfect music for the blunted on reality set.

http://www.youtube.com/v/BZcox25lT6w?fs=1&hl=en_US

The true star of the album is Tabi Bonney. Yes, I am a journalist from Washington, DC. But Bonney on this record finally stands out to a national audience doing what he does best, combining the understated witty lyricism associated with the marijuana rap crowd with the humble and accessible confidence that “real hip hop” types crave. On an album filled with voices from literally all over the broad map of hip hop culture, his voice stands out and makes his message of measured excellence on a bed of expertly delivered style mean so much more. On standout “I Got Mines,” which sounds similar to something out of the Pacewon or Outsidaz school of hyped up grime, gets treated to the tight flows of Bonney alongside veteran left coast rhymer Ras Kass, newcomer Stalley and hook singer of the crew, Nikki (formerly Nicole, from her Missy Elliot related, of “Make it Hot” fame days) Wray.

Damon Dash lost one in a most famous way, then lost himself. The path back to who you are must involve remembering what you’ve done. 24 Hour Karate School does that. Damon Dash makes stars. Out of this crew, the next one is likely on his way.

3.5 OUT OF FIVE STARS

THE DROP: Tabi Bonney, a hip hop "superhero," has arrived.

http://www.mtvu.com/player/embed/

Tabi Bonney has arrived. If you’re a resident of Washington, DC, you’ve been quite aware of the fact that the Langdon Park resident with a new part time address of the streets and boardrooms of Manhattan has been in the midst of crafting a solid status as a professional for quite some time. However, the multi-layered creative process that creates his superior status has now placed him on the cusp of being the next and likely most important breakout rapper from the DC Metropolitan area. 

His latest video for “Something Like a Hero” continues his development as a top auteur in the video field. His talents as an emcee are on parallel with this level of seemingly effortless dominance, as “Runway Bonney” continues to set forth a level of skill and excellence unmatched by anyone in the area. It is clear that Bonney is in the midst of crafting a style and persona that is mainstream accessible and financially solvent.

In the video clip, Tabi Bonney is searching for a lost love. In real life, he has all the love and support he needs, and when blended with his talent, he may indeed be “something like a hero” that DC hip hop deserves.

SEAL OF APPROVAL (DC) – Kid Sister/Tabi Bonney/DJ Jackie O/Roxy Cottontail/Nails by Naomi – U Hall – 7/15/10

Ebullient and filled with effusive joy, tonight’s U Hall headliner Melisa Young is the quintessential tale of the weird homegirl who became a success. As Kid Sister, you likely came to know her first and foremost because she told you that she “had her toes done up and her fingernails matchin'” on instantaneous and hook driver hit single with Kanye West dropping 16 bars, “Pro Nails.” But somewhere along the way to forum, Kid Sister has become one of the most dependably excellent and sonically flexible voices of the entirety of underground music. One listen to her on other top hit, the Swedish House Mafia produced sweaty electro synth workout “Right Hand Hi,” as well as the en fuego Nadastrom remix of her collaboration “WTF” with Tittsworth amd Pase Rock, and she fits. Listen to Rusko gain his entry into the hipster underground when he takes “Pro Nails” down the pop trending dubstep hole. Listen to her cover Status IV’s Chicago house classic “You Ain’t Really Down,” cover the Jungle Brothers’ “I’ll House You,” be a lead on DJ’s Mehdi and Riton’s Carte Blanche combination’s “Do! Do! Do!” and her banger with the legendary “Green Velvet, “Everybody Wants,” and before you pigeonhole her as a G-rated Lil Kim, do be aware that there’s a Martha Wash in there too, dying to get out. In comfortably straddling the line between hipster and mainstream, house and hip hop, as much as Kid Sister is easily one of the staple products of the underground, she’s also squarely positioned in say, 1990, an era where musical expression and cross cultural freedom produced a litany of top notch party jams that sounded like nothing ever before. A live show filled with big time grooves and sweaty dance floor sizzlers? A winner all around.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7724713&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Kid Sister Right Hand Hi from Cornerstone Promotion on Vimeo.

Tabi Bonney rapping on a bill with a pink haired, bunny themed party promoter, a pink haired DJ, the most noted nail technician in all of New York City and a divalicious Chicago pop star makes absolutely no sense on the surface. But what you don’t know is that Tabi’s just as comfortable now in Brooklyn kicking it with hipster at Damon Dash’s hipster creative zone DD172 as he is sidling up to the stools at Ben’s Chili Bowl. He’s shared a stage with tonight’s host Roxy Cottontail before, all while exhibiting an otherworldly cool and ease of motion through this life that has allowed him to exceed expectations and expand his audience without rankling feathers. The top notch laid back grooves of “Put Me in the Pocket,” “Jet Setter” and “Syce It,” all found opn his recent A Place Called Stardom mixtape release, well, in a room of sweaty folks tonight, definitely the music to just kick back and glisten to.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

A few quick words about the accouterments to tonight’s event. I definitely attended Roxy Cottontail’s “Hey Girl Hey” event at National Harbor a few months back that involved her, her crew of “Cottontail” party divas in training, Jackie O, Fabiana Talbot and Miss Cottontail herself on the turntables and Naomi doing nails of any and all in attendance. Though not overly well attended by the hipster cognoscenti of DC, I will say this. I felt, in the best way possible, like I had stumbled into a classy, girls only salon party. The vibe that the combination of Cottontail, Jackie O and Naomi set is easily one of the most marketable, irrepressibly fun and entertaining night’s available on the underground anywhere.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7911583&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

Hey Girl Hey @ Aloft Hotel | National Habor from 8112 Studios on Vimeo.
 

In any event, do come out tonight to U Street Music Hall for a genre hopping, party starting, rhyme droppin’, pop lockin’ good time, and ladies, you can ever get your nails did. Everything for everyone.

MIXTAPE REVIEW: Tabi Bonney – A Place Called Stardom

DOWNLOAD MIXTAPE HERE

Tabi Bonney is a superstar. In a 21st century rap era where style weighs far more than substance, Bonney sadly isn’t there quite yet, but remains undaunted, seemingly content to cut a path to dominance by just being himself. A master of the laid back party vibe scene dominated by the likes of Lupe Fiasco, what separates Bonney is simply that the youngin’ has swag and beats that crank. Yes, I’ll say it again. The youngin’ has swag and beats that crank. Bonney is an unabashed DC representative, and with the aid of NYC mixtape “Commissioner” Mick Boogie, we get Bonney’s A Place Called Stardom mixtape, which blends ten track we already know that are resplendent in Bonney’s expected yet iconic style, and ten that show the artist reaching in new directions, from the hood to the bottle service, showing a graduated intellect and ease of flow that create easily one of the more comfort designed emcees in hip hop in quite some time.

The mixtape features guest shots from XXL Next 10 kids like fellow hometowner Wale and Curren$y, alongside unusual seconds like the GZA and Buckshot. We get a track from Bonney’s will I. am Music Group favored side project The Crybabiees which is dipped in Guetta-lite bottle service electro, and Bonney’s longtime co-conspirator and DC dominant 368 Music Group head Raheem Devaughn. If unaware of Bonney, all of the underground vibe setters are here. Grammy award winner and criminally underrated Kokayi’s work on “Jet Setter” still impresses, and the haunting strings and fly lyrics by Bonney on “The Pocket” still win. Go go interpretation of “The Rich Kids” featuring The Reaction band is voluminous as well, the percussive crunk of the DC stalwarts adds much to the original production.

Of the new tracks, it’s an absolute mind trip to hear Bonney filling airspace with Buckshot and GZA on “The Feeling,” and in general, the new music shows an artist branching out into new territory because of his underground renown and slowly aiming towards consistent touchdown status with new productions and unfamiliar surroundings.

Tabi Bonney carries himself as a man already in “A Place Called Stardom.” This mixtape proves him worthy of those trappings of success.

COP/DON’T COP THIS MIXTAPE

REVIEW/CRITICISM: Tabi Bonney/Diamond District/KIDS DJs – U Street Music Hall – 4/29/10

 
U Street Music Hall for the third time welcomed hip hop into its Temple of Boom on Wednesday evening as local standouts Diamond District and Tabi Bonney performed for a crowd that while waning showed support for the city’s most major national success stories of 2010.

U Street Music Hall is the most atypical hip hop venue in the city. By relation to Asylum, the home of local promoter and emcee Tyrone Norris’ “Cake and Kisses” event, or bottle service clubs like Ibiza, home to DJ Quicksilva’s vaunted Friday night hip hop glamfest, putting hip hop in the U Hall is like playing the Super Bowl in Madison Square Garden. Sure people will come, and certainly people will appreciate what they’re seeing, but the venue just isn’t the proper fit for the event. U Hall was made for dancing. The posing, posturing, Hennesey sipping and head nodding crowd really is a waste of the venue. Cmonwealth’s event with Hip Hop Dan and Harry Hotter, or DJ Dredd’s old school hip hop explosion may be a better look for hip hop at the U Hall, as the nature of JUST having a DJ lends itself better to the notion of dancing than the idea of a full fledged hip hop concert. However, as the venue figures out it’s place in the spectrum of housing all forms of music, I’m certain this will be addressed.

The night’s biggest winners were the Diamond District crew of XO, YU and Oddisee. Having just had a successful tour of Europe, the trio returned to the US for their first official show in Washington, DC. True to form for the District of Columbia, it was a 1993 backpacker special, the type of show that could’ve been headlined by Freestyle Fellowship or the Souls of Mischief. DC’s major issue is that insofar as moving into a hip hop era defined more by flash and production than by nuts and bolts emceeing, the city refuses to embrace the notion. A well marketed, poised and polished emcee is a pariah in this city, as the denizens of the hip hop community here err towards skills over style. XO, YU and especially overseas superstar Oddisee certainly have developing skills, as their performance, honed over the northern European countryside would attest. Performing tracks from In the Ruff was a massive success. The dusty, RZA esque productions sounded phenomenal on the deep U Hall soundsystem, and the crew is more than comfortable with the material on their 2009 giant splash of a release. However, in the freestyle portion of their set is where the crew lacks. XO and YU sounded out of breath and like the novice emcees that they are not, whether a case of nerves, lights or something else, it was not the best of displays for their talents. However, Oddisee, the most seasoned touring professional of the trio shone brightly, standing and delivering a freestyle that wowed the crowd and earned deserved plaudits.

Tabi Bonney, the golden child of DC hip hop was up next, and delivered a performance that was fine on the surface, but to this journalist showed an artist possibly needing a new push or challenge on the lyrical side to reach another level of excellence. I’ve seen Tabi perform four times in the last eight months. His set is on point and moves crowds everywhere. People that didn’t know Tabi Bonney from A bottle of Tab or the Easter Bunny have become instantaneous fans because of his very ingratiating, laid back and mainstream friendly style. However, maybe it’s my familiarity with the material or maybe something deeper, but it felt like “just another performance.” “The Pocket,” “Syce It” and “Rich Kids” are all hit singles. Fun, easy listening, hooky and accessible. For any other artist this wouldn’t be a problem. But for Bonney, easily the most acclaimed underground video director in hip hop, as well as a budding fashionista, the drive to excellence seems to be an expectation that not just we, but he shares, which led to a performance that didn’t work as a headlining, “tear the show down” set, but rather another appreciated performance from a very appreciated emcee.

The KIDS DJs played as well as could be expected between sets. Maybe not the best booking for the crowd at the event, KIDS is a dance happy college frat night of hip hop celebration, not the home of real heads looking for “real sounds.” KIDS for the most part celebrates the MTV Party To Go generation with forays into gangsta and backpacker excellence. Most of the heads present on Thursday night appreciate Puffy’s contributions as a man, but as an emcee would hang him in joking effigy. For the nature of what was expected, it was a job well done, but not necessarily the most congruous fit. No disrespect to Nacey, Steve Starks, Lil Elle or Jackie O, but I would’ve loved to see consideration given to the rest of Diamond District DJ Quartermaine’s “Low Budget” crew, namely someone like a DJ Roddy Rod to give the event an even more authentic feel and to liven up the vibe even more. Familiarity in this case could have brought a few more heads through the door as well.

U Street Music Hall is a wonderful venue for music that has depth, scope, color, verve, excitement, emotion and range. The hip hop artists booked, while excellent, perform music that is wonderful in that it is basic, appreciable, and trending towards excellent, but from a production level has no move towards grandiose displays of emotion. On a performance level, the show was on point. DC hip hop is in safe and developing hands learning how to have long, sustainable and successful careers. However, on a level of vibe, the ambiance was flat and uninspired. U Hall, as well as DC hip hop, are works in progress. This is a venue for big bass, slap you in the mouth party rap, top 40 leaning, big sounding production values with depth and range. This is not the most ideal place to see lyricists. This is not the ideal place for “real hip hop.” U Hall is about a party. Last night was not a party, but a concert. Two VERY different things. Washington, DC is a fantastic study of a musical wunderkind of a city that is presently a work in progress. When all is said and done, three stars and two bars will be on top. Life is won by the marathon, not the sprint.

A weekend with THE VERY BEST and NINJASONIK – Bmore and DC Reviewed!

Good things happen to those who wait. Patiently building a massive buzz based off of the strength of their own charisma and live performances that define the concept of raw power and energy through music, Brooklyn’s Ninjasonik are finally set to release their debut album Art School Girls on Brooklyn’s eco friendly label Green Owl Records this spring. If history regarding the label’s releases were to repeat itself, it would be wonderful for the boisterous and eclectic trio, as Green Owl’s last album release, The Very Best’s Warm Heart of Africa was praised by literally all who heard it, the glee filled Afropop coming from the combination of Malawian vocalist Esau Mwamwaya and European mixmasters Radioclit the 21st century progeny of Miriam Makeba meeting Paul Simon’s Graceland with a stop through Dr. Dre’s house for good measure. Combining these unlikely energies for a four city concert tour prior to SXSW seems like a recipe for a ridiculously fun time. Thus and so was my past weekend, as I got the opportunity to catch both acts performing on bills in Baltimore and Washington, DC, two dates that more than anything proved that a necessity in attaining superstardom, moreso than ever in a depressed musical economy, is the power of the live performance.

Baltimore’s TaxLo date was scheduled to be a raucous two room affair featuring Simon Phoenix alongside my two favorite young DJs in the area, University of Maryland senior Phil Real, and the hard, bass heavy wunderkind DJ Lemz, and a mainstage of Ninjasonik, Publicist, Le Tigre’s JD Samson, and The Very Best. It’s the type of mollywhoppingly bizarre lineup that has proven to be the bread and butter of Cullen Stalin and Simon Phoenix through the years, and though Samson was not able to make it due to train difficulties, the night was still, from a performance standpoint a success. Ninjasonik’s live show is once again more polished than it’s ever been. Telli and Jah Jah’s interactions onstage have become more entertainment vehicle than rap event, providing a most unlikely humor. And if not a fan of the deft skills and production mind of DJ Teenwolf, do familiarize yourself with this man. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon and is a top performer on the decks. The Ninjasonik set insistently meanders like bull trampling the streets of Pamplona through party rocking hip hop, instantaneous dance hits like “Pregnant,” Devo’s “Gates of Steel” and Fugazi’s “Patient Boy,” drops from the Lion King and covers of Major Lazer, The Death Set and Matt and Kim. A Ninjasonik show speaks not just to the genre less nature of modern music, but also rather heavily to now just defining music as good and bad. Ninjasonik, absolutely the former.

There’s nothing quite like watching a crowd that has never seen The Very Best before. Esau Mwamwaya’s vocals suggest to a crowd that they’re about to sit through an art-house pop performance of African hymns. Add Johan Hugo as a DJ dropping Radioclit’s explosive Afro-fusion melodies, and it’s suddenly highly unfamiliar territory. Now throw in a South African hypeman who’d likely be just as comfortable at a Westside Connection show as getting it in with this crew. And let’s top that off with lithe and attractive African female dancers to lift the performance over the top. As The Very Best weaved from mixtape smash remix of “Paper Planes” to debut album winners like “Yalira,” oddest trunk funk anthem in awhile “Julia,” and party closer “Warm Heart of Africa,” I watched Baltimore kids experience the entire gamut of positive human emotion until by the end, 20 kids were onstage dancing with their newfound heroes, and the entire crowd was a sea of juking, moshing and flailing, the effervescence of Esau Mwamwaya and crew having once again succeeded.

DC’s performance was differently entertaining and a horse of a different color. In this city, The Very Best’s debut has been the latest adoption of the conservative liberal crowd, people who seem light years removed from people who wear “tats and slugs,” “do drugs, drink PBRs and hang out in clubs” as Ninjasonik states on band raison d’etre anthem “Bars.” Add to that lineup fellow Green Owl labelmate, Philly club DJ and producer Zakee Kuduro, and exemplary emcee Tabi Bonney backed by DJ Stereo Faith, and you get a disparate audience that definitely sat on their hands at various points of the evening, but not out of disrespect for the performers, but more for merely being in awe of, as the Bar Kays said before performing “Son of Shaft” at Wattstax, “a side of life you’ve never seen before.” Between Tabi Bonney rocking early to a room filled with Winchester rave hippies to Telli and Jah Jah leading the crowd in a derisive chant of “Fuck yo conversation!” to a pocket of murmuring folks in the crowd, and a night that ends with a sea of bodies undulating fervently to Yeasayer’s transcendent “Warm Heart of Africa” remix is unusually strange, but really can’t be all that bad.

Phenomenal acts make for phenomenal performances and phenomenal weekends.

SEAL OF APPROVAL – (DC) THE VERY BEST, NINJASONIK & TABI BONNEY – ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL – 3/14/10

This is the biggest no brainer of all time. The three best performing acts on the underground (save maybe Matt and Kim and The Death Set) are in one building at one time on Sunday night.

The Very Best‘s potent blend of Afropop with just about everything else on their debut Warm Heart of Africa was one of my favorite albums of 2009, as Esau Mwamwaya’s voice has quickly become one of the favorites in all of music, sprinking pleasant vibes across the musical universe. As far as live performance, much like the last time they were in town, expect to be uplifted to great feats of dance as African dancers join with Johan Hugo of Euro dance production powerhouse Radioclit and Mwamwaya’s Malawian voice to bring the house down.

http://www.youtube.com/v/sVIchuL6geo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01

Ninjasonik, as always, will be described by this site as what would happen if you cryogenically froze the Beastie Boys as they got off the plane from the last leg of ’86’s “License to Ill” tour, and then loosed them upon society. Trapped in their scatalogical and completely ridiculous punk fueled hipster party rhymes lies the heart of three young men grinding hard to be at the top of the game. Telli “Bathroomsexxx” Federline is the Rodney Dangerfield of hip hop in that he gets no respect whatsoever as an emcee. Reverend McFly may be one of the funnier hypemen in the game, and DJ Teenwolf, well, he’s the best producer on Planet Brooklyn, and if you dig anything or anybody on the East Coast underground, he’s likely played a part in it. Unrelatedly, it’ll be great to see them in DC in front of more than 40 people as well, the city has slept on, around, and all over the band on NUMEROUS occasions.

http://www.youtube.com/v/AgpiZ0OFoIM&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1

Tabi Bonney is the most calm, prepared, well packaged and winning emcee on hip hop’s underground. Video director, fashion designer, most respected emcee and now making moves as 1/3 of new Black Eyed Peas underlings the Crybabiees, if you can’t watch DC’s #1 rap talent rip up the stage with our big brother site The Couch Sessions debut party at SXSW, check him here. His live performance is most professional and extremely on point and never fails to gain fans and move crowds.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9770989&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Crybabieees – Love Me (directed by the Lara Brothers) from tabi Bonney on Vimeo.

Simply put, this may be the BEST top to bottom bill anywhere in the city all year.

THE DROP: On Wale, real talk on his new videos and the nature of his career

Looking forward to 2010 profiles…Tabi Bonney

Washington, DC has the eyes of the record industry slowly preparing to turn its way. Wale has opened a door for the city, and likely when the record industry looks through, they’re going to initially see (likely once again) the most well respected, well connected, most engendered to being an ambassador of greatness and ultimately important man in hip hop in Washington, DC, Tabi Bonney.

Does your favorite emcee have a Masters degree in Biology and Secondary Education from one of the top HBCUs in the country? That isn’t the only question posed by Tabi Bonney that makes him the most curious of talents, and easily the one most ready to blow while likely having the least level of stress. Tabi Bonney doesn’t need hip hop. Hip hop does need Tabi Bonney. Having grown up over four continents with a legendary Afrobeat musician as a father, Bonney knows a little bit more than the average emcee about living a life few dream of and actually accomplish. He may be the ultimate example of someone who should succeed, but because of the incessant stereotyping of the hip hop genre, absolutely cannot. He didn’t grow up as a hard luck hardship case and get shot nine times. Nor is he willing to start a beef and carry it out by dropping 64 bars over 20 mainstream radio instrumentals over six months.

Instead, Tabi Bonney is a builder, a marketer, a man who uses his superior intellect to always rise above, and ultimately serve as an inspirational leader for the rising hip hop community of Washington, DC. His Cool Kids Films is the video production studio of note for the entire area, as everyone from Kingpen Slim to Mullyman to Phil Ade to go go powers Mambo Sauce and the artist himself have benefitted from the exemplary creative vision and skill he has. Also, any time Tabi Bonney makes a video, it ends up on MTV Jams. In fact, it may stand to mention that Tabi’s “The Pocket” likely made Wale’s road for “Nike Boots” and “Chillin'” a much easier one as the video for 2006’s “The Pocket was easily one of the biggest underground success stores in the network’s history. MTV actively namechecks his talents as an artist and director because simply, he is a rising star in those areas worthy of mention. As well, his “Bonney Runway” fashion line is a sign of his growth and expansion as well, as only someone with common sense, or with multiple college degrees would realize the nature of our economy and attempt to monetize themselves in as many diverse ways as possible.

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As an emcee, Bonney may be without peer in the DC/Baltimore area. His smooth and understated delivery isn’t the cohesive and perpetual adlibbing of Wale, but Tabi Bonney uses his ability to craft a story to sell himself as a brand. From tracks like “The Pocket,” the violin sample based winner from 2006’s still excellent A Fly Guy’s Theme, he doesn’t need to stand up behind the letters DMV, instead, he uses the slang and demeanor of the area’s residents to carry forth a lifestyle statement of calm and comfort. 2009’s release Dope may be the most slept on album of the year, namely due in part to the lack of major label influence behind Bonney’s career. Tracks like “Rich Kids” and “Jet Setter” are so smooth, underrated and frankly fly, as Bonney has the innate ability to control his flow and voice in such a manner that there’s a unity between track and vocal that creates a permeating calm, the very antithesis of much of anything popular in hip hop at the present moment.

Between a multitude of underground rumbling album hits, an internationally distributed fashion line, and being checked for by New York mixtape heavyweight Mick Boogie, and the group he produces The Crybabies, garnering interest on many levels from the Black Eyed Peas Will I Am, it is my belief that 2010 may indeed be the year that Tabi Bonney truly wins. Whether as an artist, director, designer, lawyer, doctor or teacher, Bonney deserves honor for being a man of uncommon and unparalled drive, passion and excellence without already having a deal and major label machine behind him. Unlike Wale he won’t be winning for the DMV, but as always, he’ll be winning for himself, and setting an undeniable standard of excellence for all others to follow.