Live: Mavado at Prime
- story THE FADER
The last time the Gully God passed through NYC we were a bit preoccupied, but when we heard Funkmaster Flex on Hot97 bragging about bringing him to “So Fly Sundays” at Prime this past Thursday, we vowed to avenge our past misfortune. The show was billed as Mavado’s first Manhattan club appearance, and the turn out (and door price) reflected it. On line we met an Englishman who offered an unprompted, though spirited, dissertation as to why Mavado and Kartel are incomparable as artists. We also saw a dude almost get shut down because coat check refused to check his skateboard. In an especially angelic gesture, a bouncer stepped in and offered to hold it in his truck. Aside from a thorough pat-down, as a club, Prime offers a refreshing experience for a performance. The DJ booth is located in the center of the dance floor which allowed Flex and an equally nasty Young Chow, a focused accord with the crowd. The leveled VIP, which surrounds the dance floor, has a kingly view of the floor’s inhabitants, and vice versa, where diamond drenched pendants and fist-fulls of dollars were on full display for nightlife paparazzi. When Mavado climbed into the booth just after 3am, the first, “Anywayyyyy,” rippled across a sea of gunfingers. Rocking an iced out Mickey Mouse pendant (?!) with dreads tied up for mobility, Mr. Brooks sang his gangsta heart out, performing everything from from “Dying” to “On The Rock/We Need Barack” to “I’m So Blessed.” By the time the Unfinished Business Riddim of “I’m So Special” signaled business finishing, Prime was deep under his spell, having witnessed something so, so special; an exclusive performance by one of dancehall’s biggest artists, at the absolute top of his game.
Live: FADER 58 Issue Release Party
- story THE FADER
To celebrate ten years (!) of The FADER we enlisted F1 cover star Funkmaster Flex and F58-featured Cipha Sounds to help us spend time drinking complimentary Bass Ale. The dudes played many of the rap classics that were inspirational to us over the last decade: Wu-Tang, an entire block of Boot Camp Clik, a few Tribe songs, etc. We’re not ashamed to admit that most of us were wilding the whole time because so was everyone else. We may be all about looking forward, but sometimes it’s nice to take a step back and hang out in a room full of balloons and people wearing Russian fur hats.
-
posted on Dec 5, 2008 in MUSIC NEWS tags Cipha Sounds, F58 Issue Release Party, FADER, Funkmaster Flex
Videoclash: Flaming R Kelly vs Funk Flex’s Upper Lip
- story THE FADER
We’ve been really busy reading newspapers, watching the news, and checking news blogs lately (and also listening to music), so maybe we missed something. But apparently, Hot 97’s Funkmaster Flex is mad at R Kelly for saying he likes young girls on a talk show. And R Kelly responded by releasing his video for the song “Skin” off 12 Play.
