Where: Stubb's BBQ, Austin, TX
When: March 17, 2007; 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
This weekend was South by Southwest in Austin, TX. I got an opportunity to see The Ghost and The God, Ghostface Killah and Rakim live in the flesh. As the crowd waited for entry, the sounds of Ghost and Rakim doing their pre-show preparations only heightened the energy level of the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, being a native Texan I've had my fair share of visits to Austin and seen the "ecclecticnicity" of 6th Street and the surrounding areas. The diversity of the crowd was unmatched by anything I'd had seen previously as literally all colors, shapes and sizes of people were in the house to see the headlining artists. From the b-boys and b-girls to the dude with the mohawk and the mini-skirt on, there were definitely all types of people out to enjoy the music. It truly a sight to behold.
Ghostface Killah is easily one of the greatest rappers alive today and Rakim is arguably the greatest rapper EVER. Ghostface Killah is the backbone of the Wu-Tang Clan, being its most consistent member by dropping hit record after hit record. Rakim is reknowned for being of the sharpest lyricists in rap and a laid back delivery that captured the hearts and minds of hip hop lovers everywhere.
DJ Higher was on the 1's and 2's and definitely had a fair contribution to the overall atmosphere of the event as he rocked the house with a dope selection of hip-hop jams that spanned the East to the West; from Gangstarr to NWA, Mos Def to Geto Boys, and he even took it out to the islands with a great selection of reggae riddims. After about 30 minutes of Higher wrecking the turntables, the Rhythm Roots All-Stars took the stage and displayed their great musical talents. I had previously seen some members of the Rhythm Roots All-Stars when they performed with Big Daddy Kane in Houston a few weeks prior and they would be the backing band for Ghostface and Rakim. Once again, their addition to the bill did not disappoint.
Ghostface Killah was scheduled to perform at 2:00 PM. At 1:30 PM, the artist Mickey Avalon hit the stage. According to the all-knowing wikipedia, Mickey is a rapper from Hollywood, CA signed to Myspace Records. What I experienced for the next 30 minutes would normally be considered effing weird, but due to the fact I was in Austin I figured anything goes in this town. Simply put, Mickey was high as a kite and I was concerned for his physical and spiritual well-being. As he downed a hotel mini-bar bottle of vodka halfway through his set, I eagerly anticipated the moment of his impending regurgitation and collapse. No such luck. Nonetheless, Mickey put on a show that was well received by the crowd.
2:00 PM finally rolled around and Trife Da God and Shawn Wigs of the Theodore Unit hit the stage trailed by the kid with the laser beam voice himself, Ghostface Killah. They tore the place to shreds as they opened up with "The Champ" off of Fishscale and followed that with "Be Easy." The Rhythm Roots All-Stars provided a great backdrop for the sounds of Ghost. Ghost and company were on stage for an hour and performed other selections such as "Fish", "Set It Off", "Ice Cream", "Daytona 500", "Biscuits", "Nutmeg", "Apollo Kids", and "Greedy Bitches". Ghost made sure to get the ladies involved as he filled up the stage with women as he performed "Cher Chez La Ghost", and "Back Like That." Ghost loved the crowd and the crowd really loved Ghost. Ten minutes after Ghost concluded his set, Rakim hit the stage ripped the shreds that Ghostface left in half. He ran through his catelogue with ease, or rather the crowd did as Rakim would flow a few bars of hits such as "I Ain't No Joke", "Paid In Full", "Move The Crowd", and "Follow The Leader" and the crowd finished where ever Ra left off. Ghostface and the Theodore Unit looked on as Rakim tore it up and the looks on their faces were like the ones you'd find on a kid on Christmas Day. Rakim closed the show with "Know The Ledge" and was joined on stage with Ghostface as they both soaked in the applause of the crowd. Rakim announced that he would be dropping his album The Seventh Seal on July 7, 2007. I also got a chance to catch up with Trife after the show and he told me that his album Better Late Than Never would be dropping in August.
Overall, it was an incredibly dope performance by all artists (even though I didn't particularly dig the Mickey Avalon part, I can't deny the fact that he had the crowd amped up).
*Shout out to my Mictap fam - Scott (props for that first pic of Rakim), Thomas and Jared; Sean P and the Cocker Spaniels; Akir and Missladee. All photos except Rakim photo 1 were taken by Enigmatik.
From: http://bgdboom.blogspot.com/2007/03/es- ... tface.html
pictures of the show if you click the link
btw rakim drops the same day 2pac is supposed to come back to life
its a sign 
