Wale / K'Naan / Tabi Bonney

Although Nas and Damian Marley didn't come out to surprise the crowd, K'Naan and Wale's co-headlining tour brought a few elements to what I was expecting out of their show on April 4. Granted, going to two shows back to back on a Saturday and Sunday night probably isn't the best way to appreciate the second night's act, but I enjoy listening to K'naan and Wale too much to pass up seeing them live.


K'naan -
Introduced to him by his album "The Dusty Foot Philosopher" -- dusty foot because he has traveled so much - I first saw him open up for Stephen and Damian Marley in 2007 with Colemania and he blew us away. K'naan is honest and intellectual, bringing poetry back to hip-hop (I've even seen him perform at the prestigious Kennedy Center). He always kills it with his anthem (which is now the World Cup anthem), and his effervescent rhyme "When I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom... just like a waving flag" - his music uplifts you. Coming from such a harsh background, he tells his story without belittling where you came from, as many other popular "gangsta-rappers" would, and it is something we appreciated his calling out 50 cent for trying to "be real." That probably doesn't make sense, Colemania, do you want to describe this point?

Anyways, saw him a few times before and the focus was high on the lyrics as he was backed usually by a small acoustic set, and this latest show was a surprise. He really tried rocking out and brought a large electric back up band. I thought, honestly, it took him a few songs to get into his rhythm and get the crowd on the same page as him. As he hit his last couple of songs, he really got the crowd bumping. As he usually does, he started telling a story in the same beat/voice as his anthem (Waving Flag), and then the crowd went wild as he transitioned to the song. This song is now the official world cup anthem, and he is finally and deservedly getting mainstream accolades. Here are a few other songs I like:

Take a Minute - much better live, with the crowd participation on the chorus.

Blues for the Horn - old school blues hip hop beat. I wish he performed this live more.

Dreamer - I think this is a new song and meant to be played with his new bigger band

Wale -
First, I must say I was disappointed with the crowd. I know it would be impossible to emulate his special appearance only a few months ago with the Roots, but all his other shows at 930 club had very involved crowds. Granted it was a sunday night, but people started to file out right at the end of K'Naan's set, and periodically throughout Wale's. This was his hometown, and despite all of this, he put on one of his better shows that I've seen, and stayed for a long time after to give autographs. As usual he was playful with the crowd, bringing up the Donovan McNabb signing to the Redskins, and serious with the crowd talking about how hard he will work this year (officially "no days off"). He hit the crowd with new songs and "classics" and got very serious in a sit down spotlight (intimate) breakdown. He's definitely one of my favorite (new?) artists out right now, and I would say a master of the mix tape. This time around he just had a hype DJ, but Wale is unique in that he usually plays with a Go-Go band (DC legends UCB) to accompany his contrasting playful and serious flow. I'll just everyone with a few links of random songs of his that I like and you be the judge:

Chillin f. Lady Gaga - song making him famous, and still showing his love to his hometown (ok, so he didn't grow up in what people call DC, but Gaithersburg and PGC... but honestly, he's the only one who really "reps" DC).

WALE D.A.N.C.E. - song from an early mixtape, and the crowd usually goes wild when he plays this song

My Sweetie - when played live, really brings out how much fun a Go-Go band can sound with hip-hop.

Um Ricka f. K'naan - ok they didn't perform this song together, but it was their first project together. They did perform their new song "TV in the radio" which has a chorus that reminds me of Black Star's (talib kweli and mos def) "Definition".

New Soul f. Yael Naim - seriously, loves the mixtape! Check out all of his mixtapes!

Tabi Bonney -
Ok, we gotta give a little shout out to the one opener we saw - Tabi Bonney. As my friend Christina said, he really has improved his stage presence. His music is defined by the statement "Jet setter music for the dreamers and leaders of tomorrow... " His style is very different from the main acts, but he definitely is one motivated artist, and one of the coolest parts of his show was having a few guys break-dance, etc during his set. Here's one song, a bit loungey "Nuttin but a hero".