Where They Paint Murals of Biggie

Certified Chatterbox, an affirmative-action weed carrier, and Tony Starks (HT: FlySi)

Let there be no doubt: if there's a Wu-Tang show, and you can drive to it (like, say, in a taxicab), then Cappadonna will show up. It's even better for Cap when it's a Ghostface show because then he has a lot to contribute. Shawn Wigs, too, appreciates those opportunities. After all, a weed carrier's gots to eat, right? What, you don't think this guy is a credible rapper? With that picture and the pseudo-Matrix background? Gutter, kid!

Those of us at the 3rd Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival were treated to this Theodore Unit party and all kinds of hip-hop on a glorious Saturday this weekend. The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival has emerged as an annual summer highlight, and this year did not disappoint. The Room Service Group and the Bodega always put on a great event; big up to Wes and crew.

I've now seen Ghostface in concert a number of times, and he's always good. As anyone who's listened to him or seen him live can attest, Ghostface lives in a odd universe where smart observation and true intelligence can some times mix with near hallucinations, rendering almost everything he says inherently more engaging than the words of your average rapper. His live shows are energetic, with the best of them approaching some kind of manic intensity. Saturday was among the more reserved, though, and if you want to differentiate among performances turned in by the best rapper in the game (believe that), this was perhaps among Ghost's weaker efforts. A great Tony Starks show should be sprawling and indulgent, with hits and rarities, red lights thrown on for 70s soul homages, women brought up on stage, and time afforded for Ghost to do his impulsive thing and offer sermons. On Saturday, primarily due to an abbreviated schedule and an odd set list, some of this character was curtailed. But this is all relative: with music from Supreme Clientele, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Enter the 36 Chambers, Forever, Ironman, Pretty Tone, Fishscale, Bulletproof Wallets, and even an impromptu Cappa verse from "Winter Warz" (which, of course, everyone could recite for themselves since it remains such a towering achievement), the crowd was more than capable of celebrating Ghost and the Wu-Tang oeuvre.

There were several other acts that made the day memorable:

- For the first time that I can recall, I really liked Sean Price live. Though it partially owes to his expanded catalogue following the spectacularly solid Jesus Price Supastar, it also owes to my own growing appreciation for the dude (). Similar to my aversion for those rappers who take their drug talk ever so seriously (aaaay), I usually get hung up on the devotion to violence professed by others. But Sean P is just straight gully, and you get the sense that he is just delivering a certain Brownsville reality as he rhymes.

- Consequence gets a bad rap. His solo music isn't especially memorable, and he can put out some corny shit, but he's also a pretty good rapper. His cadence is strong, he can be funny, and he wields an admirably assonant flow. He's the sort of dude who could spit his verses over other people's beats in concert and get the crowd howling because his production tends to be a weak link but he rides beats well enough.

- Kidz in the Hall showed me something. I had liked their album but hadn't paid it much attention. Having seen them live, I need to give it further consideration, because Naledge can really rap. Some of his writing can be a little contrived, but live he just seems like a real MC--into the music, into the crowd, able to command attention as he raps. It was a good set.

- Tanya Morgan was great in a modern-day Native Tongues kind of way. Just some playful dudes having a good time rhyming about whatever. They were very much of the event and crowd, if you know what I mean.

Aside from the music, the Festival was also a success because it drew cool people, as usual. Shouts to Ian, Rafi, Dallas, Jay, and James. In addition, it's always just sort of cool to show up and spend time among hip-hop fans of mixed ages and races; there's great people watching to be had and friends to be made at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. There are also an endless array of great t-shirts to be seen.

Unrelated: I've heard a lot of new music lately and need to get back to posting some reviews. For instance, I think we can start spelling "underwhelmingly mediocre at best" by just writing T.I. vs. T.I.P. And there's that whole NBA Draft thing poppin' off. We'll get into all that this week...