Tag: The Upful Life & Times

The Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 New Orleans, LA @ Maison – Fiyawerx Prod. – J Dilla Tribute

Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 Maison, New Orleans

The Killa 4 Dilla II – April 30, 2016
New Orleans, LA @ Maison (actually started 5/1/16 @ 3:30am)
Part 1 of 2: ???, The Light (with Ivan Neville, Ian Neville & Nikki Glaspie), [Alvin Ford Jr exits, Louis Cato enters], Thelonius > Players > Get Down > U and Ur Smile > 2 You 4 You, [Louis Cato exits, Adam Deitch enters], Thought U Wuz Nice, So Far To Go

Bee Getz as quoted in his NOLA Jazz Fest After-Dark 2016 overview review at Live For Live Music:

After the rousing success of their first endeavor, a late-night, post-BUKU throwdown, FIYAwerx Productions revealed a Jazz Fest after dark redux, and the Killa 4 Dilla II was born just days before the show. The FIYA Dept had this one tucked up their sleeve for a few weeks, but once they announced the second edition of their J Dilla tribute, the excitement around the city was palpable. Boasting a roster of jazz-funk heavyweights with a healthy appreciation for hip-hop history, the band came together in short order to summon a ghost of The Ummah. Lacing us with two hours of classic Jay Dee, this was Welcome to Detroit, the Frenchman Street edition.

The ensemble included the likes of Borahm Lee (keys and samples), Nate Edgar (bass), Nicky Cake Cassarino (guitar), Ian Neville (guitar), Maurice “Mobetta” Brown (trumpet), Khris Royal (sax and effects), Alvin Ford Jr (drums), Adam Deitch (drums) and emcees Nikki Glaspie and M@ Peoples. The outfit ambled on stage just after two in the morning, and deftly delivered a cadre of bangers that had us “Body Movin'” and crush-groovin’ late into the night. A student of the James Yancey pantheon, Borahm Lee was a revelation; a true-school beat conductor for this focused free-for-all, playing choice Rhodes betwixt a bevy of samples and looping gymnastics. Soulquarian essential oils were in the air on Common‘s “The Light”, and the energy turned Nthfectious; Cassarino‘s slinky Spanky Chalmers licks, Edgar‘s Pino Palladino was perfection, and Glaspie‘s mojo was workin’ through Rashid‘s effervescent verses, the dreaded femcee gripping the mic like it was mama’s gun. Another period piece, Slum Village‘s “Jealousy” was handled with verbal authority by M@ Peoples. This talented local emcee shined on a vast array of Dilla-gence throughout. Brown and Royal passed the champion sound forth and back, and Ford was steady-clicking a metronome of Dillafication, the off-beat/on-beat, blunted breaks mined from a Conant Gardens bassment.

Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 Maison, New Orleans

Miraculously, the man, myth, legend, the all-galaxy cat himself, Louis Cato appeared out of thin air and relieved Ford on the drum kit; a segment of virtue and virtuoso, this was beyond Filthy Mcnasty. Naturally, it being a FIYA Dept hip hop show in NOLA, the boy wonder Adam Deitch emerged to nail the illest Iverson crossovers. Lettuce‘s hip-hop heartbeat got luscious on a lucid dreaming “Lightworks,” an MPC piece of masterpiece theater found on Yancey‘s final finished document, Donuts. The Killa chorale continued to bless the Maison massive by honoring the legacy of hip-hop’s greatest producer; emotional readings of several undying soundtracks to our lives included “Runnin'” (The Pharcyde) and the SV/Common slab of heat rocks “Thelonious.” Most treasured was an sojourn through this writer’s amaranthine anthem: De La Soul‘s 1996 word-to-the-wise “Stakes is High”. James Casey and the Mayor of *my* New Orleans Derrick “Smoker” Freeman assumed the role of Plug-One and Plug-Two; this duo led the crew through golden-age, rap-superhero theme music.In a word: FIYA. A new generation of Native Tongues had been reinstated. Vibes? Vibrations. Jay. Love. JazzFest.

The Killa 4 Dilla II – April 30, 2016
New Orleans, LA @ Maison (actually started 5/1/16 @ 3:30am)
Part 2 of 2: ??? > Lightworks > ??? > Jealousy, Runnin’ (Can’t Keep Running Away) > Stakes Is High, Encore: [Adam Deitch exits, Nikki Glaspie enters], Think Twice

The Killa 4 Dilla II:
Borahm Lee – keyboards
Alvin Ford Jr. – drums (beginning until The Light)
Louis Cato – drums (Thelonius > 2 You 4 You)
Adam Deitch – drums (Thought U Wuz Nice > Stakes Is High)
Nikki Glaspie – drums (Think Twice), MC (on The Light)
Nate Edgar – bass
Nick Cassarino – guitar
Maurice Brown – trumpet, MC (on 2 You 4 You, ??? before Lightworks, & Jealousy)
Khris Royal – saxophone
Ivan Neville – vocals (on The Light)
Ian Neville – guitar (on The Light & Runnin’)
M@ Peoples – MC (on Thelonius & Players)
James Casey – MC (on Runnin’, Stakes Is High & Think Twice)
Derrick Freeman – MC (on Stakes Is High)

Greg Bryant - Killa 4 Dilla

Killa 4 Dilla 4/30/16 Maison, New Orleans

CrossFiya featuring Talib Kweli, Rahzel, Chali 2na, Break Science, Soul Rebels & Fyre Dept

CrossFiya

The Soul Rebels 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
Testify [Kanye West cover] (with Eric Krasno), Thank You [Jay-Z Medley] (inc. Ain’t No Love & Hard Knock Life), My Time, I Made It, Show Me What You Got [Jay-Z cover]

Soul Rebels with Rahzel

The Soul Rebels with Razhel 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
Rahzel solo set > Rock The Bells [LL Cool J cover]

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Talib Kweli & Jesus Coomes

Words by Bee Getz:

Again, Fiyawerx Productions provided a break from the norm as it pertains to Jazz Fest, and this eclectic booking on the hip-hop side of the tracks provided a thrilling look at one of the best kept secrets in the game: Fyre Dept. This NYC- based production squad includes drummer Adam Deitch (clad appropriately in a NAS Illmatic t-shirt and his ubiquitous headphones), Eric Krasno on guitar, and the brothers Coomes, bassist E.D. “Jesus” and older brother (and Fyre Dept. OG) Tyler “TYCOON Beats.” Break Science keyboardist Borahm Lee rounded out the team, and they took the stage after De La SOUL REBELS and proceeded to destroy the packed house with authoritative, meditative beats, samples and classic loops. Beginning with some Ghostface Killah and J Dilla instrumentals, soon the Fyre Dept was fully ablaze. Deitch held down the head snapping breaks, and the brothers Coomes’ tasteful, minimalist approach had people marveling at how this here hip-hop sounded so alive, present, yet sacrificing absolutely no integrity in the name of dopeness.

Fyre Dept 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
??? > ??? > Body Movin’ [J Dilla cover], Fever, ?That’s The Way It’s Got To Be?, Flankenstein > ???, ???

Within a few songs, Rahzel grabbed a microphone and stormed the stage. After some beatboxing workouts to get warm, “The Godfather of Noize” blessed the people with a distinctive medley of Whole Darn Family’s “7 Minutes of Funk” break, interspersed with verses and portions of its two most popular children – EPMD’s “It’s My Thang” and Jay-Z/Foxy Brown’s classic “Ain’t No N*gg*.” The Fyre Dept. then flawlessly worked into NAS’ “NY State of Mind” instrumental while Rahzel delivered original lyrics, along with a version of Bob Marley’s “Jammin’” for a refrain.

Fyre Dept with Rahzel 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
???, Ain’t No Nigga [Jay-Z cover], NY State of Mind [Nas cover], Jammin’ [Bob Marley cover] / Voice Box

Fyre Dept with Talib Kweli

At this point in the show, things were wild on the dancefloor, yet extremely focused on the stage. The band brought out legendary Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli and the posse brought forth a medley of songs old and new. Beginning with “Cold Rain,” Kweli showed everyone just why he’s revered as a lyricist and performer. They brilliantly segued into his seminal anthem “The Blast” from the Reflection Eternal project of the Rawkus era; this slice of heat had damn-near everybody correctly pronouncing his name, with not a single thing left to question. “Hot Thing” was dedicated to all the lovers, and Kweli made sure to shout out Babyface as he dipped into this summertime park jam for the boo’d up set.

Fyre Dept with Talib Kweli 5/3/14 New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf
Cold Rain, The Blast, What’s Real, Hot Thing, State of Grace, I Try, Get By

The Fyre Dept/Kweli collaboration reached fevered pitches as the BK MC and the veritable NY/LA dream team laced up a victorious version of “I Try” before spicing up things with a samba-influenced take on Kweli’s uplifting mantra “Get By.” This conclusion of the set had an army of heads chanting the chorus “Just to Get By” at the top of their one-hundred strong lungs; Fiyawerx Productions and the Fyre Dept. could agree on one thing, there was no putting out this CrossFiya.

Eric Krasno & Talib Kweli

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Break Science 5/3/14 New Orleans @ Howlin’ Wolf
Now You Want More, ???, Owner of a Lonely Heart [Yes cover], Brain Reaction, ???

Break Science with Chali 2na 5/3/14 New Orleans @ Howlin’ Wolf
Guns Drawn, Comin’ Thru, International

AUDIO DOWNLOAD: Bonnaroo Hip Hop Superjam feat. Lettuce, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Wu-Tang Clan, Solange, Schoolboy Q, etc.

Lettuce Bonnaroo Hip Hop Superjam with Method Man & Redman

Lettuce: Bonnaroo Hip Hop Superjam
June 14, 2013
Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival – That Tent

SBD > Bonnaroo UStream video webcast > Cool Edit Pro > WAV > CD Wave Editor > MP3

DOWNLOAD MP3’s

DOWNLOAD OR STREAM FLAC’s

01. Intro
02. The Funky Drummer [James Brown cover]
03. The Big Payback [James Brown cover]
04. N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II (with Schoolboy Q) [Nas cover]
05. There He Go (with Schoolboy Q) [Schoolboy Q cover]
06. Collard Greens (with Schoolboy Q) [Schoolboy Q cover]
07. What Happened To That Boy (with Chad Hugo) [Baby ft. Clipse & Pharrell cover]
08. Superthug (with Chad Hugo) [Noreaga ft. Kelis & Pharrell cover]
09. Apache [Incredible Bongo Band cover] >
10. Slipping Into Darkness [War cover]
11. ??? (with RZA) [?Wu-Tang Clan? cover] (with Protect Ya Neck verse)
12. Triumph (with RZA) [Wu-Tang Clan cover]
13. Liquid Swords (with RZA & ??? & Derek Vincent Smith aka Pretty Lights) [GZA cover]
14. Shimmy Shimmy Ya (with RZA & ???) [Wu-Tang Clan cover]
15. ??? (with RZA & ???)
16. Blood Thicker Than Water (with RZA & ???) [RZA / Sly & The Family Stone cover] >
17. ?reggae jam? (with RZA & ???)
18. Killing Me Softly (with Solange) [Roberta Flack / The Fugees cover] >
19. Umi Says (with Solange) [Mos Def cover]
20. Cherchez La Ghost (with Ghostface Killah & Solange) [Ghostface Killah cover]
21. ??? (with Redman) >
22. Tonight’s Da Night (with Redman) [Redman cover]
23. Da Goodness (with Redman) [Redman cover]
24. Part II (with Method Man & Redman) [Method Man & Redman cover]
25. Da Rockwilder (with Method Man & Redman) [Method Man & Redman cover]
26. C.R.E.A.M. (with Method Man, Redman, RZA, & ?more?) [Wu-Tang Clan cover] >
27. Daytona 500 (with Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Redman, RZA, etc) [Ghostface Killah cover]
28. Madison Square
29. Mr. Yancey >
30. Workinonit [J Dilla cover] > Doe Rae Wu (with RZA & ?more?) [Killa Beez cover] >
31. Mr. Yancey (reprise)
32. Do It Like You Do

Lettuce:
Nigel Hall – vocals, keys
Adam Deitch – drums
Neal Evans – keys
Erick “Jesus” Coomes – bass
Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff – guitar
Ryan Zoidis – saxophone
Eric Bloom – trumpet
James Casey – saxophone, percussion

Guests:
DJ Jazzy Jeff – turntables
?? – background vocals
?? – background vocals
Borahm Lee – keyboards (from Break Science)
Schoolboy Q – MC
Chad Hugo – keys (from The Neptunes / N.E.R.D.)
RZA – MC
??? – MC
Derek Vincent Smith (aka Pretty Lights) – bass
Solange Knowles – vocals
Ghostface Killah – MC
Redman – MC
Method Man – MC

Notes: small dropout during Killing Me Softly.

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You can also find the Jim James Superjam featuring John Oates, Zigaboo Modeliste, Larry Graham, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, etc. for download or stream.