It wasn’t a reunion of the Furious Five, but Friday night’s concert at DAR Constitution Hall featured an extravaganza of old-school hip hop by an outstanding quintet.
Five pioneers of the genre — Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, Scarface and Slick Rick — performed before a crowd of nearly 2,000 fans that included sports stars and at least two congressmen, as part of “The Legendary Kings of Hip Hop Tour.”
“[They had] so much of an influence on someone like myself who used to rap when I was younger,” said Rep. Andre Carson, Indiana Democrat. “They come from a golden era where penmanship was important, where metaphors were important, where similes were important. They forced inner-city kids to pick up a dictionary and become more witty and intelligent.”
Rep. Donald Payne Jr., New Jersey Democrat, recalled how in the late 1970s and early 1980s critics had said hip hop “was going to be a passing phase.”
“And now we’re talking about 20 years or 30 years of it being part of the American fabric,” Mr. Payne said.
Also in attendance were former Washington Wizards center Ben Wallace and boxers Winky Wright and Jeff Lacy.
After their performances, Rakim, Scarface and Doug E. Fresh shared with The Washington Times one thing they would change about contemporary hip hop.
Rakim: “The politics side of [hip hop] where it takes away from the artistry. Not to knock nobody’s business or what they do, but if I drop a single and come down with X amount of money, put it on the table, you play my single for me all day. If we can get rid of the politics — that side of the game — I think it’ll be a little more honest … It’s not honest when somebody can do a song and pay to get it played. If we could take away the bad politics or the bad business of hip hop and bring it back to artistry, where the consumer dictates the game, then I think it’ll be a little better and a little more true.”
Doug E. Fresh: “I would never create a separation between old and new school because both groups are useful to each other, and the separation creates separation in the effect that it can have on the people … It’s like your father, let’s say. He’s capable of assisting you in things that you have no experience yet, but you’re going to come up with a new perspective that’s necessary to give him a brand new outlook, so the combination of that flow makes things go forward … It should be a unity in both generations.”
Scarface: “I would’ve put forefathers in control of [hip hop]. I would’ve made Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick executives, at least A&R. If you have a 6-year-old A&R guy, then you’re going to hear 6-year-old music. We’re never going to get it back … In the Bible, in whatever it is you read, it’ll say the wise man seeks many counselors. And I would’ve put the smartest [people] in place … If I was running a record label, I would’ve got the people that originated hip hop to keep [it] alive and let the youth grow up on the right [stuff]. I don’t think they’re growing up on the right [stuff].”
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