Sunset boulevard might be the most famous street in Los Angeles. You can cruise it in a drop top with the titties out, or in a Denali with tinted windows. There’s a lot of spots on that strip you could dip in and dip out of, but when it comes to the west end of the street, three spots come to mind for live music.
There’s the Roxy, the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, and the Viper Room.
The Roxy makes me think of Steve & Doug Butabi, while the Whiskey-A-Go-Go makes me think of 80’s hair metal. The Viper Room, on the other hand, is a whole other monster. Johnny Depp supposedly owned it at one point in time.
And Johnny Depp is an unpredictable mother fucker. One thing’s for sure, he can play about any character on the silver screen, and do it well. Maybe that’s why the Viper Room is able to play home to so many different types of music, and do each genre its justice. Maybe that has nothing to do with it. Maybe it’s just the allure and fame of Sunset boulevard. I really don’t know, but when I go to the Viper Room, I expect a good show.
And that’s just what Ambassador Slang brought us on this occasion.
I walked up the stairs into the venue as Rebels to The Grain were kicking the genuine article on the main stage. MP and Cheddy were trading bars on the mic like double dutch over live drum machine production. They got a real organic sound that’s reminiscent of Jurassic 5 or Gangstarr. Honest rap, you know, Break Beats & Rhymes. The name of their radio show on 90.7 KPFK fm says it all. Check their new release ”Harvest Season.” It has some true stuck in the trees moments on it. Rebels to The Grain went through the budding catalogue of their music, paid their respects to the OG’s and bowed out gracefully.
After they rocked the mic, Trek Life took to the stage, accompanied by DJ Tommy Black. Representing 626ers everywhere, Trek Life explained to the crowd his theory of the hometown foreigner. Then Tommy Black held it down on the 1’s & 2’s with some ill juggles as Trek Life continued to waxx poetics to the scratch and the break. He had the crowd throwing their hands up as he tossed out free shirts and things began to thicken as more people arrived at the get down.
LMNO was up next. He was visionary as always with his unique brand of blue collar raps. LD of TechniCali was behind him on the decks. Definitely another dope DJ and producer you should keep your eyes on.
2mex aligned the continents like Pangea after that. He put the FUN back in Funeral and took the crowd through his journeys across Europe with a rousing rendition of the rapid and hypnotic ”Dead Dear Diary.” 2mex always puts on a good show, whether he is rapping to a Beastie Boys instrumental on his iTunes or kicking acapellas. He brought a couple of guests on stage with him, including Girl on Girl’s own Germ Free.
Prevail came to swing his dreads like a battle axe on stage next. He got kryptonite warcraft bars to cut your cocaine with. zyclon b. His stage performance was full of high energy as he cascaded through hits from his “Baseball Bat & Nails” solo album to his Swollen Members classics. He makes wasteland warrior anthems to have the crowd pumping their fists like some Reebox.
Rakaa Iriscience was the headliner for the evening. The plan was for him to dilate peoples with his exclusive brand of southern Californian poetics while DJ Babu manned the 1’s & 2’s. The two of them fused that 3rd eye science bar after bar and kept the party grooving. And just when you thought it couldn’t get more turnt… Evidence popped up from nowhere in the crowd, jumped on stage and rocked ”Worse Come to Worse” with his brethren.
I got a chance to chop it up with Iriscience after the show…
first off, your latest release is titled “Crown of Thorns.” I was wondering, which burdens in the game inspired you to take on that title?
It’s a situation where you invest in yourself, and you do something that you really know in your heart is the right thing to do. Despite the obstacles. You feel that weight, but from that weight you get stronger. It’s like lifting any kind of weights. You pump iron and you’re gonna be stronger. So you know with “Crown of Thorns,” it had a lot to do with the music business, it had to do with personal trials and tribulations, family issues, all the things that people deal with on the day to day, plus with the twist of being a recording artist that’s in the public’s eye.
that’s a heavy burden sometimes.
yeah.
although your music has brought you all around the world, you always come home back to LA. and I was wondering what made society here in LA so ILL to you?
LA’s not even really a city. It’s more like a bunch of little cities. Depending on where you are, you kinda like get to have a good tour. It’s like a microcosm of the world here in LA. There’s every style. All types of styles of music, all types of food. all types of flavors and cultures and spices. So to be able to come home to LA is like going to see the world and coming back to a little piece of the world.
Now what do you got on the horizon? What can the people expect from Rakaa Iriscience in the next coming months?
We just started this Ambassador Slang series right here at the Viper Room, so my man Prevail came down and a bunch of people came down to support. It was dope. But you know, there’s going to be a lot more touring. I just graduated. I just finished my degree so that was the main thing i was trying to focus on for the past little while. I just got that degree, but otherwise, a new Dilated Peoples album is coming soon. Babu and I have a project called “Expansion Team Sound System.” You know, more like a DJ orientated project. So we can tour that. New Rakaa stuff. I stay busy man, I’m an artist so I stay busy. I have fun with it.
and where can the people find that? what’s the best way they can catch up with you?
Probably Facebook or Twitter @TheRealRakaa. There’s www.therealrakaa.com. Or Just google the real Rakaa, something interesting will pop up for you.
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Sho’ you right. The night was full of intrigue, bang-a-rang raps, breakbeats, rhymes and heavy hitters. The Du Rag Dynasty clique was in the house toasting a glass of astonishment even though they didn’t bless mics. That’s the Alchemist with Tristate, Planet Asia, and Killa Ben. Cali of Gold Chain Military was also in the place to be, right off Sunset blvd. and Larrabee street. The Viper Room. Remember the name, Ambassador Slang. Anything they put together should be mighty tidy. And if it’s tidy, it’s clean, and you can’t fuck with that.
-you know ya man’s Drop Jewelz
All photos by Cali Grindz
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