sdhomies

Kanye & Dilated @ 4th & B

Never thought I'd see someone from the Roc share the stage with arguably the tightest crew out of the LA underground.

Kanye West / Dilated Peoples
Doors: 7pm, show: 8pm
$35.00 (yikes)

Update: Overall a good show and I'm glad we went.

Dilated: tight with the lyrics, beats, and tablism, as expected.

Young Gunz: man, these guys stink. I still can't believe the Dilated had to open for them. I used to DJ in garages at house parties and the random cats who would grab the mic and freestyle sounded better than Young Gunz.

Kanye: good but not great, though I had pretty high expectations. His band and backup singers were dope. I never seen a violinist cover hip-hop beats which was a treat.

Album Review

Believe the hype, College Dropout is good; as Mos Def says, meet the future of hip-hop. "Get Em High" is the hot track; few things are more sublime than Talib Kweli and Common coming with their battle raps.

However, Dilated's latest effort, Neighborhood Watch, is a bit of let down. Its not bad, its just missing that "rock-that-sh*t" quality that digs in and moves the listener. There are some gems, don't get me wrong. The best track is "Closed Session"; similar to "Get Em High" the guest appearances make it hot. Its hard to go wrong with West Coasters like Defari, Planet Asia, and Phil Da Agony.