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Jay-Z’s new Trend...y revivalism. · by Sach O
Brother-J wants reunion shows, you SISSIES.
So apparently Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt anniversary show was an unmitigated success, even amongst those who haven’t accepted Jay-Hova as their personal lord and savior. The idea of an artist coming back and celebrating his favorite album was too feel-good to truly hate and while it’s yet another insidious attempt to canonize RD as a classic record after the fact, people let it slide. Still, the most interesting development to come out the show could be Jay’s influence: if he can get the world to drink out of gold bottles (and then get them to stop), what’s to say that other emcees won’t follow his lead and start an “anniversary” bandwagon? Here are a few ideas that really should happen.
Rakim – Paid in Full 20th anniversary
This one’s a no brainer. KRS-ONE couldn’t go back to Criminal Minded after 20 years of teaching and Yo Bumrush the Show would be anti-climactic, but I can’t think of a single person who wouldn’t run out to hear the REAL God MC perform his debut opus from front to back. Even if an Eric B reunion doesn’t go down, there’s more than enough geeky DJ’s who could perform the instrumental tracks scratch for scratch and the event would make a killer DVD and a great set-up to the R’s next album. Rakim doesn’t do oldies tours yet either so this would be a nice “one time only” affair.
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions reunion tour
Chuck D and company are a hard touring bunch and they go through a fair amount of classic material, but how cool would it be for them to resurrect the exact setup they used in 88? An album retrospective is one thing, but bringing back a classic stage show (preferably with some new S1W’s) would be some next level nostalgia. They still have a couple of years to plan it out, so with a little effort I’m sure they could get a big enough lineup to tour stadiums, particularly in international markets that still got love for the revolution. I wonder if Def Jam has those old sets in storage somewhere…
Pete Rock and CL Smooth/Gang Starr – Mecca and the Soul Brother/Daily Operation 15th anniversary double bill
Ok, so 15 years may not have the same gravitas as a round number, but any excuse to get these two groups to stop the internal beef and go through the hits would be welcome, particularly since it might result in a new track or two. New York doesn’t need Busta Rhymes yelling over a Diamond D jack, it needs Guru and CL to swallow their pride and get back with the beatmakers that made them.
The Chronic reunion tour
Up in Smoke made a lot of money and people are starting to realize that Dre’s G-Unit era stuff is kind of wack so it might be a good time to bring the whole thing full circle and just tour behind the album that made him famous. The frat-boy money alone justifies stopping in every state and if we really need a Stonesesque dinosaur act in Hiphop it might as well be Dre and co. Bonus points if he gets Ice Cube to come along and perform NWA verses and Bombsquad tracks.
Company Flow – Funcrusher Plus 10th anniversary reunion show
Ok, so it’s not up there with the others historically speaking, but maybe it could give the limping indie rap scene a much needed kick in the ass or at least remind people of a time when fans cared about emcees that stuffed too many words into their bars and acted like condescending assholes (no diss). White people need positive rap role models that don’t act like sad punk rockers and confused revolutionaries and I’m pretty sure Big Jus could use the publicity anyways so everyone concerned wins if this goes down. Oh, and seeing as those involved might read this: I want a pair of tickets for calling it if you actually book this.
Comments for "Jay-Z’s new Trend...y revivalism."
That was a great post. Any one of those tours would be ridiculous. I think my dream would be Outkast doing one of their first two albums. Atliens is at its 10th year right now, but the odds of that one happening are obviously nill. The Pharcyde ought to do a 15th anniversary of Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde next year. You can always hope right?
— Jeff Jun 27, 05:17 PM
The Chronic reunion tour is a grat idea! I would buy thse tickets in the first few minutes.
— Hashim Jun 27, 06:12 PM
I’ll hope for a 20th anniversary “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” P.E. show myself.
— DJ Flash Jun 27, 07:16 PM
I would say the Bizarreride 15 year one should be on the list too. It’s the only one of those that has any chance of happening—cause none of the members are making money any other way. Of all the break ups over the years, the Pharcyde’s is the saddest, given that they weren’t done making good music when they split (at least Fatlip and Tre weren’t).
What’s even sadder is that their window has passed. Even if they reunited, they wouldn’t be any good (like Tribe).
— eauhellzgnaw Jun 27, 07:51 PM
2009 Native Tongues tour. 20 years on Three Feet High.
— Osborne Jun 27, 11:35 PM
I agree.
— Alter Ego Jun 28, 03:35 PM
“The Low End Theory” 15th anniversary tour is probably too obvious.
Even better would be “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” as the openers on the Native Tongues tour.
— floodwatch Jun 28, 05:20 PM
It’s a shame how Dres never gets his props. When that album dropped he was one of the smoothest rappers on the planet.
— DJ Flash Jun 28, 07:54 PM