I hate repetitive bullshit. As I searched for the best of the best video’s of the world I realized I was being repetitive. Do I really want to do a review of Britney Spear’s new video "Womanizer?" Hell No. What the fuck is wrong with me? I’ve been in L.A. for too long. Not only am I going to bring a new change to the Quad-V, but I’m going to bring you my roots. Like every other person from Los Angeles, I’m not from here. I’m from the heart of Washington state. Let’s do a chain of thoughts here:
I’m from Seattle, and I love the electronic and the hip-hop. When speaking of music and Seattle, I’m stuck with three people that come up: Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and mother-fucking Sir-Mix-A-Lot. Fuck that people. I bring you the Blue Scholars, and the new edition of VVVV: On Stage.
Blue Scholars are Seattle, born, brewed and baseball cap wearing because of the rain people. The lyrics they bring are the exact reason why people talk about underground hip-hop and what’s wrong with hip-hop on the radio. The group consists of two people, Geologic the emcee, and Sabzi (Saab-Zee) Producer/DJ. Enough of an intro, let’s get to it.
Question One: Do you feel like you’re there? Point for my peoples. Right from the request for the beat, to the forward-moving hip-hop wave I get chills down my spine. This must have been a, dare I say, legendary show. The up-front camera angles to the rear nose-bleed seat angles let me own both the cheap seats and the VIP on-stage vibe.
Question Two: How’s the audio, clarity and crowd sound? I’ve been watching tons of videos online to catch a song that I can’t find anywhere, only to be extremely annoyed at terrible recordings from some guy’s crappy cell phone. The audio of “The Ave” video sounds just like a concert. Geo overpowers all, the beat overpowers the crowd, and when called upon we hear the crowd as clear as the overall audio.
Question Three: Does the artist feed the crowd its hunger? I think this question needs to be defined so we know what’s up for points in the future. If you go to a concert, and the lead singer/artist just stands there and talks into a mic (Gnarls Barkley), the singer/artist is doing something wrong. If the artist doesn’t communicate to the crowd between songs to try and create a bond (Thievery Corporation), the artist is doing something wrong. We’re here for the artist, let the artist be there for us. If you’re at a concert where the artist doesn’t let the crowd sing a part (No Doubt), they’re missing the point of why we’re there. Point for the Blue Scholars. I’d also like to note the part where the crowd of Seattle fucks up the lyrics, and he says “On The Ave, let’s try again ya’ll.” Seattle is KNOWN for fucking up at that moment they are called upon at concerts. We’re also known for Mary Jane. But if you’re in Seattle, and at a concert, please enjoy the moment because I guarantee it will happen.
Question Four: Is there more then four people at the concert? If you’re watching a “live concert” video on the tele, on the net, at a friend’s house through something he recorded, it’s not a concert video if it doesn’t have a crowd. Point for the Blue team. It’s hard to get a crowd that big from Seattle for anything other then a Mariners game, and even that is spotty on a perfectly sunny day.
Well that’s a wrap for the live version. I’m glad we got to start with a perfect score. To help out with you on the background of what “Ave” they are talking about, and a little bit about Seattle, I’ve also added another video that has Geo & Sabzi taking you for a trip through the Greater Seattle Area. I hope you hit “The Ave” when you’re in Seattle. Make sure you wear a bulletproof vest.
Artist:
prometheusbrown.com/bluescholars/
www.myspace.com/bluescholars
Blue Scholars – “The Ave” – Bumbershoot’06
