This week the New York MOOKS Report jumped on a bus and rode two hours out to the neighbouring city of Philadelphia. We were going to a picnic hosted by hometown heroes the Roots, who would be joined by a slew of luminaries that the band picked up along the way. There are not too many times when braving the hellish experience that is the Chinatown bus is warranted, but the thought of seeing Wu-Massacre (Ghostface Killah, Method Man and Raekwon) was reason enough for us.

The heat was searing (someone wryly said, “This should be renamed Roots Carpark”), but the thousands of music lovers were determined to brave the fierce sun of Festival Pier to head nod to some quality acts.

Grammy-nominated Foreign Exchange were on the expansive stage when we first walked in, with Phonte (formerly of hip-hop duo Little Brother) swapping a lyrical flow for singing and his producer Nicolay noodling around on the decks. It’s hard to get a crowd hyped about more laidback R&B/soul, but along with their band, they were doing an admirable job. Also having a similarly difficult time in a later timeslot was Mayer Hawthorne and the County, whose old school Motown vibes were kind of diffusing into the large crowd.

Meanwhile, repping New York City, Das Racist was in the tent next to the main stage rapping about “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.” Perhaps their usual ironic-schtick wasn’t working as well as usual (we were at a show with people who actually loved hip-hop in a completely unironic way), or maybe it was the distorted sound, but something didn’t seem right. High fives though for looking like hippies on a line-up that featured hard up hip-hop dudes.

Jay Electronica, the man who many claim is here to save rap, was thoroughly impressive. He (or his DJ) chose to display his lyrical prowess by spitting verses a capella, in between friendly, endearing and admittedly nervous banter. His use of metaphor and double entendres was even more resonant live than on record – check the above video for a sliver of the experience.

After the sun had gone down and people had refreshed themselves with crabsticks and the home favorite, the noble cheesesteak, things started to heat up. The Roots were immaculately tight as ever, sliding from one song in their extensive back catalogue to the next. Points go to the band member jumping around (literally) despite wearing a massive, shiny tuba, as well as badass bassist, Leonard Hubbard, who’s dirty solo stroked his instrument into submission. Joining them onstage was special guest John Legend who took the vibe down, perhaps in order for the crowd to save their energy for what was coming next.

And what came next was the furious power that is Wu-Massacre. Raekwon, Method Man and Ghostface Killah seamlessly ripped through Wu classics backed by the Roots, coming at us in a way that made us realise they are just as hungry as when they started. “If I wasn’t from New York I’d be happy to be from Philadelphia,” Ghostface told the crowd, who responded with a roar. Highlights include (but were not limited to) solid versions of “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Method Man”, the sight of thousands of people throwing up “W”s and also Meth standing upright on the hands of fans in the mosh pit.

And as the three rap giants swaggered offstage, our thoughts were a mixture of “awesome,” “f*@k yeah,” but ultimately, “How the hell are Vampire Weekend gonna trump this?”




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