There’s no way A&O Productions could come close to topping last fall’s Kanye West show at Welsh-Ryan Arena; Kanye was dominating the charts and the headlines, thanks to “Golddigger” and George W. Bush. Plus, his act was incredibly produced, and buzzing with energy. People camped out last year for Kanye tickets for a reason.
The organization is still focusing on rap acts for its 2006 fall show, bringing in Southern duo Clipse and L.A. group Jurassic Five. The selections are split, with one act being great and the other more lukewarm.
Clipse broke big in 2002 with “Grindin,” a Pharrel produced track that gained national attention. The duo disappeared for several years, but stormed back last year with two critically acclaimed mix tapes,the We Got It 4 Cheap series. Clipse’s next album, Hell Hath No Fury, has faced frequent delays, but will hopefully drop by the end of the year. The hipsters over at Pitchfork Media have listened to the album, and say it’s great. A&O should be applauded for bringing the duo in; unlike Kanye West, who is highly accessible to both rap-heads and pop junkies, Clipse is much more rap-friendly and actually are a good approximation of rap music. They should put on a good show, especially to those who appreciate solid rap. Here’s the group’s video for “Grindin’.”
Jurassic Five, on the other hand, prides itself on bringing old school rap back in a time when “gangsta” rap is so prevalent. The six piece (yeah, I know, the name doesn’t work) has released four albums, their latest being 2006’s Feedback. Jurassic Five are, for the most part, a pretty bland collective; yeah, they may be “old school,” but it’s not terribly exciting stuff. J5 are basically the Ben Folds of the rap world, a musician/group people (especially college kids) flock to because they think the artist/group is indie enough to be cool, but mainstream enough so that other people know what you are talking about. Most tellingly, the group collaborated with the Dave Matthews Band on their last album. Yikes. Anyway, here’s the best thing Jurassic Five has ever done, a video featuring dancing animals.
So, show up early for Clipse, but if you have any homework you need to get done, it wouldn’t hurt to skip out on Jurassic Five.