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13 November 2010

It was bigger than hip-hop: Review of Dead Prez performance 11/12/10

The one and only, revolutionary, conscious hip-hop group Dead Prez took the stage last night at Present Moment Cafe in St. Augustine and rocked the mic for a crowd of hundreds.  The event was part of a fundraiser by the Harvest of Hope Foundation, which provides assistance to local area migrant workers. 

The theme of local food and supporting low wage earners fit right in with Dead Prez's hardhitting messages about revolution, taking power back from the establishment and giving it back to the people, self-enlightenment, and the uplifting of black people. M1 and Stic.man mixed new songs in with classic joints, taking it all the way back to "Let's Get Free".  They performed "Malcolm, Garvey, Huey" from their latest album, Revolutionary but Gangsta Grillz, as well as oldie-but-goodies "We Don't Eat No Meat", an ode to vegan/vegetarian living, and "It's More than Hip-hop", among others.  A new sample that I really enjoyed was their take on Gucci Mane's "Wasted", called "Don't Waste It" in which they changed the hook to say, "Rockstar lifestyle ain't gone make it/too many black men locked in cages/if I stay wasted and you stay wasted/what's gonna happen to the next generation?"....Real talk....

The group interspered music with tidbits on conscious living, and eating locally grown and healthy food.  If I could point out any criticism of the performance, it would be that there should've been thousands there, and not simply hundreds.  If we gonna take back hip-hop from the trash and Illuminati agenda, then we have to go back to the roots and support artists like this. 

I have to give a shoutout to fellow sister blogger Tiffany Nakia Duhart of Nokturnal Escape, who caught a great video of "Don't Waste It", which you can watch here: Nokturnal Escape Dead Prez Performance.

The Dead Prez performance was on point and on time.  If you're thirsty for real conscious music like me, and you're not finding it in this desert wasteland of mainstream hihp-hop, then check out Dead Prez and other groups like them.  Healthy food isn't just for the body, its for the mind and soul as well.