With much credit to Black Hippy, there's a trend of blended conscious/streetwise hip hop sweeping the nation at the moment, and if there's another act doing it as well as Seattle's Raz Simone at Sasquatch this weekend, they should probably up their game. Simeone is undoubtedly a crowdpleaser, but he never panders to his audience. When he wants them to put their hands up, they do, but he uses their participation communally. Before nearly every song, he'd rally the audience before launching into an introspective banger, unafraid to talk about poverty, failed dreams, or inner city tension in a way that communicates just how much he cares. As telling as his songs are, his banter showed that behind the artist, there was still a man who was jubilant just to be with his audience. "Give yourselves a pat on the back for being motherfucking awesome," said Raz Simone before starting "Thirsty", "but now come in closer, guys. I got some shit I want to talk about."
Now that they've played a number of shows on their much-publicized reunion trek, it's fair to judge whether or not the Outkast festival tour is merely a opportunistic cash grab or an enthusiastic celebration of the Atlanta duo's massive legacy (during which they will inevitably get real paid). At f…
At nearly every day of any festival, there's an artist who's set time becomes a casualty to equipment changeover delays, and on Friday, that artist was Phosphorescent. But maybe it was a blessing in disguise, because those who waited through the nearly 20-minute delay at Sasquatch were rewarded wit…
