Black August @ B.B. Kings

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Monday, 08 September 2008 02:28

Eleven o’clock at the famous B.B. King’s Bar & Grill saw more people waiting on line than there are tourists in Times Square. They were there to see the eleventh anniversary of Black August Hip-Hop, a benefit concert thrown every August 31 to make the youth aware of political inequality, social injustice and police brutality in America. Featured acts included EPMD, Q-Tip, Shadia Mansour, Blitz the Ambassador and special guest, Immortal Technique.

Shadia Monsour stormed the stage with a small Palestinian-clad crew, waving flags and shouting for liberation with her Arabic tongue and British swagger. She riled up the crowd in a language no one in the audience understood but her stage presence was undeniable and her cause spoke for itself

Rebel Diaz, a hip-hop trio that also performed at last year’s concert, came to teach the audience about the existence of police brutality in neighborhoods around New York City. Two members of the group, Rodstarz and G1, were recently involved in a case of police brutality in the South Bronx, where they routinely involve themselves in immigration, education and housing issues. They were reportedly clubbed and kicked by four police officers and charged with resisting arrest and assault. It seems charges were dropped because they hit the stage breathing fire through their mics. Lah Tere, their third member, spit acapella that blew the crowd away.  

Immortal Technique, political activist and underground hip-hop rapper stepped on stage and explained to the people the connection between underground music and corporate politics. He performed “Industrial Revolution” and “Peruvian Cocaine” from the album Revolutionary, Vol. 2, and “The 3^rd World” from his new album/mixtape, The 3^rd World. Needless to say, the crowd went wild for his live, relatable fierceness.

Before the concert began, Blitz the Ambassador and his band, the Amighty Embassy Ensemble performed soundcheck while an angel took the mic and sang bits and pieces of a song called, “Remembering the Future.” Her name is Akua Taylor and when Blitz performed it, the audience swooned. It was a lighters-up moment on acid as the drums set the pace, the horns harmonized and the vocals revitalized. The lyrics, “I am who I am/You can never change me/Reaching for the sun/Remembering the future,” became the culmination of all Black August Hip-Hop stands for.

It stands for freeing freedom fighters and the protest against corrupt officials. It’s the battle for civil liberties and the battle against social and moral injustice. But it is also about the ability of one person to make a difference. It is about the the state-sponsored death of George Jackson and what we can do to make sure history stops repeating itself.

- Shirline Chowdhury