the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour

Let me first start off by saying this show was dope, but confusing at the same time. There were a grip of talented artists, but no cohesion in any way. At one point you have your revolutionary fist raised in the sky, but next moment you're flashing dollars, screaming, "money ain't a thing." Nonetheless, each artist put it down respectively for their own style of music.
The chronically slept-on Nappy Roots opened things up on the main stage with a slap-to-the-face 30-minute set. I can't stress it enough, but these cats are on some shit. They got the small, incoming crowd crunk and hopefully left their mark. Blackalicious for some reason was on the second stage, and ripped like only they can. Joined by Lateef, Gift of Gab tore through the classics like "Rock the Spot," and of course "Alphabet Aerobics."
Back on the main stage, N.E.R.D. stepped up to the plate. The sight of frontman Pharell sent every girl and mesh hat-wearing man into hysterics. Pharell encouraged everybody to rush the security guards, to flood the front of the stage, and of course they did. This was only the start of what proved to be the best set of the day. They played all the fresh album cuts and mixed songs together for a continuous flow. At one point, Pharell started beat-boxing their latest platinum hit, "Gridin," and then went to an a capella version of "Pass the Couvousier." N.E.R.D. kept the crowd hyped the whole time and definitely proved that they can do it all.
Talib Kweli was next, but once again, back to the second stage. I don't understand how someone so dope gets demoted, but fuck Sprite, what do they know? Anyway Kweli nurtured minds and kept everyone dancing to his smooth sound. He played everything from Black Star to Reflection Eternal and even gave a sneak peak into his upcoming masterpiece, Kwelity. Two backup singers and a saxophonist with solos joined him, and each blew my mind. If you're not up on Talib yet, you need to check him out because he's got some things to say.
Thanks to bad planning, the next three-and-a-half hours were a headache to the hip-hop heads and a celebration for the rock fans. Hoobastank's set nearly doubled Blackalicous' and Kweli's sets, but turned the energy level up a couple notches. I admit to being ignorant to their music, but I will say that I was entertained. From start to finish, they kept half of the crowd on their feet, singing lyric for lyric. After some horrible DJ spun for 30 minutes, 311 hit the stage. Being second to last to perform, I had high expectations but was really let down. Even more people sat down, as the confused-identity rockers played for nearly an hour-and-a-half. Filled with corny weed anthems that were followed by nothing but green lights, their set made me never want to smoke again and realize how cliché weed culture is. The highlight of the set was a five-minute drum solo that mixed in different styles, but kept a hard and funky beat. The people who came to see them had the time of their life, but for the thousands of others, it was intolerable.
Finally at 9:00 PM, Jigga hit the stage with an entrance fitting for a king. The curtain dropped, fireworks went off, and Jay-Z rolled out on a low-riding tricycle. Everyone in the crowd jumped to their feet, and the party began. At first I was blinded by all the platinum on stage (12 cats with Roc-A-Fella iced out links), but it didn't take long for things to get live. Jay-Z's bulletproof repertoire kept things jumping from start to end. Classics like "Big Pimpin" and "I Just Wanna Love U" had every person carefree and either poppin' collars, or shakin' ass. The only downfall was that he seemed to only play stuff off Blueprint, minus "Hizzo", and "Girls, Girls, Girls." But Jigga can do whatever he wants, and it will always end up being dope.
I hate Sprite's presence in hip-hop, or music at that, but they put together a lineup that will never be matched again. The idea of merging styles of music together, however, is a lost cause. On a final note, I found it very interesting that during the rock performances every hip-hop fan was sitting down, but during any hip-hop act, everyone was up getting live.
- Corey Bloom
- Photos by Paul Davis

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