Legends of Hip Hop: Rakim + EPMD + MC Lyte + Da Brat + Big Daddy Kane + Whodini

The title, venue and ticket prices of the Legends of Hip Hop tour suggest that rap is entering its PBS fund-raiser period, something akin to doo-wop revues. But it’s important to remember that, starting with 1984’s Fresh Fest, which also featured Whodini, one of the foundations of hip-hop’s golden era was the package tour. Music associated with black, urban youth worried venues. So the predominant way to see live rap in the ’80s was in an arena, in a bill loaded with up to ten acts. In a way, this six-artist bill at the Arie Crown probably seems intimate to these veterans. Unlike those oldies-circuit R&B shows with replacement members and diminishing talents, this lineup features artists who are sure to deliver. Many consider Rakim’s 1987 Paid in Full the genre’s apex, and “The God Emcee” still possesses metahuman oratory skills. Both EPMD and MC Lyte proved that rappers could have vocal timbre, phrasing and delivery as distinctive as a jazz vocalist. Big Daddy Kane appears to be a considerably bigger daddy than in his shirtless heyday, but he remains one of the greatest showmen in his field—perhaps the only hip-hopper who jacked James Brown’s stage show rather than his break beats. The least legendary name on the bill, which is being dedicated to the memory of Heavy D, is local gal Da Brat, who in this time of Don Cornelius remembrance, we should note enjoyed her first national audience backing up Kris Kross on a Soul Train episode in 1996.