Dice Raw, Live @ Johnny Brenda’s

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concert video, Def Jam, Dice Raw, Dj Sugar Shay, johnny brendas, Karl Jenkins, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band, Lushlife album release party, Money Msking Jam Boys, Philly Rapper, Spotify link, The Roots, The Roots Crew

Philly Hip-Hop legend Dice Raw (aka Karl Jenkins) with Roots crew affiliation and Money Making Jam Boys ilk rhymed like a gold-medaler for the Lushlife album release party at Johnny Brenda’s in Fishtown on April 17th.  Spitting verses from his DeNiro-eque career track credits, Dice came across as an authority to the craft in a performance most moving.

++ Dice Raw on Spofity ++

Taking the stage in a vintage-looking grey and black power suit and glasses, vodka in hand, Dice Raw was total class act.  Verses were prepared with quiet effort and care with beats supplied by DJ Sugar Shay (sp?); Dice’s new set DJ.  Diverse, powerful, moving, searching, and clever samples combined with Dice crowd engagement made this a must see set.  One of the greatest Rap performances we have ever seen.   Sufficed to say, there was no mumbling on the mic.  The crisp sound of JB’s lent itself well to Dice’s flow and Sugar Shay’s turntableism.  Check out our video below and witness a Philly star.  Also, Gotye is sampled in the second video.  I know you will like this:

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RJD2, Live @ Union Transfer

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concert video, live philly concerts, R5 Productions, RJ's Electrical Connections, RJD2, Turntable-ism, Union Transfer

RJD2 needs no introduction.  The man is a genius.  Copywrite once said:

RJD2 drop that sh*t so I can drop my thoughts 
Driftin away, and depress all within listening range
Nah but for real I got so much shit on my mind
From fake motherf*ckers to my future I’m trying to get in line
And doing hip hop in this life in time ain’t all nice and fine
At times I feel like my whole life’s a rhyme
Full of punchlines and jokes
F*ck ups and punches
It’s like I can’t get shit right the first time or something
When no one knows your name, your vinyl’s still in stores
Once you get a little light through arguing over who feels it more
We got sixteen year old dead heads buying garbage
Wanting to keep you from their personal private artists
We don’t do shit for the clubs
It’s for our forty fives,
go RJ the archaeologist diggin them up 
And I’m the same cent,
To vinyl that gets sent to bash
In this for life til my final mic check is cashed

The description of RJ being an archaeologist always stuck with me.  It’s such a fitting estimation.  The man samples pure vinyl live.  He finds unique and rare tracks to enhance his sound.  There are no iPods here.  There is no computer manipulated sampling.  RJ is a master at his craft.  Watching him move rapidly between 4 turntables, his drum machine and other electronic devices, switching out vinyl from a stack of wax behind him,  we feel as though we are watching a magician.  Merlin cast a spell on a packed Philly crowd this 14th of October.  A camera trained on his drum machine projected the action in between carefully timed clips projected on the screen behind.  We watched as he created everything we heard.  It was all laid out to see and to dare imitation.

RJD2 played an incredibly solid set touching on many of his classics and teasing with hints of others.  Now living in Philly, RJ truly put on something special for the hometown crowd.  After exhausting all his 12″ers, RJ returned for an encore using 7″/45’s only saying something to the effect “I only have the small guys left.”  It was a memorable performance and we submit to you some video taken to try and visually explain the dopeness of the performance – a feat that is really impossible to do unless you were there.  Enjoy: