The Hennessy Artistry Tour

The 2009 Hennessy Artistry Tour, curated by The Roots and Common, stormed through The Corinthian with a blitzkrieg of rhymes, beats, free Hennessy cocktails and surprises, making the ritzy, enormous ballroom feel like your cozy, neighborhood hole-in-the-wall hip-hop joint.

Performances began with New York City rock-fusion combo Elizabeth The Band, who set the stage a blaze with precise percussion and guitar licks, and displayed soul elements reminiscent of Chaka Khan and Rufus at their funkiest. The female lead singer, channeled the stamina  – and legs — of Tina Turner, and the sex-driven mystique of Erykah Badu, putting the males in a seductive trance. They Slashing from song to song, the band was in complete sync, all contributing to a mouth-watering performance.

After a short intermission of a J Dilla retrospective, The Legendary Roots Crew took the stage. MC Black Thought ripped rhymes in extraordinary fashion, breezing through Roots classics such as “Here I Come,” “Star,” and “Thought @ Work.” As the crowd recited lyrics and rocked into a frenzy, The Roots band played at a frenetic pace with astounding accuracy showing why they are not only the most sought after band in hip hop, but in all of music. Drummer ?uestlove’s innate ability to switch from precise patterns identical to that of any drum machine, to an off-kilter somewhat sloppy syncopated rhythm with ease is just one of the many assets that makes the band such remarkable live performers.

Following a relatively short Roots set, Common rushed the stage as if his hip-hop life depended on it. Starting off with “The People,” assisted by ?uesto drumming like an absolute madman, and followed by a performance favorite among the ladies “The Light” that molded into a moving rendition of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebum.”

“Hennessy Artistry is just that, artistry.” Common said shortly before the show began. ”We tryin’ to expose this art of music, and The Roots and I make sure the artists chosen rep that…it’s all about the music.”

Indeed.

After freestyling about everything from the lovely ladies in the front row, to the Houston Rockets, Common backed by The Roots band and budding star Musinah transformed his slow-winding Pharrell Williams produced track “Punch Drunk Love” into a five-minute long rendition of soul-singer D’ Angelo’s “Lady.”

The first major surprise of the night took place soon after, as Common introduced reggaeton artist Makano to a totally unsuspecting crowd. The Roots proved again that they can play anything, by getting an audience unfamiliar to his music to remain front and center.

And then the madness began.

The Roots mashed out a few more songs including “Next Movement” followed by a stellar cover of Slum Village’s “Fantastic.” Immediately after, Black Thought unexpectedly introduced hip-hop golden-era icon Big Daddy Kane to the stage to what instantaneously became a rabid crowd. Common joined in the fun as he and Black Thought paid homage to Kane.

‘If it weren’t for this man, I wouldn’t be here,” Common exclaimed.

Kane and the Roots led an all-out assault on some of Kane’s most notable rap classics. “Set It Off” featured guest appearances from Common and Thought, “Ain’t No Half-Steppin” was perfectly done, and the highlight of Kane’s powerhouse set, “Raw” was ripped to shreds. The performances fired once again at a rapid rate, as Common followed with his hit “The Corner,” and a word-for-word rendition of Nas’ “NY State of Mind” that drew plenty of attention from an already inspired audience.

The guest appearances didn’t stop there, as Hennessy unleashed another bombshell on the with New Jack Swing-era R&B star Al B.Sure taking the stage. Giving new life to his hits “Nite and Day” and “Rescue Me,” Al had the majority of the crowd remembering their pre-teen days and reciting every word to his buttery falsetto lyrics.

A brief delay in the music took place, as Black Thought was presented an awesome-looking birthday cake (would have made the night perfect if I had gotten a piece of that cake!), as the crowd and band members serenaded him with with Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday”. All smiles.

The Roots then held the place hostage for the next twenty minutes with a very rigorous James Brown-esque ending, by ending the show to a round of massive applause. ?uestlove did his traditional tossing of his drumsticks into  the crowd and after the ensuing melee, the still buzzing crowd dispersed with everyone walking away fulfilled.

Photos by Fave

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