On the eve of the release of El Vuh’s Winter Solstice, E-RISE and Zero performed three songs from their 4-track EP. They did this without the services of their brother Victor-E, who was representing the Vuh tribe in Mexico at a native dance ceremony called 4 Tonantzin Tlalli. Wanting to equally represent in the “City of Angels”, E-RISE dropped an a capella from “Curanderos” and highlighted the spirituality embedded in the chorus to the crowd. At the end of “I Can Remember”, Zero engaged the crowd with an extended conversation on love. His message was that if you haven’t found that love in your heart for whoever it is you care about in your world, you need to find it. E-RISE emphasized how women are not only an important part of the family unit, but also the backbone of society. Needless to say, the crowd responded with a strong ovation.
El Vuh came with a couple of surprises that night. They dug deep into the vaults and performed “Open Mic”, a classic hidden track from the Jaguar Prophecies album. For those that have never heard it, check it. El Vuh had the crowd hitting the roof on that one. Between songs, Zero addressed the crowd regarding the surplus of self-proclamation and beefing in hip-hop. Showing the power in unity, El Vuh brought the legendary 2MEX on stage even before he was scheduled to perform. 2MEX delighted the crowd with a freestyle before El Vuh went into the song they collaborated on with him, “Son of the Sun” from the Elvuhlution album. Over an ocean of arms in the air, the Vuh brought it home with that track. Nothing like hip-hop unity to excite the crowd.
2MEX went into his set not missing a beat, telling the crowd in more elaborate words that he doesn’t need myspace or facebook, he can make his point live. One of the best lyricists out of LA, 2MEX shows no signs of slowing down. As always, he kept the crowd moving with his high energy.
Chino XL continues to amaze with his lyrical arsenal, making people have to analyze his clever metaphors and similes a second time. Fans clearly appreciated the lyricism he brought amidst the oversaturation of suboptimal hip-hop music presented through mainstream media. In fact, all of these gifted artists have made their noise without the help of those outlets, proving that radio is only as good as what you are listening to.
Shout out to all the artists that performed that evening. The Dirty Apes performance to open the show threw down the hip-hop gauntlet and set the tone for the rest of the evening. El Vuh, short one Victor-E, was able to harness that energy and deliver the lyrical medicine we’ve come to expect from these spiritual warriors.
