Amos Southend

July 21, 2007

The Deal: The Magnificent spins in Charlotte for his only Carolina appearance with Skillz holding down the MC duties.

The Good: It’s hard to exceed high expectations, but Jazzy Jeff did just that. I’ve never seen someone spin old school Jackson 5, The Fugees, KRS-One, T.I., A Tribe Called Quest, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Jay-Z and Nirvana in the same set, and that’s just scratching the surface of all the new and old hits he flipped. Rockin’ the crowd for two hours without saying a word. Skillz, famous for his annual tracks that wrap up everything that happened that year, kept a loose and eager crowd revved up. Skillz and Jeff had a perfected stage show that was crisp with no dull moments. DJ Bro-Rabb out of Durham proved to be a great starter as he rocked a crowd that ranged from college to the graying hip hop heads reliving the old days for over two hours before Jazzy Jeff got on stage.

The Bad: Other than the 6’ 5" guy who managed to park himself like a statue directly in front of me toward the end of the show and a couple of fashion statements that should have stayed in the '90s, the only bad thing was that it wasn’t longer and there aren’t more shows like this swinging through the Queen City.

The Verdict: When hip-hop comes together it’s a beautiful thing! It had to be when a 40-year-old man just put his arm on my shoulder and we both started shaking our heads, amazed at what was happening; it was official then that this was the best hip-hop show I’ve ever seen. No rapper, no problem. DJ Jazzy Jeff is the best DJ I’ve seen with my two eyes. Great crowd, great vibe, great location. I feel for anybody that missed it.

To catch a glimpse of the show, check this out: \\\<\/param\>\\<\/param\>\\<\/param\>\\<\/embed\>\<\/object\>

— Mike McCray