Date: December 11, 2000
Location: The Warehouse
Performers: The Roots, Talib Kweli, Guru, Slum Village w/ Phat Kat, Bahamadia, Dice Raw, and Jazzyfatnastees.

The first major storm to hit T Dot marked the arrival of the much anticipated, and once postponed OkayPlayer Tour, featuring some of the best in the current "conscious" hip hop scene (see all groups above).

As sheets of snow came down, eager fans shuffled in from the freezing cold, and amazingly all artists scheduled showed up, even with this severe weather. This was surprising considering that many individuals living in the outer regions of the mega-city weren't able to attend due to the foot of snow on the ground.

A tough break for all of those who couldn't make it...

Just as the OkayPlayer website is commandeered by The Roots crew, the accompanying live concert ran it's duration with the soundscape provided by the hardest working band in hip hop. With ?love on drums and percussion, and Hub on bass, the backbone for the show was set, allowing the all-star cast of emcees and vocalists to shine.

With over a month on the road behind them, the tour had obviously become a show of it's own, rather than an individual showcase for each act. The cohesiveness of the show, and the ease with which each artist jumped on to the stage regardless of their company, offered a unique experience for the hungry crowd of Toronto heads. The mere experience of witnessing these artists live had the front row standing with eyes wide and fists pumping.

Talib Kweli, hot of his recent Reflection Eternal release with DJ partner Hi-Tek, took control over the crowd with his performance of The Blast, with the lovely duo of the Jazzyfatnastees taking the stage to handle the hook, who I must say had the guys salivating all night regardless of what outfit they chose to dawn on their numerous appearances on stage (see interview snippet in January 5 update).

Slum Village also took a commanding hold over the crowd, especially on the simple, but high energy "Raise It Up". Along side Slum and label mate Bahamadia, fellow Detroit emcee Phat Kat jumped on to stage to perform his hit underground single from early 2000 "Don't Nobody Care About Us." It was apparent that Slum has had some time to work on their live show, since they had the crowd more hype than at their last performance in Toronto at the Goodvibe 2000 Tour.

Surprisingly, the mellow, softer-spoken Bahamadia, took control of the crowd with "Commonwealth (Cheap Chicks)" and stepping up the pace with "Pep Talk", taking advantage of the obvious presence of some drum'n'bass/jungle heads in the crowd. The vibe of the show didn't allow her to perform two of the better tracks off the BB Queen EP, however the mastermind behind "Philadelphia" and "Beautiful Things" was in the crowd, and we had a chance to talk to him in detail about his upcoming release in 2001. An interview with this producer/musician/vocalist, Dwelle, will appear in our upcoming February update (debut LP coming in 2001 on Virgin Records).

Guru, even with the great live reworking of his past tracks by the band, Guru failed to control the crowd to the extent that the previously mentioned artists had. It was clear that the master of "mono-tone", could not quite gain the momentum through his live performance, that the others had been able to accomplish. I'm not sure if this was due to the lack of the original sounds that DJ Premier's instrumentals provide, or if it was his lack of expertise in live performance.

The glue that held the show together, with smooth transitions and segues, was The Roots own Black Thought. Ranging from brilliant performances of classic Roots tracks, breaking into reggae/jungle reworking, to a sampling of a couple new tracks from his upcoming solo debut "Masterpiece Theatre", Black Thought acted as the perfect host for this unity of some of hip hop's finest.