Reef, Sean P, and JMT Show - 3/29

This past Thursday the staff of LCWT's had the chance to catch Reef the Lost Cauze, Sean Price, and Jedi Mind Tricks all throw it down at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA. Reef opened up to a crowd that was receptive, but obviously not too familiar with his work outside of his Army of the Pharaohs appearances. He acquitted himself nicely, performing "Give it Up" and "Sound of Philadelphia," among other tracks. Although the show wasn't as intimate and energetic as his show about a month back at the Great Scott and I would have liked to see "Humble Beginnings," overall he put on a good set, especially to a crowd that came to see either Sean P or Jedi Mind.

Reef got off the stage at around 10:45, with Sean Price scheduled for 11:00. However, at 11:30, a stage hand came on to tell us that Ruck was not yet in the building. He came on stage about 15 minutes later, but not before some of his weed carriers came on stage to make sure the levels were right and remind us about 55 times that Sean Price was - in fact - a member of the Boot Camp Clik. When he got on stage it was unclear whether he had actually been late to the show or had just been back stage sobering up enough to remember his rhymes. He put on a fairly short, but energetic set that left the crowd satisfied, although no one in the house was getting ready to call their friends to brag about it. When Price's set ended, only a handful of those in attendance left (it was well past midnight at this point) before the Jedi Mind Tricks set. While there were some BCC loyalists there to catch Price pimp his new album (which is solid, but struggling to keep pace with the pre-release hype at this point), most of the crowd was there to see Jedi Mind Tricks and came ready to brawl.

When the pint-sized pugilist Vinnie Paz took the stage, the place went nuts as he dove right into some of his classic joints, ripping verses in succession to ensure there was never a lull in the excitement. This was the first time in a while that the LCWT staff watched a show at the Middle East on the ground floor below the stage, and I was dismayed that I had to divert my eyes from the stage numerous times and stay vigilant lest any stragglers from the moshpit in front of us come barreling into me and Kimo Von Oelhoffen my knee. Luckily, the Middle East security staff came through and cordoned off the pit. Those guys are pretty much always on point - as long as you're not acting a fool or trying to puff weed in the club, you're always happy that they're present, especially with a crowd like the one that shows up to see Jedi Mind Tricks. Getting back to the show, the highlight was undoubtedly when former JMT member Jus Allah (the group had so much more going for it when he was on every track) took the stage to put old beefs aside and burn a couple verses from the vault of Jedi Mind classics (if I hadn't had so many PBR tallboys I'd tell you which ones, but it's all kind of running together at this point). The only downside was that Vinnie allowed his hype-man, Crypt the Warchild of Outerspace, to take over the stage for a couple tracks. Still, I've been to several JMT shows, and I'd have to say that due to the re-emergence of Jus Allah, this was one of the best.

After the show, as the place was clearing out and people were making their final merchandise purchases, an inebriated DDB managed to get drops for the station (91.5 WMFO, ya heard?) from Crypt the Warchild, Reef the Lost Cauze, Sean Price, and Vinnie Paz, himself. We'd throw up some pictures, but of course we all forgot our cameras. Here are the drops.

Crypt the Warchild WMFO drop

Reef the Lost Cauze WMFO drop

Sean Price WMFO drop

Vinnie Paz WMFO drop