The finale act is none other than Rakaa, and the other performers do a successful job of hyping up the crowd for him. He starts strong with some hard tracks off his latest solo, “Crown of Thorns.”
Rakaa gets the crowd to put their hands up. The crew joins him.
As Rakaa performs, JK steals a video camera and records Rakaa and the crowd.
Rakaa continuously asks the crowd if they’re tired. At this point, it’s already 2:30am. The crowd screams, “NO,” and while some show signs of wear, there is one guy in the crowd that couldn’t put his arms down. Tasha gives him a bottle of water to say “thank you.” Some of the crowd is lost as Rakaa talks about his Korean mother and how much he respects his roots. JK offers to translate and the crowd responds with an overwhelming reply filled with pride.
And as Rakaa finishes up songs from his solo, he treats the Dilated Peoples fans with hit songs from the past.
“Proper Propaganda“ – Dilated Peoples 2nd album
“Work The Angles” - Dilated Peoples 1st album
“This Way” - Dilated Peoples 3rd album
Towards the end of his set, he brings it back to his solo and does “Ambassador Slang,” which features DT, Tasha, Roscoe, and Stylez. [warning: JK stepped off the stage right next to me and did a short dance in front of my camera, so there is a moment of shakiness due to panicking fans and bodyguards]
And of course, the final treat was “Monster,” with everyone the track. This was truly a moment in hip-hop history.
They end the night with a group bow.
and after all the hard work, some fun in the VIP room. they say the entertainment industry is 90% work, and 10% fun, but in all honesty, the 10% is all worth it. Backstage, we see surprise characters waiting like Palo Alto and JK’s old friends. It’s a small room bustling with at least 20+ people.
Despite chaos, it’s a nice moment between all of Drunken fam. Outside the curtains are fans patiently waiting. Some want autographs, some want to give gifts, and some are just dedicated enough to wait for the artists to come out so they can see them. Patience does not come unrewarded as some of these fans get a shot with Rakaa at 4am.
The crew is escorted out of a back elevator and hop into their van. The site of fans still waiting outside for a glimpse of everyone shows true dedication and the night ends with the crew giving smiles to adoring fans.
-Miss DrunkenCamp
credits to: Danny Oh & CBMassMatics for helping out with this post.
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