November 3, 2000

New York City SOB's

[a]Souls Of Mischief[/a], hampered by sound problems and an, er, mellow [b]A-plus[/b], disappoint somewhat...

There are some problems going down tonight.

Like the fact that this show, billed as Pep Love/X-Ecutioners/Souls Of Mischief, actually includes three other acts, as well. Being that the evening was already scheduled for a late start, these unannounced and mostly unknown guests mean that the first act on the bill won't even go on until near midnight.

Plus, just about every act that steps on the stage, from opener Boac, right through to SOM, has a complaint to yell up at the soundboard. The mics are too low. The monitors aren't working properly. The levels aren't even. It could all be quite comic, if it wasn't so late, and we weren't so impatient. Pep Love's performance, although not very exciting, is actually a welcome relief, as it signals that we're finally on track.

It's the X-Ecutioners, however - Rob Swift, Total Eclipse, Roc Raida and Mista Sinista - who deliver the goods. All four DJs are unquestionably among the best turntablists around, and, as they don't need to use the mics, they avoid the evening's related difficulties.

Pulling off the kind of scratching and mixing wizardry that turned them into a household name for DJs worldwide, the crew seem to be the only true professionals in the house. The body tricks are in full-effect, Raida working the fader with his mouth while scratching with both hands, Swift mixing around a pivoting Mista Sinista as he leans back over the deck.

Souls Of Mischief, meanwhile, have something to celebrate with their performance - today is the day they release their latest album, 'Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution', on their own Hiero Imperium label.

Their best moments are still hinged on the older Souls material, though, versions of tracks off their debut '93 'Til Infinity' like 'Never No More' and the title song, which revel in freedom and fun.

However, in addition to the fact that they have to deal with the continuing sound problems, they have another issue on hand. Rapper A-plus has apparently lost the ability to speak coherently, which unfortunately doesn't stop him from rambling on between songs to the point where it seems as if he's talking more than the group is rhyming. The rants seem to revolve around unity and oneness, but despite good intentions, even the other Souls seem to be losing their patience by the end.

"We love marijuana," says fellow soul Opio, by way of explanation, after managing to stop his crewmate, but while his own performance is shit-hot, as is the rest of the group's when they finally get going, it all ends up feeling sloppy.

It's after 2 a.m. by the time the Hieroglyphics-affiliated hip-hop crew wind down, and many of those who had passed up watching Game 3 of the World Series, as well as sacrificing sleep, to come to the show have not stayed the duration.

"I could go on forever, man," says A-plus at one point, following an interrupted rant, and those fifty or so of us who are still around don't doubt him. Nor do we want to envision the possibility.

Doug Levy

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