Pat Duffy, formerly of Pop Tarts Suck Toasted (RIP), checks in for us! Over on the Balance Stage, things were not going well for Dam-Funk. 20 minutes into their set and they still hadn’t played a single note. Such is the problem sometimes with unrelenting heat and outdoor festivals, and those technical problems followed us as we abandoned the B stage to catch one of our hometown heroes – Raekwon. For seemingly half a set, Raekwon’s DJ battled a melting audio card and warping vinyl before the rhyme master finally and triumphantly took the stage. “Imma give y’all some of these here classic”, Raekwon told us, “will you let me do that for you?” This was of course met with cheers and Wu Tang hand sign galore and then Raekown launched into some of his classic catalog and kept the party going as best he could as the technical problems persisted intermittently through the set. Raekwon was undeterred by all these little snags and that alone catapulted him into warm favor with the sweltering crowd. Well that and the classic tunes pumping out of the PA. For his last few songs, Raekwon brought out some little, local dancers who tore up the stage and got some of the best cheers of the day for their efforts. Seriously, these little 10-year olds just upstaged a living legend, a member of the Wu no less, by twirling and spinning like no one else in that audience could. It was a rousing set despite all the technical snafus, marking the highlight of the rap performances yesterday and setting the bar high for Big Boi and the rest today. Raekwon was legit yesterday and as a native Staten Islander, I couldn’t be happier about it. Slutty Pop Tarts Rating: 8.4.
View more photos & download a Raekwon selection AFTER THE JUMP…
