The Story
K'Naan, Wale Rock the Matoaka Amphitheater at AMP's Spring Concert
For hip hop lovers, AMP’s Spring Concert was a treat. Featuring headline artists Wale and K’Naan, and opening acts Tabi Bonney and John Forte, along with surprise guests DJ Omega and Dante & Jose from Beat Your Feet Kings, the concert was an event which showcased the spectrum of current rap and hip hop talent.
Tabi Bonney’s carefree effort to include the audience worked: as soon as he entered, he called everyone up to party right in front of him, leaving the chairs bare. His songs were upbeat. They were not a particularly new sound, but definitely radio material. Joining Bonney were Dante and Jose, part of the Beat Your Feet Kings dance team featured on America’s Best Dance Crew. They provided a variety of slick dance moves for concert goers to marvel at. Bonney mentioned that he was filming a new video in Miami; with his sunglasses and swagger, Tabi Bonney is someone to look out for on MTV.
Esteemed Fugees producer John Forte was up next, starting off with a Coldplay cover and a story about his incarceration. He never directly mentioned what it was (Wikipedia research reveals that it involved a lot of cocaine) but discussed his disappointment that rapists and other criminals whose crimes he deemed to be worse than his get shorter sentences than he did. His music was mellow, and kept on flowing; even while he was talking (using oddly pretentious diction; he described the concert as â€"socraticâ€), the rest of the band played a song transition. The act had a more intimate feel due to the mellow music and lack of a drum set.
The loud-voiced and Twitter-obsessed DJ Omega was next, playing a variety of songs to keep the audience’s momentum going. He was later joined by Wale, who was summoned out from behind the speakers by the cheer of the audience. Wale went through a set consisting mostly of songs from his album Attention Deficit. He gave the audience a taste of the D.C. go go scene with a couple of songs and showed off his rap skills. His lyrics were clever at times (though they were difficult to hear in the concert setting) but the subject matter was not terribly original. Unfortunately, the lack of showmanship and interaction with the audience left something to be desired.
K’Naan arrived last, after a long but worthwhile wait. Wearing a snazzy cream colored fedora, K’Naan introduced himself and went through some of his songs from his album Troubadour. His songs were positive and showed a variety of styles: some had a reggae vibe, and some had a worldly flavor, in addition to his rapping.
When it came time to play his hit song, â€"Wavin’ Flag,†famous for being this year’s World Cup anthem, he teased the audience by saying he maybe, just maybe, had time for another song. He solemnly hushed up the audience, chiding some people who wouldn’t be quiet, and started to tell a story, which turned out to be the verses of the song. The emotion in his voice was clear as his quavering and slow notes narrated his childhood during the Somali Civil War. He sang about how he lost a couple of his friends to the war, later moved to Harlem with his family, and then to Toronto. The audience sang along for the choruses, and eventually the song progressed into the upbeat and powerful version of â€"Wavin’ Flag,†which the audience enthusiastically sang along to.
K’Naan was the clear star of the evening, with his powerful music and show of personality, though the other acts were entertaining as well. Wale needed to work on his showmanship, but showed definite talent. John Forte mixed things up with his mellow music and big words. Tabi Bonney, while not too original, has a future in the rap genre. Overall, it was an enjoyable evening at the Matoaka Amphitheatre.