As the lines began to file into the venue, I glanced over to my left and saw Mike G of the Jungle Brothers crossing the street as well as The Almighty K. G. of the Cold Crush Brothers walking in ahead of me. We proceeded to the stairs, which lead into the main room and at the bottom of the stairs I saw my idol, radio legend/DJ/writer Bobbito Garcia. As we walked into the main room, the mix of predominately early 90’s hip hop became the soundtrack as DJ Beverly Bond and DJ Drama provided a musical photo album that seemed to trace my personal experience with hip-hop music in that period. We found a comfortable spot to stand in as the room was rapidly filling up. No sooner did we get settled, than I glanced to my right and saw Kwame AKA The Boy Genius standing 2 feet away from me - the man responsible for me wearing polka dots and a light brown streak in my pyramid haircut back in1989. As hip-hop classics like Brand Nubian’s “All For One”, Nas’s “One Love” and Dr. Dre’s “Deep Cover” blasted through the speakers, I gave myself a personal test to see how many songs I could recite from memory. I got a 95. I continued to visually peruse the crowd, saw one of the most important figures in the tri-state hip-hop community, legendary television personality and “Video Music Box” host VJ Ralph McDaniel. There has probably been no other single person who has been more influential in my development and knowledge of urban music than Uncle Ralph, and to see him in attendance was truly an honor. However, seeing these icons as well as many others like DJ Red Alert and Fab 5 Freddy was only a portion of my enjoyment that evening.

photographer Enrie Paniccioli

When the show started, host/book editor/writer/MTV Real World alum Kevin Powell took the stage and let those in attendance know the real reason for the event. He introduced photographer Ernie Paniccioli, who since hip-hop’s beginnings in the 70’s, has been documenting its history through the medium of photography. This party was to showcase the result of his tireless work, the book “Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hip Hop Photography.” One look through its pages and one realizes the significance of this one man’s contribution to the culture. After giving his acknowledgements and remarks, Ernie quickly made it known that we were there to party and have a good time, which is what the essence of hip-hop truly is. We were then introduced to the hosts for the evening’s performances, former “Yo! MTV Raps” co-hosts and current Power 105.1 Morning Show radio hosts Ed Lover and Dr. Dre. After a warm reception from the audience, the two not only introduced the performers, but also made sure the audience was aware of the significance of the evening’s events.

We were first treated to great performance by Full Circle Productions, who performed excerpts from their critically acclaimed dance production “Soular Power’d.” The dance troupe took us on a historical journey, tracing hip-hop dance’s roots to African, Latin, Jazz, and Tap styles of dance and its connection with the various forms of music all the way up to the present day. The performance culminated in an old school B-boy cipher where the various dancers showcased their skills and truly mesmerized the crowd.

Ed and Dre once again took the stage to introduce the evening’s featured performer, none other than female MC legend MC Lyte. I was anxiously awaiting this performance, as I had never seen Lyte perform live, and she certainly did not disappoint. She began her set with my personal favorite MC Lyte song, “Cha, Cha, Cha,” which had all in attendance singing and dancing along with her. The crowd was in a frenzy, as she continued her set, performing such classics as “Lyte As A Rock,” “Paper Thin,” “Roughneck,” “Rock The Party” and “Poor Georgie.” It was truly a memorable performance by one of hip-hop’s pioneers.

However, the highlight of the night as well as one of the highlights of my hip-hop cultural existence came at the end of her set, when many important icons in the hip-hop community joined her on stage. Just when the show appeared to be over, and she was performing her verse from the classic collaborative track “Self Destruction,” Daddy-O from Stetsasonic rushed from backstage as if he were going to spit his verse which follows her verse on the original song. As the crowd almost lost control, he stopped everything and quite comically informed us that he did not remember the words anymore. However he brought his fellow bandmate MC D-Lite on stage, and they performed the Stetsasonic classic “Sally.” From there, the microphone was passed to Milk D from Audio Two, as he performed the “uber-classic” “Top Billin” with its unmistakable drum-track. As the crowd sang along with every word to the song, I wondered what it must have felt like for him to know that his words have touched so many lives. Both members of Black Sheep were next to grab the mics, as they performed their classic track “The Choice Is Yours,” complete with the entire crowd dipping down low and gradually rising back up for “Engine Engine Number Nine…” portion of the song. And if that was not enough, the show was capped off with Crazy Legs, Ken Swift and Popmaster Fabel of the Rock Steady Crew doing some classic B-Boy routines to old school breaks.

It was truly a historical event in more ways than one. It was a celebration of a historical book documenting a culture’s history. There were historical figures in attendance including the aforementioned icons, as well as the likes of Kool Herc, Afrika Baambata and Grand Wizard Theodore. I bore witness to a historical performance, and was taken on a trip through my own history in the culture of hip-hop.

Knowfrillz.