6D - New Student Edition

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Ann Arbor plays host to rap's biggest names

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Lupe Fiasco (left) and Mos Def (above) both made appearances in Ann Arbor last year. Lupe Fiasco had an intimate Q&A sess
the Diag to talk about hisnewest record, and Mos Def paid tribute to Detroit native J Dilla on Martin Luther King Day.
Rapper. Mos Def visits
campus on MLK Day

PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily

Mos Def remembers
late MC and Detroit
native J Dilla
By TED CULLINANE
Daily Arts Writer
Jan. 23, 2008 - When a show with
the title "Mos Def Big Band: A
Tribute to Detroit's J Dilla" comes
to town, it's hard not to have high.
expectations.
Not only was one of the most tal-
ented rappers performing the work
of one of hip hop's unsung heroes,
but he was doing it on Martin
Luther King Jr. Day for the Univer-
sity's Martin Luther King Jr. Sym-
posium.
While Mos's recent track record
of rambling live shows and uneven
studio albums may have made some
concert-goers wary of the ambi-
tious event, Mos's mpressive per-
formance put to rest any thoughts
that his rap career is waning.
Along with members of Robert
Glasper & The Experiment, the
veteran MC orchestrated a fitting
tribute to the late James Yancey
(a.k.a. Jay Dee, a.k.a. J Dilla). At
the acoustically perfect Hill Audi-
torium, Mos delivered a series of
extended covers and brand new
Dilla-inspired cuts.
After opening with a quick
warm-up rhyme, Mos began with a
call and response chant that refer-
enced albums from Dilla's discog-
raphy and shouted out his various'
collaborators.

Thecl
"We kee
cup / It
phrases,
Village's
and Dilla
Mome
at Dilla's
over thel
ence, wh
predicate
.rather tI
aside fro
tions, M
"Waterm
gi
p1a
their be;
to an au
with his
Instea
la's more
Common
"Breathe
on the I
ping dre
early wo
to Dilla
like "The
out nota
Up" or"
omission

hant included the refrain selections were appropriate for a
p it ghe-tto like a plastic reflection on the life of Dilla.
s fantastic" - a blend of Backed by a soul-jazz band that
from the intros of Slum has worked with Q-Tip and Com-
Fantastic, Vol. 1and Vol. 2 mon, Mos easily created a wealth of
es Ruff Draft EP. exclusive material that referenced
nts like this that hinted hip-hop and R&B songs. Highlights
past work may have gone included Mos rhyming about the
heads of much of the audi- first time he heard Slum Village's
ose attendance was more debut Fantastic,Vol.tin 1996 and a
ed on Mos's star power version of Rakim's verse from "Paid
han the tribute itself. But in Full" over Dilla's rumbling "The
m some mild crowd reac-
os and his band (dubbed Perhaps the most transforma-
celon" during the set) did tive segment was Mos's "D Mix"
- a blend of "Ms. Fat Booty," the
Pharcyde's "Passin' Me By" and
Floetry's "Say Yes" over an instru-
W e keep it mental rendition of Slum Village's
"Intro" from Fantastic, Vol. 2.
le-tto like a one of the most poignant
moments was Mos's adaptation
*tic cup / It's of Robert Glasper's "Paint the
World." Over a groove reminis-
* a tc" cent of the live instrumentation
on Dilla's Welcome 2 Detroit, Mos
encouraged the crowd to fulfill
their own artistic visions.
While Dilla's MC'ing persona
st to convey Dilla's spirit was preoccupied with musings
dience largely unfamiliar about his m terial assets and beat-
legacy. making .prwess, his peers and
d of running through Dil- fans alike are quick to recognize
e popular works (such as the spirituality, inherent in his
s's "The Light" or Q-Tip's sublime creations.
and Stop"), Mos focused As the band channeled the
Rhodes pianos and snap- warm textures ofDilla'swork, Mos
ums of Dilla's trademark emphasized the lasting contribu-
rk. He paid brief tribute tions of his peer and collaborator.
's hardcore compositions In a spoken interlude, he described
e $" and "E=MC2", but left Dilla as "raw and beautiful," and
ble bangers like "Raise it reminded the audience that "when
Fuck the Police." Various you do beautiful things, you live
es aside, the more laidback forever."

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Lupe Fiasco fields Q&A
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Rapper talks gay
rights, hip-hop and
Hillary Clinton on
steps of Grad
By KIMBERLY CHOU
Daily Arts Editor
Oct. 30, 2007 - Rapper Lupe
Fiasco held court on the Diag yes-
terday, answering questions about
politics, hip hop and homophobia.
"I make really good hip-hop
music, Grammy-nominated hip-
hop music, GQ-Man-of-the-Year
hip-hop music," Fiasco said by way
of introduction. "The opportunity-
to-speak-to-y'all-in-the-Diag hip-
'hop music."
Fiasco spit a few verses - old
and new material, with the crowd
joining in occasionally - but told
the 400-or-so gathered that he
wasn't allowed to perform.
Students, many of whom saw
the event advertised on Facebook.
com and through e-mails, were
able to get over the initial disap-
pointment.
"I didn't know what to expect,"
said LSA sophomore Britney Rash-
leigh. "It's just good to see him, a
celebrity in Ann Arbor - an Afri-
can-American celebrity in Ann
Arbor - and for everyone to come
out."
At one point, a fan insisted on
freestyling for Fiasco. Fiasco let the
guy rap, though he joked, "You try-
ing to take my shine, son."
But he then used him as an exam-
ple. He said he wanted to listen to
the wannabe rapper, saying that
before current fame and fortune,
Fiasco was just like him.
The event was sponsored by
Atlantic Records's Urban College
Network and the Michigan Chapter
of Hip Hop Congress. The hip-hop

star promoted his upcoming album
The Cool.
Fiasco, whose real name isWasa-
lu Muhammad Jaco, took questions
from the audience for about half an
hour.
The questionswere often pointed
- not surprising for an outspoken
artist known for the political con-
tent of his lyrics.
A fan who proclaimed himself to
be "an openly gay man who loves
hip hop" asked the rapper where he
fell in the spectrum of hip-hop art-
ists who have expressed contrasting
views on homosexuality and the gay
community.
He pledged support for gays,
among other groups, because he
said he supports anyone who faces
"I make ... the
opportunity-to-
speak-to-y'all-in-
the-Diag hip-hop
music."
discrimination.
Another asked who Fiasco was
going to vote for in the 2008 presi-
dential election.
Fiasco said he doesn't believe in
voting, but he wants Hillary Clinton
to win.
"I'm tired of men, y'all," he said
to cheers, "I think that a woman in
charge of the most powerful nation
in the world is going to empower so
many women."
LSA senior Meagan Mirtenbaum,
co-president of a student group
promoting Arab-Jewish harmony,
Bridge the Gap, asked Fiasco to per-
form and speak at a planned event
next spring alongside Orthodox
Jewish rapper Matisyahu.

"I think that was actually pretty
ballsy to ask him to come perform
with Matisyahu," said Business
School junior Sasha Compere, a
member of Encore, a University stu-
dent dance group that performed at
the event.
Mirtenbaum said she only found
out on Sunday nightthat Fiasco was
going to be speaking on the Diagbut
the group has been planning a way
to hold a Matisyahu/Lupe Fiasco
concert since early summer as part
of a year ofcross-community activi-
ties.
Fiasco eventually directed
Mirtenbaum's invitation to his
assistants, but not without his own
questions first.
He joked about a price tag when
she first asked him the question,
then asked abouther nationality.
"I'm Jewish," Mirtenbaum said.
"How much money we talking?"
Fiasco replied.
There were afew seconds of awk-
ward laughter.
"Thanks for playing out the ste-
reotypes," Mirtenbaum said.
Mirtenbaum said she wasn't
offended by the jokes, but she said
if Fiasco did accept the invite condi-
tions of what would be "appropri-
ate" fodder for humor would have to
be clarified.
"I think he wqs making jokes the
entire time so I didn't take it offen-
sively," she said.
Jennifer Yin, a Business School
senior and a college representative
for Fiasco's record label, arranged
the event.
"He's real, he's not going to hide
anything in. He's not going to pre-
tend like he's not going to offend
anyone," she said.
"I think he handled the questions
very well. I think he's very respect-
ful. That's who he is - that's the
type of personbhe is."
- Daily News Editor Gabe
Nelson contributed to this report.

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