Live
LIVE: LPR and Giant Step present: "Mecca and The Soul Brother" turns 20 with Pete Rock (DJ set)
Photos by: Probe rok/Media Scheme
A deejay once told me that he owes everything he knows to Pete Rock. Quite frankly, I don't blame him. I remember the first time I got a chance to see the legend rock a crowd of over 10,000 fans. It was Rock the Bells last year on Governor's Island during the Nas set. Needless to say, the little NYC transplant in the form of myself was as happy as could be. I was in the crowd losing my mind. Here it was, right in front of me, a legend. I was lost in his transitions and his showcase of music he's produced over the years. This same feeling I had almost a year a go was relived over the weekend. Leave it to Le Poisson Rouge and Giant Step to take me back to the awesome feeling.
The only "parties" at LPR I've ever attended were The Freedom Parties. You know ahead of time that you will be dancing your stress away and weight is going to be lost. It is almost a sweat box, but for good reason. Packed venue with eager participants ready to hear some great music and let loose. So when DJ Mecca, from 2DopeBoyz, and Pete Rock decided that it was party time, I'm glad that I was in the place. Mecca opened up the DJ set with everything from new hip hop to the old school. Pete Rock came on stage and flipped the whole script. I like to think he was teaching a lesson for the young folks who were in attendance and didn't know where their favorite songs' samples came from. Opening his set with soul favorites such as Frankie Beverly and Maze, Luther Vandross, and the likes, the energy level of the already hyped party was elevated. The smooth transition into the hip-hop classics, featuring a tribute to his cousin Heavy D, proved why Rock is as amazing as everyone thinks he is. Drinks flowed, dancers and non dancers moved their bodies to the beat, the floors were wet from extreme sweat, and a happy Pete Rock on stage moving the crowd like he knows how. Yea...this was probably the best party I've ever been to.
Ain't no party like a Pete Rock party.