Last night I attended the "Hip Hop Live" show at the Mezzanine here in San Francisco, and it was nothing short of absolutely amazing. As some of my coworkers know, I'm a huge hip-hop fan, but primarily dirty-south rap, so going to a show by three East Coast rappers was different. The show started with Brother Ali, who I've maintained for the month leading up to the show is "one of the most insightful rappers you'll see." Following Brother Ali, the venerable Ghostface Killah and his crew took the stage, dedicating a song to ODB (Old Dirty Bastard) as well as paying homage to some of the other Wu-Tang Clan members. The final act of the show was Rakim, another powerhouse act, who did some songs off his new record but also some "oldies" from the early nineties like "Don't Sweat The Technique."

In general, you missed a hell of a show. I wish I could describe it a bit better but between raising my fist in the air or making the Wu-Tang symbol with both hands, I lost track of it all and let myself become overpowered by the music.

At the very least, I recommend checking out Brother Ali, I think you'll be hearing a lot more from him over the next couple years. This is one of his more controversial songs, "Uncle Sam Goddamn." Enjoy.