It was definitely a busy weekend for the bad guys. While half of the HipHopDX team were down in ATL for A3C, the other members of the DX family were here in the land where it never rains, Southern California, for Paid Dues. The sun was definitely out doing its job in San Bernardino California, thank god the main stage for Paid Dues was indoors.

Prior to the 12-hour plus day of work, HipHopDX erected a huge booth to promote its presence by giving away CDs, selling t-shirts and connecting with its readers. Other vendors also scurried about as final preparations would be made for an event that would find itself immersed in thousands of adoring Hip Hop fans burning to catch a glimpse of their favorite emcee.

Murs posted up as booths were being built outside. As many know by now, Murs is an integral part of the organization of Paid Dues, as well as the host. Unfortunately, pleasantries would be exchanged but the Living Legends member would find no time to sit down and give an interview.

The line began to grow outside and when the doors finally opened at 1pm, fans plowed through the gates and into the venue. Murs' protégé, Isiah, immediately took to the stage to warm the hundreds that filed into the building. Outside, fans scurried about looking for trinkets and t-shirts to purchase, while others raced off to the VIP area to indulge in alcoholic beverages.

Headliner Sage Francis made a surprise appearance during B Dolan’s set and encouraged the crowd to vibe with his newest find. Yak Ballz made his presence felt as he delivered treats from his recent outing Scifentology II [click here to read review...].

Back outside, the HipHopDX booth featured giveaways of the second round of Independent As F*ck mixtapes [click here to listen...]. Twenty-five hundred CDs were given out well before the day’s end. For those that missed out, there were still two style of t-shirts being sold: The popular “Hip Hop is Not Dead” & “Independent As F*ck.” While other booths hustled their designs for $20, DX pushed these beauties for the cost of $5 (that’s cheaper than the $7 pizza).

Some of DX’s faithful readers dropped by to give their two cents about their “favorite” website. One gentleman in particular professed his disdain for DX’s reviews (“they suck”) while giving a drunken thumbs up to the audio and Beauty & Brains sections [click here...] (go figure).

The back stage atmosphere resembled a family reunion of sorts as journalists, rappers and fans co-mingled with mutual respect. DJ Evil Dee of Da Beatminerz caught up with Fatlip (of Pharcyde fame) to give the now solo emcee props on his last solo release. In an era in which emcees and producers are quick to tear each other down, the moment was enough to elicit a smile from the hardest cat in the room.

Elsewhere, the entire Boot Camp Clik cooled out with bottles of Hennessey and snacks as they prepared for their stage show. Found nestled on the couch was Rock, who had just dealt with legal trouble [click here to read...] but back on the scene. “They only gave us 40 minutes,” said Dru Ha to DX, as Buckshot, Sean Price, Rock, Tek, Steele and Evil Dee strolled about. “But we’ll make it work.”

Back at the main stage, Busdriver was more than eager to show his eclecticism and progressive approach towards Hip Hop music. Armed with a beat machine and a trusty sideman playing live drums on the MPC player, the LA-based rapper kept the crowd pleasantly amused with rapid-fire poetics and otherworldly beats. Those in the audience who were schooled in west coast gangsta rap or east coast thug might not have found his “art schools-meets-street” performance at all endearing but it was quite obvious that the indie music heads were feeling his non-standard approach to rocking the mic.

Next up, P.O.S. leveled the crowd with lyrical dexterity and blessed those with numerous gems off of his previous endeavors. After hearing him perform songs like “Half-cocked Concepts” it becomes necessity to get your hands on his last album Audition [click here to read review...]. You can’t beat a performance from an artist whose shirt has a picture of Paris Hilton ready to take a shot in the mouth. Continued on page 2 »