After getting a moment to exchange pleasantries with Kool Keith before he hit the stage Rapper Big Pooh (who also attended A3C) and DJ Flash emerged from their trailer. Tonight would be the night when DX’s newest addition, adult film star Sinnamon, would take LB to task for an interview unlike any other.

In the meanwhile, Phonte and Pooh wore their “sunglasses” disguise as they posted up at the DX booth – obviously making an attempt to look “incognegro” – as they greeted all the busy bees at the booth. As expected, Kool Keith’s performance was in and of itself an anomaly. With the majority of the relatively young fans in a weird state of casual indifference, the cult-status hero remained undisturbed on-stage and performed with equal parts pride and humor. The Bronx-bred rhymesayer, along with his energetic hype-man and masked deejay, began the set with a quirky medley of hooks from the various personas he has embodied throughout his bugged-out career. He then proceeded to do a full song from each of them, including “Girl Let Me Touch You” (from the infamous Dr. Octagonecologyst album) and the boom-bap classic from the Ultramagnetic MC's, “Poppa Large.” With the maturity and wisdom of someone who has seen Hip Hop since the beginning, the veteran rapper quickly ended his short stage performance with a freestyle about today’s wack emcees but he was still able to do in a weird, strange and playful manner only he could pull off.

It was a special treat to see the Boot Camp Clik perform together at a west coast Hip Hop festival such as Paid Dues. The legendary crew from Brooklyn felt at home in San Bernardino and this was evidenced by their energetic performances. Smif-N-Wessun (aka Cocoa Brovaz) rocked the stage first, giving the audience of young and old rap fans a taste of the Brooklyn swagger with hits such as “Bucktown” and “Sound Boy Bureill.” Heltah Skeltah (featuring the indie rap favorite, Sean Price) blasted a few of their songs as a group and as individual artists. Their short but sweet set ended with Buckshot, the famed leader of the clique, giving his all by going through classics put out by Black Moon, including “How Many MC’s” and “Who Got the Props.” Even in 2007, heads ain’t ready for what the Boot Camp has to offer and what they offer the most is pure Hip Hop – raw and uncut.

After BCC, the show came back home to the west for three sets. First off was the live show pros, The Visionaries. If you haven’t seen a Visionaries performance this is definitely an act to check for if you want real Hip Hop live on stage. As the night wore on the crowd at Paid Dues reached capacity, and the inside of the venue was nearly shoulder to shoulder.

Hieroglyphics were definitely the crew that many of the Paid Dues attendees wanted to see perform and it was not hard to find their famed logo on just about every other t-shirt worn that day. No strangers to rocking the underground Hip Hop circuit, the Bay Area stalwarts kept the crowd in a frenzy through a bevy of hits, even without the skillful presence of A+ (from the Souls of Mischief) and their spiritual leader, Del The Funkee Homosapien. Thankfully, Opio stepped up and was the star that night, keeping the crowd positively focused with his admonishment for keeping the peace. Although he was more than proud to show the audience his allegiance to his No-Cal roots (with the bright yellow Oakland A’s logo emblazoned on his chest), it was obvious that love and unity were the overall themes that night.

Next up was the Living Legends. You know Murs wouldn’t do a Hip Hop festival without inviting his boys to perform. Unlike rappers who get on simply because their boy hooks them up, the Living Legends proved they belonged on the stage.

Paid Dues would then take a west coast break with Jedi Mind Tricks, as a lot of people were happy to see the performance. After Jedi Mind Tricks left, it was Dilated’s turn to take over the stage. They rocked classics like “Live on Stage” and newer tracks like “Kindness for Weakness.” As always, Ev and Rakaa gave Babu his chance to shine on the turntables. After Babs got his turn in the spotlight, it was Ev’s turn. He performed “Chase the Clouds Away” and of course “Mr. Slow Flow.” Dilated couldn’t leave without performing “Worst Comes to Worst.”

As the rest of the crowd stepped up to get closer for Little Brother, Supernatural took the stage. Supernatural freestyled, then he freestyled, then he freestyled some more. No preplanned rhymes. How do we know? Because the whole time he was on stage he constantly leaned over into the crowd to take items from fans to use in his rhymes (it has become his trademark). He took one cat’s class ring, and then said it was so small it looked like it should be on a female. He took another cat’s camera and started recording himself as he spit. Like many who took the stage before him, Supernatural killed it. Continued on page 3 »