“You know it’s underground when the rappers have to untangle their own microphones,” said Afrobatik, as he and the rest of the Perceptionists, Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, prepared for their set at the Def Jux Presents III tour on Sunday night at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago. The cables were twisted into a knot after 4th Pyramid and SA Smash kicked off the night, but the Perceptionists managed to deal with the minor inconvenience and deliver an intense, politically charged performance that topped a bill also featuring indie-rap hero Murs and none other than Humpty Hump himself, Shock G, formerly of Digital Underground.
I had reservations about the show. For one, I was going by myself. Two people backed out on me a few days earlier, and I didn’t have time to find any backups. I was tempted to stay home too, but I knew I’d kick myself later for wasting the money and a chance to pay homage to the label that has produced the some of the best hip-hop in the industry over the last three years. Secondly, I’d had bad experiences at the last few rap shows I attended, all big name acts playing half-hearted sets in mega-concert venues. They left bad taste in my mouth, a feeling that hip-hop had strayed too far from its roots in the bling-bling era, and lost its focus on rocking the crowd. I didn’t know what to expect on a rainy Sunday night, at an obscure ballroom on the north side, from a crew whose music is notoriously impenetrable and dark. As it turned out, I wished I had some company to check out the smile on my face as the Jukies reminded me why I love hip-hop so much.

After a brief warm up by Toronto-based producer/rapper 4th Pyramid, SA Smash hit the stage. Camu Tao and Metro started the show in celebratory fashion. Their music is a mix of party rhymes and consciousness, bouncing from songs about nightlife and sex to ones about positive self-esteem and work ethic. This seems contradictory, but they justify their incongruities by doing what they love, and doing it well. As they say in “Illy”, you can’t fault them for going all out because “ain’t shit worse than a waste of talent / life moves on without it.”

I was excited to see the Perceptionists, because Mr. Lif has been one of my favorite MCs ever since I heard his EP, Emergency Rations. Lif is a throwback to the politically conscious days of rap, when you had to have a message like Public Enemy or KRS-One to make an impact. Now when all it takes is a bottle of champagne to get noticed, it’s refreshing to hear an MC address the issues in our post-9/11 society. Lif and Afrobatik threw down from the beginning, displaying an amazing chemistry and an uncanny ability to energize the crowd. Afrobatik showed off his freestyle skills, name-dropping Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, and referring to the Celtics playoff defeat earlier in the afternoon. But to hear rappers articulate a case against the lies of the Bush administration was what really gave me hope that today’s youth can be motivated to make a difference this fall. “Where are the weapons of mass destruction / we been lookin for months and we ain’t found nothin’ / please Mr. President tell us somethin’ / we knew from the beginnin’ that your ass was bluffin’.” It’s not what John Kerry would have said, but it’s a message that can reach the 10 million eligible young voters who didn’t turn out in 2000.

Murs closed out the night with a quirky and fun performance. He was joined by fellow Living Legends crew member Scarab, with Shock G on the keyboards. Murs, wearing Hong Kong Fooey pajama pants and a Cubs beanie, bounded around the stage like a jackrabbit, ripping off lyrics at a clip that would give Chicago native Twista a run for his money. He and Scarab scored points with fan favorites like “Varsity Blues” and “Murs Rules the World”. Shock G provided nostalgia for the night, donning the black-rimmed Humpty glasses for a few rhymes and playing 2Pac’s “I Get Around” on the keys. The three constantly joked with the crowd between songs, the funniest line coming from Murs, who summarized G-Unit’s newest video by saying, “I’m not really scared of the guns, I’m scared of the dumb motherfuckers with the guns.” The crowd roared its approval, and I finally got the feeling that true hip-hop had survived the iced-out nuclear winter.

Hip-hop always has been, and always should be, an art form that involves the crowd. It’s about the energy between the MC, the DJ, and the fans. It’s hard to realize that when you hear nothing but blatant materialism and excess on the radio. But standing next to the stage Sunday night, feeling the bass in my chest, and slapping hands with Mr. Lif and Murs as they conducted their symphony, I knew why I never gave up on the music.

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