When you ask most people if they know Talib Kweli they usually respond with a "I've heard of him before, but never listened". Talib's been rocking the mic since 95' and is still going strong today. I had the chance to catch him on his "Midsummer Night's Dream" tour and here's what happened.
The doors open at 7am for The Altar Bar with DJ Selecta starting beats as people walked in. The show started at about 8 with Chris Allen; a local rapper from Pittsburgh. The performance was subpar and the crowd barely reacted, seeing as most of the crowd hadn't of showed yet. This started a trend: as the next rapper hit the stage, Palemero Stone hit the stage. Finally, a group known as The Space Invaderz hit the stage and got the 350+ crowd moving.
Just as Talib was getting ready to hit the stage, DJ Selecta hit the crowd with a song that everyone loves: Kendrick Lamar - "Alright". The whole crowd joined in at the refrain of what I look as the highlight of the night. Just as the song ended, Talib jumped on stage while the crowd was still hype.
Talib busted through what seemed to be a 20 song set followed by a 5 song encore. The show seemed to drag on for longer than it had to, reaching an hour and a half. The crowd was into the first 30 minutes, but after that, they simmered down. I'm not discrediting Talib's talent, but I feel like he might need to either step it up or step out. I'm giving this show a 7 out of 10 stars. Talib showed everyone a good time and he still has his flow after 20 years, but he needs to adapt to the new hip-hop game. If you've never listened to Talib before I included my favorite song below.