A rapper named Diggy may be the man-child of the hip hop hour these days, but a rapper named Doug E. is still very much Fresh.
Those in attendance at The Crazy Donkey nightclub witnessed this first hand, as old school rap icons Big Daddy Kane and Doug E. Fresh headlined a Legends of Hip Hop concert March 25th, in Farmingdale, NY.
Several Long Island-based artists and groups opened up for the hip hop heavyweights, including Fuse 100, Lethill Weapon, Snottay Nose and Potty Mouth and R-Kitech. Big Daddy Kane came out after midnight to perform his hits “Smooth Operator”, “Ain’t No Half Stepping”, “Raw” and “Warm It Up Kane”. By this time, the crowd was well primed for the old school onslaught that Mr. Fresh was more than able to provide.
Doug E. Fresh titled one of his albums, The World’s Greatest Entertainer, and while it’s impossible to know how close to truth this may be, Doug E. Fresh and his Get Fresh Crew certainly know how to put on a show. Playfully calling and responding with the Long Island audience all night to a cavalcade of snippits from Soul, R&B, and event TV shows, Doug E.’s show is both nostalgic to the old, and class-is-in-session for the young.
His renditions of classics “The Show” and “La Di Da Di”, hip hop staples originally recorded with partner in rhyme Slick Rick, we no less entertaining than if they were performing them together. A full five-minute long beatboxing exposition was the icing on an already impressively breathtaking flurry of verbal activity cake.
In all, the Strong Island audience was loud, and proud, to be in the presence of hip hop royalty this night. After all, when it come to veterans like Kane and Doug E., when they rock up on the mic, they rock the mic right.
Headlining a Legends of Hip Hop Concert on Long Island, Doug E. Fresh took the crowd through a musical journey, with the highlight of his performance a ripping through “The Show” and a beatboxing demonstration that left the crowd breathless just by watching.