Arts & Entertainment

True 'Legends' of the hip hop underground 

By Gigi Khadivian
The Daily Cougar

Last Saturday night the Rhythm Room was visited by the legendary underground hip-hop crew Living Legends, as well as other well-known artists. The 40-city Creative Differences Tour, on its fifth show, was comprised of Eyedea & Abilities, 2Mex, Busdriver and Xololanxinxo and, of course, Living Legends. 

Brought to you by Reprogram and hosted by L.A. and BBC, Saturday nightis show cost $15, which may have kept some fans at home. 

Nonetheless, the show was off the chain, with 2Mex, Xololanxinxo and Busdriver getting the night going with a combo show. 

2Mexis intricate, thought-provoking and political brand of hip-hop (as the title of one of his albumis B-Boys in Occupied Mexico suggests) combined with Busdriveris style of fast, hard and witty emceeing wrecked shop. 

After they laid it down, another of the highly anticipated Eyedea & Abilities took the stage. Many people were looking forward to seeing the MC/DJ duo because of an alleged freestyle battle between Eminem and Eyedea, where Eyedea put it down and won the competition. 

A common event at a hip-hop show is when the MC asks the crowd to give him some words and heill incorporate those words into his or her freestyle. Eyedea mixed it up by taking two concepts, celibacy and war, and creating an intense flow that was articulate, well versed and funny. 

At about 1:15 a.m. the Living Legends finally took the stage to bring the house down. The Living Legends, a collective group of emcees and deejays, is based in Los Angeles, but its members also come from Oakland, San Francisco, Japan and Europe. The group consists of Luckyiam.psc, Grouch, Sunspot Jonz, Eligh, Murs, Scarub, Asop, Bizarro and Arata, All were slated to play Saturday night, but at least two didnit make the show. 

The crew, who has managed to stay away from major record labels even in the midst of world tours, has kept their street hustle mentality, which has probably helped keep their credibility with hip-hop fans. 

Judging by the show on Saturday, the Living Legends have lived up to their name.

The Living Legends

The Rhythm Room

The verdict: If you missed the show, check them out next time to see true living legends perform.
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