There are certain hip-hop artists that exude the culture and while it is rare to catch a glimpse of them, when the opportunity presents itself it absolutely must be taken. The man of opportunity happens to be Lonnie Lynn, better known as Common. As the packed house fought off exhaustion via the 1am start time, the wily veteran took the stage at the House of Blues and delivered Hip-Hop 101: The Basement Experience, a class that fans will never forget.
With a stage that resembled the basement from “That 70’s Show” complete with couch and mirror (and the requisite DJ, percussionist and man on the keys to make a basement party), Common thrust into an incredibly engaging 120min performance. As his gangly frame bounced from both ends of the stage with songs such as “Go”, “Faithful” and an extremely animated “Testify”, the fans energy reached heights that a late start time couldn’t impede.
As an artist who embodies all of the elements of hip-hop culture, Common showed the fans what a b-boy is all about by taking a page out of the now legendary film “Wildstyle” and breakdancing as the crowd urged him on. Showing no signs of slowing down, Common slowed things down and spotted a special lady in the crowd. After bringing this exuberant woman onstage, Common treated her to a slow dance and wine as he catered to the many women in the crowd with “Come Close.”
Just as soon as all the hardcore fans thought Common had gone “soft”, the emcee blasted into a vicious freestyle that floored fans with his wit and astounding knowledge of the Las Vegas scene. Shortly afterwards, he delivered his classic “I Used To Love H.E.R.” and gave the old school heads a taste of the golden era by injecting verses from Geto Boys “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” and Pharcyde’s “Passin Me By” into his hip-hop ode “Love of My Life.”
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Implementing the DJ-ing element with his tour DJ, DJ Dummy, treated the crowed with true turntabilism that brought an already energetic crowd into a voracious frenzy. Common came back to close out his show with “The Light” followed by an appropriately mellow rendition of “It’s Your World.”
After thanking the crowd with a certain grace and love that only the artist formally known as Sense can carry, an enthused crowd applauded the man for a show that will definitely redefine many people’s perspective on hip-hop. And a show like that is far from common.
