FFFF Live Review: De La Soul

Photo by John Anderson

De La Soul

"We've been doing this for 25 years," barked De La Soul's Maseo from behind the decks. "So that gives us the right to do whatever the fuck we want to do." On this night, it turns out that was bitch about the sound ("The reason hip-hop shows don't go right is because the engineers don't care – and these engineers suck"), photographers ("Show some respect for the first two songs. Put your fuckin' camera down and your damn hand up!"), and the VIP crowd behind the stage ("I don't give a fuck about all these motherfuckers behind me that think they VIP)." The last gripe was an applause line, but the show sorely needed more rapping and less airing of grievances. Shame, too, because when the Strong Island trio did rock, it was with more energy and interplay than most MCs half their age. Plug 1 and 2 took full advantage of the real estate provided by two adjoining stages on "Ego Trippin' (Part 2)" and dropped a trio of thumping title tracks in "Stakes Is High," "The Grind Date," and "Bionix." Introducing "Potholes in My Lawn," the only song from seminal debut 3 Feet High and Rising, Dave summed up the night's theme: "We've been doing this a long fuckin' time, so nothing matters." If you say so.