Monday, May 10, 2004  

2Pac & the Backyard Band, "Baby Love"
2Pac & the Backyard Band, "Baby Love Break"
from Live at the Sheraton Hotel, D.C., 8-19-93 bootleg

I'm not a D.C. native, but I have lived here for 10 years and one thing is certain: Go-go music is the undeniable heartbeat of Chocolate City. Drive around D.C. on a Friday and Saturday night, and it's go-go not hip-hop that rules the car stereos. (Even a pale boy like Moist was known to rock some buckets in his youth.)

While I never cared much for 2Pac--and his death brought back the Airbrush Artiste---he sounds perfect in a go-go setting, which is all gruff chanting and stolen sing-song choruses. (I wonder how Pac would have done on a dancehall riddim?) In this 1993 performance (at a Sheraton Hotel?), the Backyard Band pounds out the canyon-deep grooves and 2Pac gives shout-outs to, well, pretty much everyone in D.C. as well as to many of his hip-hop homies.

There's very little on the Web about the Backyard Band, but you can buy their music at this go-go music shop and you can see a Backyard Band live video here. There are some Backyard Band MP3s here, and here's an article on go-go in, er, well, the Georgetown Voice

The Backyard Band still plays D.C. all the friggin' time, including every Tuesday night at Insomnia.

Posted by CP | Link |

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