DJ Premier, Questlove + More Rock A3C's The Best Block Party Ever [OKP TV Recap]
On a Sunday afternoon, beautiful Southern skies, cool weather, and a breeze made up the atmosphere in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward where the A3C x Okayplayer block party was set to take place. Around the corner, the birthplace and childhood home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was closed as a result of the government shutdown. After a weekend that included elevator rides with Jean Grae, lessons in facial hair grooming with Big K.R.I.T., pondering the possibility that Talib Kweli has a clone (how else is he able to be in three different places at the same damn time?), general shenanigans with 9th Wonder & Rapsody, and an extremely rare Madlib sighting, we were finally ready to close things out the OKP way: by throwing The Best Block Party Ever.
Many of the A3C x OKP block party DJs experienced their first such event in the '70s; so the music selection favored heavily towards soul/funk loops and breakbeats. Young Guru kicked things off, followed by mythical Diggin' in the Crates Crew member Diamond D, and De La Soul's DJ Maseo (Plug 3), who was hobbling on crutches, but still managed to rock the place.
DJ Scratch and A3C host D.R.E.S. The Beatnik had just finished rocking "Pass the Courvoisier" when John Boehner's stubbornness sufficiently angered the rain gods. The wind began to howl and the sky morphed from blue and white into a heavy, menacing grey. The evening's final two DJs were OKP founder ?uestlove and the mighty DJ Premier. Midway through Questo's set, the rain really started picking up-- to which he replied with Missy Elliott's "The Rain." Alas, even Timbaland beats and quick draw selection could not appease Mother Nature. A torrential downpour unleashed itself, Quest and the rest of us ran for cover and the block party was cut tragically short. Or so we thought!
We took shelter with Premier, Young Guru, 9th Wonder, Rapsody, and the Jamla crew in a nearby restaurant. Premo was able to close out the block party--and the festival--down below on the first floor, rocking Gang Starr classics, and even recreating a few hits live on the spot. The highlight of the night came when he brought out Greg Nice for an electric rendition of "DWYCK." We witnessed the crowd take it to 11.9 when Greg came in with his famous "Greg Niiiiice" intro.
Check out the recap below: