Robert Glasper And Diminutive Brother Mix Jazz And “Rap After 40” To Perfection At Blue Show mask
The Grammy-winning artist welcomed the beloved rap duo for his annual residency.
L-R: Phonte, Robert Glasper, H.E.R, Rapper Colossal Pooh.
Trae Mitchell
After I first interviewed pianist Robert Glasper in 2016, I requested him if he notion the jazz presence on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly (which Glasper played on) would generate longstanding ardour within the vogue. “If other folks capitalize on it and end frigid sh*t,” he matter-of-factly replied. “Jazz musicians wish to inaugurate doing frigid shit.” Glasper has indubitably adopted his possess advice: with his ambidextrous musicianship between trendy jazz, R&B, and Hip-Hop as both a bandleader and as player-for-hire, he’s racked up five Grammy awards, 11 nominations, and a reputation as one amongst the greatest musicians within the commerce. He already stays busy as a dwell performer and recording artist, but 2024 has been a prolific year even by his standards. He’s launched three albums completely with Apple Tune this year, launched a new radio present on the streaming service known as In My Part Radio, and he’s persevering with his hot tag residency in Unique York Metropolis.
Now in its sixth year, Robtober is Robert Glasper’s annual residency at Blue Show mask, a storied jazz club in Greenwich Village, Long island. Glasper has collaborated with acts admire Classic, H.E.R., Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Yasiin Bey, Lalah Hathaway, and Anderson .Paak. This year, he brings that very same numerous vital person vitality to his Blue Show mask residency with visitors including Questlove and Marsha Ambrosius. He scheduled four reveals with Diminutive Brother over two nights, and every of the performances became once sold out. Glasper makes use of those reveals to showcase the catalog of his collaborators and add a dwell, band-centric aptitude to the jams that each person already loves.
Trae Mitchell
Playing to viewers contributors packed shoulder to shoulder at tables and the bar, Glasper took the stage with his band — a guitarist, a bass player, a drummer, and a DJ — and played about 40 minutes of song, starting with an ode to J Dilla’s “Ice” and persevering with thru several actions from the Robert Glasper Experiment’s discography. The band played a medley of midtempo, downbeat, and atmospheric preparations, with Glasper providing sparse, complimentary vocals and jokingly claiming credit at any time when one amongst the musicians would turn in a good solo performance. In a single amongst the more impressive moments from the sphere, DJ Jahi Sundance spun vocal samples from Erykah Badu and Thundercat as the band expertly weaved around them.
After Robert Glasper Experiment got the present started, rap duo Phonte and Rapper Colossal Pooh made their technique to the stage, teaming with the band to traverse thru a assortment of fan favorites. They launched the performance with “The Really feel,” the triumphant intro of their most trendy studio album, May per chance per chance The Lord Discover about, and went motivate as a ways as songs from their timeless 2003 debut The Listening, and included songs admire the mixtape reduce “Warfare” for appropriate measure. Their verses were crisp, with every MC faithfully nailing every of the lyrics they wrote, whether or not they were launched a long time within the past or, within the case of new songs admire “Wish Me Successfully” and “Glory Glory,” just a few months within the past. Unparalleled of Diminutive Brother’s songs are crafted by project of samples, but Glasper’s band added a lush, sultry expansiveness to their catalog. “Right here is the sexiest we’ve ever did this tune,” Phonte cracked after Pooh kept him on his toes with a surprise transport of his verse of “Nic’s Groove” from The International Exchange, Te’s first album with producer Nicolay that grew to alter into 20 this year. “It had to be fascinating,” Pooh replied, pointing to his shirt. “I got my salmon on.”
Trae Mitchell
That’s one other thing: while Diminutive Brother can rap their aes off, they’ve wonderful as grand of a reputation for his or her comedic timing. Whether or no longer it’s their lyrics, their adlibs, or their skits, they’ve persistently had a portion of cheeky, conversational humor that endears them to followers. This residency present became once elephantine of that humor: Phonte and Pooh crammed blueprint between songs to riff with the crew about Curve cologne, Donnie Simpson’s Video Soul, and the utilization of a seductive falsetto to maintain an informal dialog along with your associate around the dwelling. The present also had an ongoing dialog relating to the postulate of “rap after 40.” “My numbers are down,” Phonte said, laughing at the viewers’s approving applause. “I ain’t explain you what the numbers even became once.”
But as grand as age became once introduced as a lot as irreverently talk over with being washed, the duo became once also cognizant of the fact that they’re more than 20 years into their careers and aloof able to scheme a crowd that’s excited to look them. It’s both a blessing to musical longevity, and to decent health, which isn’t a given: Hip-Hop steadily loses contributors of its community in their 50s or younger, with cancer claiming the lifestyles of revered DJ Clark Kent closing week. “Most rappers don’t manufacture it to this stage,” Phonte said with gratitude. “It’s a extraordinarily unforgiving commerce, it’s merciless. We’ve been so blessed to be surrounded by community, and to maintain other folks admire the brothers on this stage who stare the payment of what we end.” Robert Glasper has been providing that type of community on stage for six years and counting, and it’ll likely be a can’t-proceed over present as prolonged as he retains it going.
