Lasers, Superstars, and Ensembles with Lupe Fiasco

This past Memorial Day weekend UCLA's JazzReggae Festival celebrated its 25^th year of showcasing local and international recording artist at this year's Jam Day and Reggae Day themed concert. Jam Day kicked off the first day of the two-day festival, which incorporated music, food, specialized merchandise, and live art to an annual crowd of 20,000.

Although the artists derived from different parts of the country and have their own unique style, the one similarity was that they all had a soulful sound. Lee Fields & The Expressions, who is reminiscent of James Brown, performed their hit "Ladies", while the temperature was still sunny and breezy. As the day progressed, the sun got more intense, which gave the crowd more incentive to sunbathe on their blankets and spoil themselves as the music played, versus jumping to their feet. Another U.S. group that performed were The Stepkids, who hail from Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Stepkids donned a black and white Dalmatian-like ensemble that gave the impression that they were going to rock it out, but no, they were soulful as well; and the crowd did not mind as their sound gave the perfect backdrop to the relaxing atmosphere.

With Soul as the connecting theme throughout the opening acts, the festival also gave respect with a musical tribute to legend artist/poet Gil Scott-Heron, who was also on the hearts of many of the performers. After intermission the musical lessons continued with Little Dragon, a Swedish based band that consist of old high school friends, with Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano on lead vocals and percussion. If someone in the crowd thought a Swedish band was not going to be soulful they were wrong. In fact, Little Dragon got one of the largest crowd reactions with their neo-soul influence sound and pulsating bass beats. Little Dragon, who is releasing their third album, Ritual Union in July, also treated the crowd to a brand new song "Little Man".

Another audience treat was The Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble, the classical looking 12 piece orchestra played soul and hip hop music featuring rappers Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, and singers Bilal, and Meshell Ndegeocello, all accompanied by drummer extraordinaire, Karriem Riggins. The Ensemble played crowd favorites, Talib Kweli's, "Get By", Pharoahe Monch's, "Still Standing", Meshell Ndegeocello's tribute of "Home is Where the Hatred Is", topped off with a finale of "My People Hold On" by Bilal.

As the night grew there was no room for the spread out blankets, as the crowd cramped to get their perfect position, even singer Bilal joined the grassy area to watch the closing act, Lupe Fiasco. With three albums, and a one-hour set, the crowd made themselves anxious by debating which songs Lupe was going to perform. When Lupe finally made it on stage, unlike the earlier acts, he decided to take the rock star approach, wearing a denim jean jacket, and Army fatigue pants, he gave the mic stand a swift kick and flung bottled water onto the Los Angeles crowd, as he opened with "State Run Radio" and "Go Gadget Flow". After satisfying his old and new fans with those tracks, he transitioned into his current radio hit "Out of My Head" off his Lasers album, which prompted the fans to put their laser symbols in the air.

During his set, Lupe reflected on how years earlier he performed at the same festival but to a smaller crowd, and now he is the headliner, he noted how life comes full circle, which prompted his next songs, "Kick Push" and "Hip Hop Saved My Life". Another ironic moment was during his performance of "Words I Should Have Said", when the yellow shirt security guard, (who looks nothing like a Lupe supporter), started to bob his head in unison with the crowd of fans.

As the show continued, there was a sense that the crowd was not going to be ready to leave by the advertised ending of 7 p.m., Lupe had a few more hits to perform, which included "Beautiful Lasers" and "Superstar". Lupe who used his stage time as half performer and half-motivational speaker, also reminded the crowd that they are also superstars in their own right, and later returned to the stage for an encore performance that included, "The Show Goes On", a six-minute freestyle, and "Daydream'in".

Typically, there not many lessons to be learned at a concert, but at this event the crowd learned you can't judge a book by its cover or a person by their wardrobe. Soul is universal.


Lesson Learned.