Hey hey! So I don't know why I picked all bands that play on Friday from noon till the evening. Maybe it's because if you PARTY HARD ENOUGH at each of these sets you'll be too exhausted to care about anything else at Cost-a-palooza (see what I did there?). Um. Enjoy!
BBU - Friday from 12:30 PM - 1:15 PM
Everyone's favorite militant party rap group is making their second appearance at Lolla. Last year, I had the immense pleasure of seeing Hollywood Holt bring out BBU to do their timeless anthem "Chi Don't Dance" during his incredibly athletic set at Perry's stage. My entire group of friends, despite being super entertained by Holt were way more enthralled by whatever that "WEST SIDERS GON PERCOLATE" song was. And that affection hasn't faded at all. "Chi Don't Dance" is still BBU's best song, but it's such a great song it doesn't matter. And it's not like they skimped on the rest of their Fear of a Clear Channel Planet mixtape either. Because they didn't: if you put it on at a party all the way through, it'd be illing. And if you put on your headphones, you'd find the lyrics endearing, lacerating, and exciting. But damn it, if you've never been in a crowd of people screaming "ALL WE DO IS JUKE, ALL WE DO IS JUKE" before, you need to revise your bucket list.
BBU - Chi Don't Dance (Arlo - Trailblazerz MPC)
J. Cole - Friday from 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM
For people who consider lyricism dead in mainstream hip-hop, Jermaine Cole is widely seen as the great white hope. Along with other up-and-comers like Big K.R.I.T. and Freddie Gibbs, J. Cole is here to prove that you can still be successful without a gimmick-y chorus. Not that his hook game is lacking: a quick listen to mixtape favorite "Lights Please" shows that Cole can definitely craft a memorable song rather just being good at putting dope bars together. No wonder that Jay-Z trusted his potential enough to make the young kid the inaugural signee to his Roc Nation label. And with that, Cole's been building near-unanimous praise and hype over the past year or so; his set should be brimming with ridiculous energy from both the performer and crowd.
Fuck Buttons - Friday from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Fuck Buttons were initially lumped in with the tribal/noise scene that exploded in the wake of albums like Animal Collective's Feels and Liars' Drum's Not Dead. But last year's Tarot Sport felt pretty far removed from the (still relatively moderate) abrasion of their debut. It definitely sounded like a work from the same band, but if that band had taken a pilgrimage to the top of a mountain and came back with nothing but white robes and looping pedals. It's all one continuous, throbbing piece that if taken as a whole feels pretty incredible and awe-inspiring. I've never seen them live, so I don't know exactly how the recorded experience translates to the real world but I'm borderline frothing at the possibility given the high chance of it being the kind of all-compassing thrillfest that is so rare and precious in concert experiences.
Seriously cannot wait for more articles from you here. I haven't been in the hip-hop scene here much, compared to up in Mke and TC.
Posted by: John Brunner | 08/04/2010 at 12:32 PM