From Tipper Gore to Bill O�Reilly, hip-hop has had adversaries much nastier than filthy weather. So despite the deluge during yesterday�s Peace 2008 Hip-Hop Festival, artists, fans and organizers soldiered on at City Hall Plaza.
Hard-core hip-hop heads couldn�t stay place; the come-on of headliners superceded Doppler radar warnings. It�s not every Saturday that legendary Long Island duo EPMD and sewer rap originators Das Efx rock resign shows - that alone inspired more than than a few c fans to brave the downpour.
�I come to the hip-hop festival when there�s someone great, like when Rakim was here,� said a fan wHO identified himself as Ross from Dorchester. �This year I�m emphatically here for EPMD. I�ve got to see them. I don�t care well-nigh any rain.�
Regardless of how anxious atavist hip-hoppers were to find out classic tracks, weather was an extreme factor. After holding out all good afternoon, a buddy-buddy haze filled the sky at the concert�s start time of 4 p.m.
The opening DJs broke extinct old-school classics, but the huddled, umbrella-wielding masses were understandably slow to warm up. However, their patience was rewarded.
It was a bummer to see the break dance mat covered by a tarp, just that didn�t stop some cats from busting moves on the bricks. Show host Reese Hopkins did his part to catch the crowd psyched post-downpour.
Following an intro track by Roxbury�s DL, hip-hop and r & b hybrid JV da Rapsinga held his set down with the poise of R. Kelly. Sure, he was under a tent onstage, but there�s no incertitude the Hyde Park talent would hold brought his swagger even soaking wet.
The show was postponed at 4:45 p.m., but a half-hour later, Boston�s hip-hop savior T-Mizzle, also known as Mayor Tom Menino, announced that the show would continue.
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