De La Soul brings the house down

Hip Hop Bash in Israel: Rafi Barbir enjoys De La Soul’s show; Or Barnea meets Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry

Rafi Barbiro |Published: 12.12.05 , 13:21

M did it again: Two years ago she got up on stage at a De La Soul show in Switzerland; last week she was pulled out of the crowd once again (along with 25 other girls) at the show’s climax – the favorite songs: “Baby Phat” and “Shopping Bags”. De La Soul know how to respect the women, unlike Lee “Scratch” Perry and the gibberish he spewed four years ago regarding “the beautiful sex” at his first concert in Israel. But before we get to the end of the show that left me up on cloud nine – let’s go back two hours in time.

It’s 11pm, outside the recently-renovated Hangar 11in Tel Aviv. I reminisce with Liron and Kwami on the De La Sol special aired last night by Army Radio. Subliminal tells me how the gang came by his club and ‘took’ care of the alcohol bar.

Anyone who is loco for hip hop was there. People who came at the last minute bought tickets off generous scalpers. Sweet memories of past hip hop shows in Israel were heard everywhere, but there was no doubt that the show that was about to kick-off was going to hit new highs. Who would have believed that one of the top hip hop groups in history was about play in Israel?

After a few warm-up numbers with Uri Shohat and D.J. Elaram, the number one D.J – Mice - got on stage, and played a hip hop set to get things going. I strategically situated myself next to the mike and I could see Dave and Pos dancing their groove behind stage, getting psyched. Ten minutes later, they were already giving the Israeli crowd a healthy dose of hip hop unlike any other – and I made my way to the first row.

De La, with more than 16 years experience, demonstrated tremendous stage presence, pumped with adrenaline, without any cuss words, politics or the “bling-bling” posers. They could have given a much-needed lesson to other bands that end up drowning their music with constant “yo! yo!” yelling. They were outstanding performers. It’s not that De La didn’t go through with the crowd favorite “which side has it going on” game, but it was done with tact and at the right level. The crowd didn’t let their hands drop even once. And just for the record, I was obviously on the ‘happening’ side of things.

Friend from another planet

Although the band played songs from all their albums, I still missed songs like “The Magic Numer”, “Jenifa Taught me” and other numbers off the previous album “Aoi:Bionix.”

Yet they made up for any of that when De La turned into walking robots on songs like “Rock Co. Kane Flow”. Bottom line – De La Soul gave 100 percent of pure hip hop, and did not leave even one unsatisfied customer.

Lee “Scratch” Perry that got on stage right after immediately lowered the energy level by half, but you really can’t blame him – at sixty-nine years of age, it’s amazing he’s still on his feet. The ‘Mad Professor’ already had a quarter of the crowd left… Those who didn’t see De La Soul with their own eyes, lost out on a piece of history. In any case, you can’t really wipe off my smile.

“I love you, I love you”, Lee “Scratch” Perry constantly reminded the crowd at the Hangar in a sweet and childlike voice. Four years ago, when Perry stood to the same stage, supported by an all-powerful band, Perry lit a gigantic joint, took a few puffs and passed it on to the crowd.

There was no repeat performance this time, but he didn’t seem to mind. The port of Tel Aviv may seem to Perry like a magical beach in Jamaica. He knew how to push all the right buttons and make sure everyone has a gentle and soothing evening. High up, above the band that keeps perfect beat throughout the night, Perry, half-singing half-preaching, has a good time mumbling things that most of the time were only intelligible to him.

Perry is the only living reggae and dub ‘big wig’. “I am the King of Israel because I am the King of Reggae, Rock, Pop, Jazz and anything that goes under the headline – music”, he humbly says.

Perry is the perfect antidote for anything mainstream. Actually, he is a little bit off the hook. During the interview with him, in any given moment, he stopped to polish an arsenal of jewelry that hung off his neck and even around his shoes. Chit-chatting with his wife, he videotapes himself washing his hands, and never leaves sight of his laptop.

“My mind is a computer, and I have to take my computer everywhere,” he explains. “In my brain there is a word that is spelled with all the letters in the English alphabet, from A to Z, I’ve got it all in there. For me, the computer represents both the beginning and the end. In the beginning there was a word, it grew flesh and blood and then it turned into a living soul.” Get it?

Prime ministers and crime ministers

While we might think Perry landed here by accident because his spaceship ran out of fuel, it seems in his mind all is clear. “It is important for me to tell the people of Israel that God doesn’t only reside in the synagogue, since the word itself is spelled - the ‘sin-of-god’, and the sin of god lives there and in the churches.

"The churches and the governments are the problem everywhere, because you are not free, you have to bow down before them. Keep your distance from the synagogues, keep your distance from the Pope, keep your distant from the archbishop and the prime ministers. They might call themselves prime ministers, but they are actually ‘crime ministers’ and they will fool and abuse you.” A true guru.

And what is his gospel to Israelis? Try to keep up – “I know that Israel will love reggae music, and I know that the Jews will love reggae in their hearts and souls. The Jews were right in choosing reggae music, because there is no other music to pick. God says: ‘I am the God of Israel, I am the king of Israel.’ And if God was not the king, he would not testify that he is the king, so God must love Israel, very much.”