OKAYPLAYER HOLIDAY PARTY (RECAP)

Give me a late pass on this (no pun intended) but a few weeks ago I played at the first annual Okayplayer Holiday Party. Since I was late coming back from Miami, Questlove set it off on the one & two's which allowed me to chill (when I arrived) and enjoy a glass (or two) of some VSOP (Primo what up?). After hearing the original version of Dilla's "Won't Do" with Frank N Dank, I knew that the night was gonna be full of treats...

First up was Black Thought, who performed some new music off of the upcoming Roots album (due this spring)... Amanda Diva got into the mix and did a track and then I was totally caught off guard. The band (details in the next paragraph) broke into ill covers of both Bob Dylan's "Masters Of War" and Prince's "Funky Woman". While all of this was happening, I was in the dj booth trying to put together a set. When I looked toward the center of the stage to see who was singing, nobody was there. So I looked around trying to figure out who's on the mic and the last person I see is ?uest, who's singing while playing the drums. Next level...

Up next was Bilal who performed alongside his band The Witness Protection Program (Robert Glasper & James Poyser) and The Go Get A Late Pass Trio (which is Quest, Cap'n Kirk and Tuba Gooding Jr). Owen Biddle (Bass player from The Roots) was also in the mix. Together they ran thru covers of Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You", Radiohead's "Everything In It's Right Place" and Bilal's "Sometimes."


Bilal with The Witness Protection Program & The Go Get A Late Pass Trio (Live At The Box - 12/22/07)

Overall it was a great show but what was also amusing was bumping into Bilal a few hours later on the corner on 1st Avenue and 1st Street, where he got into a fight and beat some dude's ass... Only in The Rotten Apple!

Bonus Cut: The Roots - Please Don't Go (Demo)
Produced By The Late Great James Yancey