Kool Keith, the man with many monikers, blessed the Sunday crowd at Czar with a set only a man with numerous namesakes could pull off. It included everything from "Ease Back" and "Ego Tripping" from his days as part of the Ultramagnetic MCs to "Blue Flowers" (Dr. Octogon) as well as "Livin' Astro" under his Black Elvis persona. Dr. Dooom could not be reached for comment but his hype man (Bushman) assured me, after apologizing for spilling water on me, that they appreciated the energy in the building.
Young Deacon and DJ Sandman were at least partially responsible for that intensity. Deacon worked it out on the wheels as the sparse early crowd nodded in affirmation before giving way to Sandman around 10PM. BC, who has also opened for artists like Slaughterhouse and Tech N9ne and will be a part of The Tampa Bay Dream Team's second annual Homegrown Hip Show in June, used his frenetic flow to bring the crowd to the front. He delivered his own lyrics over familiar tracks like Notorious B.I.G.'s "Dead Wrong" before performing completely original songs off his Time Pieces album. He and DJ Lazy turned it back over Sandman who rocked the stage with Kool Keith and crew.
Video after the jump
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2010.