Erykah Badu and Mos Def bring the Ecstatic Tour to Oakland

September 4, 2009, at the Paramount Theatre

By Niema Jordan
Published: September 7th, 2009 | 11:00pm

A red cup full of Jack Daniels, a soulful songstress who enters the stage to Lil Wayne, and an emcee from Brooklyn who dances while rhyming are just a few indications of how eccentric the Ecstatic Tour is, with a triple bill featuring Jay Electronica, Erykah Badu, and Mos Def. In a world where performers are often caricatures of themselves partly because fans are resistant to the change and growth necessary for art, this show was a breath of fresh air.

“This is hip-hop and we don’t give a…” Red cup in hand, Jay Electronica wasn’t at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre to put on a show — he was there to be heard. He rhymed over tracks perfectly orchestrated by Just Blaze and the late J Dilla — but just in case the audience didn’t catch the commentary, Electronica rapped the majority of his songs a cappella.

After a quick intermission Badu’s backing band, The Cannabinoids, hit the stage sans Erykah and started playing Lil Wayne’s “A Milli.” Despite the looks of confusion, the crowd rocked to it — some even singing the lyrics. But wait, this was supposed to be Badu’s set. This was Mos Def’s tour. Where did Lil Wayne come in? Then they asked the question everyone was thinking: “Where is Erykah Badu at?”

The petite Texan entered sporting a mini Afro and wearing a red dress accented with a black and gold belt, plus pumps. Badu professed that hip-hop was bigger than religion and the government. And by the time she unleashed her ode to the genre, “Love of My Life,” the audience proved to be believers of her philosophy.

After the first verse, Badu returned to her emceeing roots with Nas’ “Life’s a Bitch,” then took it to the West Coast with N.W.A.’s “Gangsta Gangsta,” and had the crowd singing Whodini’s “Friends” at the top of their lungs. While Badu didn’t do “Next Lifetime,” it was “On & On” that hit the spot for the Baduizm (Kedar) fans. She ended her set by telling a story about the Zapatistas and singing “Soldier.” After Badu gave Oakland its first and final shout out (she’d been saying San Francisco throughout the show) and getting major love from the audience, she made way for Dante Terrell Smith to hit the stage.

As the lights came up, Mos Def was behind the drums and kicked off the show with “Priority.” A few songs in, it was clear that Mos was definitely comfortable. He treated the stage like it was his living room as he rocked side-to-side and glided across the floor, and looked like a kid grooving to Michael Jackson’s greatest hits in his bedroom mirror though Mos Def was performing just about every song from new album The Ecstatic (Downtown).

But it turns out Def really was channeling The King of Pop as he later returned to the drums for a rendition of “Rock With You” and then went into full Michael mode with a performance of “Billie Jean,” complete with Moon Walk. He reminded the crowd that his connection to MJ ran deep when the DJs played the Jackson 5 hit, “If I Don’t Love You This Way” which he sampled for “U R the One.” One sample after another, Mos started giving history lessons in soul and even played “Cowboys and Girls” by the Intruders during his performance of “Pistola.”

Then Mos Def gave the people what they came for — the classics. The beat dropped for “Ms. Fat Booty,” as Badu came back on stage and the entire crowd stood. Hundreds sang every word and kept singing along through “Umi Says.”

True to the lyrics, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, and Jay Electronica came to shine their light. Emcees more concerned with lyrics than beats, multi-dimensional singers, and lyricists who aren’t afraid to have fun are definitely something to be ecstatic about.

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For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page

Mos Def MySpace page

Erykah Badu MySpace page

Jay Electronica MySpace page

Kedar Records

Downtown Records