Despite its immense popularity in Japan, hip-hop has until recently suffered from poor representation at summer music events. The Fuji Rock Festival seems keen to make up for lost time this year, augmenting the usual legion of club-oriented DJs with a veritable roll call of some of today's most innovative hip-hop artists. Better yet, the bulk of the roster performs on the fest's opening day, July 25.
Among the standouts is Talib Kweli, a Brooklynite who cut his teeth during hip-hop's Golden Age (think De la Soul/Tribe Called Quest-era New York). Collaborations with Hi-Tek (Reflection Eternal) and Mos Def (Black Star) brought out the jazzy turntablist predilections of the East Coast, but Kweli's solo debut, "Quality," takes this and bounces it against old-school beats, hand claps, soul/gospel vocals and a seasoned optimism that all prove an MC can still be positive without appearing soft.
Similar things could be said about Michael Franti and his live band, Spearhead, who perform later in the afternoon on the same White Stage. Franti's early '90s project, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, sacrificed hip-hop's sanguine bravado on the altar of social activism. With Spearhead, however, the Oakland, Calif., native gets back to his roots, both musically and lyrically. With soul and funk as a springboard, Spearhead's jams -- like Franti's own stage presence -- are equal parts Chuck D, Bob Marley and Earth, Wind and Fire. Stunning backup vocalists and rump-shaking revelry never dilute his message, but rather provide the right amount of sugar to help the polemics go down.
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