Koncept - "Awaken" Release Party - Brown Bag All Stars - Concert Review - 02/02/12

The Brown Bag Allstars have put in the groundwork to become a staple in the New York hip-hop scene; and being the city that birthed the art form, there is a lot of weight to that feat. Within the community- they've seen the end of the Fat Beats store, and brought countless artists together on both songs and shows such as their self-promoted "Brown Bag Thursdays" (RIP). As musicians- Soul Khan and DJ Brace are paraded as battle champs, while producer/emcee J57 can boast the rare DJ Premier co-sign. Now, it's Koncept's turn.

Thursday, at Public Assembly, Koncept celebrated the release of his Soulspazm Records backed debut, "Awaken", and the community Brown Bag has built was there in full force. The sound Brown Bag encompasses picks up where their hip-hop forefathers left off. It is a nostalgic twist of golden era practice with the update of modern perspective; i.e. slick flows over straightforward bangers with the lyrical content of today's thinking man. As a solo artist, Koncept deals with wanting to start a family, and trying to support that by making music pop-off. He is fully committed to both. This duality became visual when he took the stage clutching the mic tightly behind the wedding ring on his finger.

The set up was dynamic for a rap concert. At the back of the stage sat a long L-shaped table holding an MPC, turntables, and laptops. Koncept's set began with him and his DJ for the night, fellow BBAS member E-Holla, on stage, but by song two, Soul Khan had joined them. Khan entered for a song he's on from "Awaken", then stayed to do a solo track immediately after. Once Soul Khan's track ("Hold On") was complete, another BBAS member came from backstage to spit. And soon, the whole crew was up there, trading bars and making the show feel more like a house party. I started to lose track of the set-list, while Brown Bag dipped in their thick catalogue and rocked through their releases for a solid 45 minutes. The crew never felt clustered, as they've spent so much time growing together as musicians that they all move to the same pulse, which only adds to the hype of the performance.

Hands flew when the MPC got put to use. Brown Bag producers/emcees J57 and Audible Doctor both had moments during the show where they recreated beats they produced, adding a present swing to both the triggers of the chops and the flows of the emcees. My neck would have broken if the sound thumped harder. I like when the bass makes your chest cave. Unfortunately, all night the beats were low in the mix making the vocals prominently high, which at least gave clarity to the lyrics.