NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 10: Talib Kweli (r) and bassist Brady Watt perform at Blue Note Jazz Club on November 10, 2017 in New York City.
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Talib Kweli, DMC, Slick Rick, and Rakim To Play The Blue Note With Bob James

Talib Kweli, DMC, Slick Rick, and Rakim To Play The Blue Note With Bob James

Published Wed, January 11, 2023 at 10:26 AM EST

Talib Kweli is playing New York's Blue Note with legendary Jazz pianist Bob James for the second year in a row. This year, Kweli is bringing some of Hip-Hop's biggest names as special guests — DMC, Slick Rick, and Rakim who will join legendary pianist Bob James and a full band for shows to be held February 7-9.

In an IG post yesterday (1/10), Talib announced the series of shows. "Hip-Hop makes some beautiful connections and my friends are amazing," he posted. "Come celebrate with us at Blue Note NYC Feb 7-9, get your tickets now before they are gone."

Bob James is one of Hip-Hop's most sampled artists and he provided classic breakbeats for DJs before Hip-Hop even had a name. "Take Me To Mardis Gras" and "Nautilus" were popular breaks that were spun by Grandmaster Flash and other first-generation DJs prior to rap recordings becoming a reality.

Once rap records hit the market, live bands replayed Bob James' songs as a sound bed for MCs. In rap's "Golden Era" of the mid-1980s, those breaks that were barely a decade old were used as sampled beats for the likes of Run-DMC, Rakim, Slick Rick, and several other artists. James, who was once against sampling, recently partnered with Tracklib to facilitate the sampling of his music.

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