On June 12th, Hot 97 will broadcast the a listening party for one of my favorite artists, Bust Rhymes, whose album drops 6/13 entitled "the BIG BANG". I got a hook-up thru the Mrs. to attend the taping for the broadcast. I arrived a bit late but just in time to grab a few snacks before the taping commenced. All-in-all I had a good time. I met Angie Martinez the host for the afternoon show. Kool Herc, the founding father of hip-hop, was there and few others but namedropping can get corny. I also met my club favorite DJ, Mr. Cee. He was the DJ for my idol when I was as teen, Big Daddy Kane. Now he hosts the Old School at noon for Hot 97 and the house DJ for Club Speed. Mr. Cee aka "the Finisher" is part of the elite DJ crew "Big Dawg Pitbulls" along with Funkmaster Flex, Cypher Sounds (now a host on MTV), Jazzy Joyce (she is wicked!!), DJ Khaled in MIA (album in stores "Listenn"), Big Kap, Bobby Trends and Tim Westwood out in the UK. Mr. Cee was intergral in the success of the late great Notorious B.I.G.

As you may have read already in my past blogs the album is TIGHT with productions from Dr. Dre, Green Lantern J. Dilla, DJ Scratch, Timbaland and Swizz Beats. It is the best album Busa Bus has created in a long time. Its a must have. The interview was pretty interesting he showed a side of intelligence considering the ignorant things he may say in the [recording] booth. He basically explained to inspiring artists the difficulty to bring fresh, new acts to the spotlight and that one has to be honest with themselves and your craft but first and foremost be orignal. He discussed the gaining of custody to all his children. He discuss the venuture with Papoose. There was more but then you wouldn't check it out yourself now would you?

The highlight for me was the performance. He has the greatest stage performance in the game. I was under the impression that he would do two songs and split but he gave crowd a little more than expected. He started with "Ghetto" my favorite cut on the new album and he followed with "Touch it." I was especially happy because I opted not to go to Summer Jam this year. It wasn't his best performance but even when the sound went off he still rocked until it got corrected. The crowd was not disappointed, myself included. He pulled some classic cuts from the stash like "Ante up", "Where My Eyes Can See" and a few others.

At the end of the show he took pictures with fans. I had a good night.