The third installment of the concert series Legends of Hip Hop, which took place at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, NY, had the feeling of a 1980s block party. According to representatives of the casino, the concert was sold out with an estimated 3,000 people in attendance. The response from the previous two concerts led them to do “Legends of Hip Hop III”.
Previous Legends of Hip Hop concerts featured artists like Naughty By Nature, Black Sheep, DJ Kool, Fatman Scoop, Kurtis Blow, and producer/pioneerDJ Marley Marl. The Legends of Hip Hop III concert, which was held on sixth floor of the casino, had concertgoers cheering their favorite musicians as they performed their greatest hits and had the crowd going into frenzy.
“I’m really excited it was successful” says Shavone Williams, Public Relations and Community Development Coordinate at Resorts World Casino. “All the artists did a fantastic job, I am looking forward to the next concert” says Williams.
The night started off with Audio Two and among the songs they performed was “Top Billin”. Next, was Queens legend and frontman of the legendary group The Lost Boyz, Mr. Cheeks. Cheeks performed signature hits like “Renee”, “Lights, Camera, Action” and songs on a forthcoming project. Biz Markie and Kid N Play were on the bill as well, with Markie performing “Vapors” and “Just A Friend”. DJ Chuck Chillout of the legendary Awesome Two was also in attendance, DJing on the 1s and 2s for half the night.
The highlight of the night was definitely Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick. Fresh kept the energy level high with a packed audience following his every command. He bonded with the crowd by taking them down memory lane with songs from classic shows like Good Times, Sanford & Son and Cheers. He then brought out Slick Rick, who was dressed in purple with the matching eyepatch and his ostentatious jewelry. The two iconic performers went back and forth performing their smash hit “La Di Da Di”. Later during the performance, Fresh brought Lil Vicious, who performed “Freaks” and ran through some other well-known reggae hits. After Vicious performed, Rick came back out and performed “Mona Lisa” and “Children’s Story”. As the night was coming to an end, Fresh beatboxed for what seemed like 5 minutes straight to the amazement of the crowd. Then did “Let Me Clear My Throat” over the “Teach Me How To Dougie” beat, where he did the Dougie. A fan of 1980s hip hop would have been pleased by this night reminiscing with some of those icons in hip hop.
-Lulaine Compere
