Went to see Faith Evans at the Troc last night with Lady. She put on a good show for the hour and change we were there. She came on well over an hour after her opening act finished, quite diva-ish. She's not the star she used to be and I think that was a bit much. They could've used all that time to show off some local talent. Philly's gotta have some serious underground hip-hop, it's just gotta. A missed opportunity to shine a spotlight on local talent.
But her voice was still there. Still sugary. Still sweet. Listening to her sing those sweet choruses brought me waaay back. Back to when I first started listening to hip hop. I forgot she sang a bunch of the songs she performed. Lost in all the hip hop swirling around in my head for the past decade or so. Used to Love Me, Love Like This Before, Emotional, All Night Long, Falling in Love, Soon As I Get Home. Yes, she sings a whole lot about what all R&B singers sing about, L-O-V-E, and she sings it well.
She brought me back to when Biggie first came out. The VIBE shot of Faith and Biggie in that drop top, I believe Dana Lixenberg shot that. I have that issue in a box in my bedroom in NY somewhere along with dozens of other back issues. It brought me back to the Biggie-Pac business. How they were both so on top of their games. How Faith became Biggie's estranged wifey. When she performed a song sampling Who Shot Ya?, I was kinda shocked. I didn't think she'd take it back like that.
She's still got a hell of a voice. I wonder why producers and writers aren't collaborating with her. Not wanting to get involved with a girl who was sorta in the middle of the Biggie-Pac heat? I dunno. But her singing all of those hits just like it was 1998 proves that she's still got some umph left in her vocal chords.
I miss that golden age of hip hop of the 1990s up until B.I.G. and Pac were shot. Before Wu-Tang broke up. The Fugees were making rediculous music. DMX had two platinum albums in one year. Dre and Snoop part 1. Nas dropped Illmatic. Jay-Z was putting out an album a year... I'm still living in that era of hip hop. Just a few years ago in time but so far in quality.
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