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Brand Nubian

Hip-hop veterans relax the rhetoric without killing the message

A A A Comments By Dusti Rhodes Thursday, Feb 21 2008

In the ‘90s, the New York crew Brand Nubian set itself apart from socially conscious hip-hoppers like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul by taking a more militant approach to politics. A sample from 1994’s “Sweatin Bullets”: “The devils make me sick / I love to fill them full of holes / kill them all in the daytime / broad motherfucking daylight.” (FYI: They’re not talking about red devils, folks.)

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Brand Nubian, however, was just as much awe as shock. Empowered lyrics combined with clever jazz-and-funk-filled beats garnered the group mainstay status. Later efforts, such as 2004’s Fire in the Hole and 2007’s Time’s Running Out, display a tamer rhetoric but prove the group has maintained a chemistry through multiple breakups and regroupings. See them keep up the intensity today with Connie Price and the Keystones, and DJ Cosmo Baker at 9:30 p.m. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel. For information, call 713-225-5483 or visit www.warehouselive.com. Free, but you must RSVP at www.scion.com/livemetro.
Mon., Feb. 25, 9:30 p.m., 2008

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