Rakim, EPMD Arena Theater January 31, 2015

It is written in the Great Book of Hip-Hop that any faithful fan of rap music, if he or she is able, must make the Pilgrimage at least once to a Rakim concert. Practically since the dawn of rap, the God MC has been among the very best at it, reliably turning promising talents into suckers with his sharp-witted lyricism for more than three decades. Classic albums with his DJ partner Eric B. such as Paid in Full and Follow the Leader made him a legend of hip-hop's first epoch, and by popular consensus, he's pretty much a first-ballot hall-of-famer.

That doesn't mean he's one of hip-hop's biggest stars, of course. The game doesn't work like that. You aren't likely to hear a lot of Rakim on 97.9 The Box, and he isn't pulling in hordes of young rap fans on this winter's tour, either. But you will most certainly hear his tunes on Houston's new classic rap station Boom 92.1, which made Saturday night's concert at Arena Theater an ideal even for the station to promote. It was a crowd of mostly middle-aged, mostly black hip-hop heads who turned out, with a few fresher-faced folks in the mix ready to study the master.

However old they were, they were dancin'. The Arena Theater is a cool place for a rap show. As the likes of DJ Rob G and Michael "5000" Watts spun cast-in-bronze classics from Slick Rick, Eazy-E, Scarface and dozens more, concert-goers could sit back and watch each other boogie from across the in-the-round venue, or hop up and join in. There was a festive atmosphere in the air as old-school dances like the Southside and the Wop spread like wildfire. I was convinced the Wave could break out at any minute.

Finally, a little after 9 p.m., the lights went down. First up were Long Island icons EPMD, who reminded the grown folks in the crowd that they've been coming to Houston since there was anyplace in Houston to come.

"I was at the Rhinestone in this motherfucker," proclaimed MC Erick Sermon, referencing the massive, long-gone Houston hip-hop club where local rappers such as Willie D and Ricky Royal once battled for supremacy. "Anybody remember the Rhinestone in here?"

Judging by the crowd's reaction, many in attendance did, indeed, remember the Rhinestone, where they probably heard EPMD's vintage hit, "You Gots to Chill." As they performed it, the duo made great use of the Arena's round, revolving stage, trading bars from across the platform and rapping simultaneously to two different sides of the building.

In between songs, EPMD lamented what had been lost in hip-hop since their heyday, citing a lack of thoughtful lyricism in modern rappers as well as a distinct lack of turntable talent.

"These new cats are making the kids dumber," spat Parrish Smith, and few in the crowd cared to disagree.

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