Prince Paul: Live at the MJQ Concourse
Anyone who knows me would tell you that I love some hip-hop whether it is classic or modern. So when I was scrolling through Facebook one day and saw that Prince Paul (producer and DJ extraordinaire) was coming to spin at the MJQ Concourse in Atlanta I almost lost it. Wait what?! The real Prince Paul?! Ok, just take my money now please! As for the opening support for this night, DJ Dug Boogie and Mafioso would get the crowd warmed up for Prince Paul’s appearance. This would be my first time attending an event at this location, so I was very curious as to the setup. Especially since I was doing photo, I dislike being in the way for others so when the location is small it can be trying at times. Located off Ponce de Leon Ave., the MJQ Concourse is exactly the location in which one would want to see this sort of performance. Mostly a dance club for the weekends, it had so much space to move around despite not being very large in size. So if you’re in the area, this is a location that should be your radar.
DJ Dug Boogie is a native of Tampa Bay who made Atlanta his home base. He has recently gotten back into the music industry and I am for one very happy he did have this resurgence in producing music.
Mafioso (a.k.a. DJ Mafioso) is a New York native who has also made Atlanta his home base for operations. He would be the last opener before Prince Paul would take the stage. If you are in the Atlanta area and can catch either Mafioso or Dug Boogie, I recommend doing so.
For those of you who do not know who Prince Paul is… let me school you real quick. From an early age, Paul had a keen interest in making music and started DJing in the fifth grade. By age 14, he was doing mixtapes with Biz Markie and random house parties across New York. It was around this time when he was introduced to Maseo, one of the members of an up and coming hip hop group named De La Soul.
In 1984, he became a member of the infamous hip-hop group Stetsasonic and also started producing various artists’ in the hip hop industry, including the aforementioned De La Soul. Paul would later form a super group named Gravediggaz with The RZA (of the Wu-Tang Clan), Frukwan (of Stetsasonic), and Too Poetic (of Brothers Grimm). Paul would release a few solo LPs over the years including A Prince Among Thieves before forming a group with Dan the Automator named Handsome Boy Modeling School in 1999. They would release two classic LPs: So… How’s Your Girl? (1999) & White People (2004) featuring Sean Lennon, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Alec Empire, RZA, Linkin Park, Tim Meadows, and John Oates. Paul would release several solo LPs (including Politics of the Business) after his collaboration with Dan the Automator that would solidify his foothold as one of the pioneers of hip hop. Talk about an incredible resume!
Many thanks to Prince Paul, his management, DJ Dug Boogie, Mafioso, and the good people at the MJQ Concourse for their hospitality and kindness. I want to say thank you to all for giving Concerthopper and myself this once in a lifetime opportunity. I will always remember this night!
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