J.A.M. Awards and Concert (Dirty Angel’s Play-By-Play)

The J.A.M. Awards and Concert, an event which honored the late Jam Master Jay of Run DMC, took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC last week.  This monumental tribute was orchestrated by Jay’s wife, Terri Corley-Mizel, New York graffiti legend “Kaves” (from rap group “Lords of Brooklyn”) and the CEO of EPOP International, David Clark.  The Jam Master Jay Foundation, headed by Corley-Mizel and some of JMJ’s closest friends, sponsored the show along with Adidas, The Fader magazine and radio station Hot-97.  Nominees for the three awards (categorized as Justice, Arts and Music) were chosen by JMJ Foundation board members for their track record of social responsibility.  The Ballroom’s capacity crowd was treated to tight performances by Snoop Dogg, Jim Jones, Raekwon, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, M.O.P., De La Soul, EPMD, Papoose, Everlast and Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs.

Prodigy of Mobb Deep…

Big Noyd & Prodigy…

EPMD…

Political rap duo dead prez presented the Justice Award, which Chuck D of Public Enemy won.  Chuck wasn’t in attendance, so his manager accepted on his behalf.  Tough-as-nails emcee Bumpy Knuckles and Q-Tip presented the Arts award to the winner, graffiti pioneer Lee Quinones.  Finally, the Music award (presented by “Kaves”) went to Wyclef Jean, who also couldn’t make the event.

M-1 of dead prez…

Bumpy Knuckles & Q-Tip present the Arts Award…

The concert was great, with plenty of memorable highlights.  Much to the delight of the crowd, LL Cool J joined EPMD onstage to perform their classic collabo, “Rampage”.  DJ Scratch (who was introduced to EPMD by Jam Master Jay) wowed the audience with his incredible feats of turntable manipulation.  Prodigy (rocking a hoodie emblazoned with the phrase “Free P”) gave one of his final live shows before his 3 and ½ year bid in the bing.  Before launching into his platinum catalog, Snoop Dogg, clad in a trademark Run-DMC fedora and thick gold rope chain, began his performance with a rendition of Run-DMC’s 1983 hit, “Sucker MCs”.  Mixtape phenom Papoose closed his set with “Alphabetical Slaughter”, the creative song that inspired Kay Slay to sign him.  Pap wowed the crowd as he rapped the entire alphabet from A to Z, only using words that started from the letter he was at; all the while, his hype-men held up giant cards that displayed whatever letter he was rapping.

Papoose…

Snoop Dogg…

Snoop Dogg…

Jim Jones, accompanied by fellow DipSet member Juelz Santana, took to the stage to perform what is arguably the year’s biggest record, “We Fly High”.  Jimmy donned a leather Adidas jacket, shell-top Adidas sneakers and a rope chain to honor the Jam Master.  The DipSet Capo (or leader, depending on who you ask) received a smattering of boos, however, when he inexplicably exited the stage midway through “We Fly High”. Upon his departure, Jones didn’t say “goodbye”, “peace” or anything; meanwhile, the song (complete with his pre-recorded vocal track) continued to play.  M.O.P. killed s**t as usual with their high-energy performance.  Everlast, with DJ Muggs on the one’s and two’s, played an electric guitar through his set (he even covered a Johnny Cash song) before he finally did “Jump Around”.  Shucky Ducky, a member of the Boot Camp Clik, staggered onto the stage blind drunk (like he’d done earlier in the show) during Raekwon’s powerful, crowd-pleasing set.  Throughout the performance, the boozed-up Shucky danced wildly and played Rae pretty close, but The Chef didn’t mind.  Earlier that day, the mother of BCC member Tek (Smif-N-Wessun) had passed away.  So, as Rae put it, “Anybody down with Boot Camp can do what the f**k they wanna do around me right now.”  Fellow Wu-Tanger Cappadonna gave Rae a huge assist on songs like “Ice Cream” and “Fish”, and the crowd went nuts.

Jim Jones & Juelz Santana…

Jim Jones…

Jim Jones & Juelz Santana…

Everlast…

Once the show ended, elated hip-hop fans exited the premises peacefully and without incident.  Much to the disappointment of the stone-faced cops posted up outside of the Ballroom, there would be no arrests or violence for the tabloids to exploit.  Jam Master Jay would have been proud.