Egon is on tour in Europe with Madlib & J.Rocc and will be updating us through the end of the month.
2: Milan
I should have known something was up, after we pulled up to the same hotel
that Cut Chemist and I found when we took a day-trip to Milan in search of
better Italian records some five years ago. This city, though large,
maintains a homey vibe – and the records at Metropolis can't be beat for
their prices. The soundtrack and library section alone makes the destination
worth the trip, with heavy stock in both Pieros (Umiliani and Picconi) and
other interesting footnotes by the likes of maestros Morricone, Nicolai and
Travajioli. How such a multitude of progressive musicians could have once
functioned so well in a five hundred kilometer span boggles the mind,
especially when you listen to Italian radio nowadays.
The show was packed; a promoter from a previous Stones Throw venture said
that the city had waited six months for a proper hip hop show. I'd like to
think Madlib and J.Rocc didn't disappoint. I've never seen an autograph
session like Madlib had at the end of their combined three hour set, at
least not in Italy. Folks were literally tearing their shirts off, and
tossing sneakers and one-hundred Euro bills on stage.
And one kind soul had the courtesy of putting his demo inside a Napoli
Centrale record which J.Rocc had passed at Metropolis. Nice touch!
Rome | Milan | Belgium | London | Basel | Athens | Paris | Marseille
