All photos by Edwina Hay
Photos: Lola Brooke, Armani White, Clipse, others rocked the Genius IQ/BBQ on Saturday
Scenes from the Knockdown Center’s daylong celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop
It was gator season in Maspeth on Saturday. The first performance I caught at the Genius IQ/BBQ, a daylong celebration of hip-hop, was by Brooklyn’s Lola Brooke, who kicked her set off with her “Gator Season” hit. Brooke is young but has been rapping since she was 8, has had a role on CBS’ “East New York,” and shared this very same stage at Knockdown Center with Wu-Tang Clan back on August 10.
Brooke spent most of her set prowling the stage and had many fans rapping along with her. Highlights included a tribute to DMX, doing a shot on stage, and her closer, 2021’’s “Don’t Play With It,” which brought the crowd to a standstill, phones aloft.
Lola Brooke (Photo by Edwina Hay)
The Genius IQ/BBQ was a free-with-reservation, sold-out, all-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, featuring up-and-coming acts and a closing set by a reunited Clipse, the beloved Virginia Beach sibling coke rap duo of Malice and Pusha T. Doors opened at 2 p.m., with the music coming to an end just before midnight.
When I arrived at the Knockdown Center, Tallahassee’s 17-year-old Luh Tyler, who made XXL’s 2023 Freshman Class for his song “Law & Order pt. 2,” was already on stage. Since his set was already in progress, I spent some time checking out the brand displays around the venue, like the So Fresh, So Clean Shop stationed near the entrance, which included a sneaker-cleaning service provided by Fresh Kicks NYC. There was a barber station by Groomed Guys.
Groomed Guys (Photo by Edwina Hay)
Near the stage, The Genius Lounge offered a VIP space with custom Patrón El Alto cocktails. Outside in the courtyard area was The Rap Cafeteria along with a bar, multiple food trucks and an ice cream vendor. Designs on picnic tables reflected important hip-hop landmarks and moments, like the Golden Era, and the artists associated with them. Lyrics were plastered on tables, walls and windows.
HOT 97’s DJ Stacks played hip-hop from the 1990s to the present era between live sets, spinning bangers from Biggie to Rick Ross to 2 Chainz, PNB Rock, Wu-Tang Clan, Sheck Wes, 50 Cent, Lil’ Kim, DMX, GloRilla and Freeway.
After Lola Brooke came Philly’s Armani White, signed to Def Jam Records, and performed an amped set that included “Goated,” “Onederful” (which featured Chris Dayz singing with him live). He occasionally stepped from the stage to the monitors in the pit area and at one point accidentally busting open his lip with his own mic, drawing blood — a first, he assured the crowd. White concluded his set with his hit “Billie Eilish,” which he recently performed with Eilish herself at Osheaga Festival in Montreal a few weeks ago.
Armani White (Photo by Edwina Hay)
White encouraged the audience to join him in singing along, and many people did what they were asked to do. The song samples N.O.R.E.’s “Nothing,” produced by the Neptunes, which seemed like a fitting segue into the headliners, who had numerous songs produced by the same duo from their hometown.
The main attraction, of course, was Clipse. The event’s host, Hot 97’s Miabelle, introduced Pusha T to the stage (much later than the 10 p.m. advertised set time), who performed his solo material first. After his seventh song, “Diet Coke,” during which he projected the recipe for crack cocaine on the large screens on stage, he eased into “Popular Demand (Popeyes),” when Malice finally appeared alongside his brother, to the delight to at least one person in the back of the room who spent the prior seven songs asking about the absence of Malice.
Pusha T (Photo by Edwina Hay)
A majority of Clipse’s setlist came from their first two records, “Lord Willin’” and “Hell Hath No Fury,” along with their song with Baby from 2002, “What Happened to That Boy.”
Malice, right, and Pusha T (Photo by Edwina Hay)
Clipse split up while on tour in 2009, so it felt like a blessing to get a second performance from them within the past month (the brothers performed back on July 28 via Amazon Music at Pier 17 in Manhattan, sharing the stage with Rick Ross). Concluding their set with their monster single from their debut album, “Grindin,” Clipse brought the the Genius IQ/BBQ to an end, with everyone exiting Knockdown Center on an unusually pleasant August evening.
Clipse (Photo by Edwina Hay)
