Prince Paul

A loud cheer went off as Prince Paul took his position behind the decks, but before he got started the legendary hip-hop producer wanted to get serious. He felt it was necessary that we all take a moment and pay tribute to a recently disbanded group that was very influential to many artists: B2K. And with that the amused crowd realised that they were in for a night of fun with the charming yet devastating beat conductor. Taking us through a history of hip-hop, Prince Paul never failed to get a holler of approval when dropping gem after gem. His selections ranged from his own fine work with De La Soul to the ferocious beats of M.O.P.'s "Ante Up." The slickest turntable trickery came when Jeru the Damaja's drum-crashing "Come Clean" was greeted by the vocals of the Pharcyde's "Passin' Me By," giving a fresh new twist to a pair of heavily-played classics. It would have been nice to have been blessed with more surprises, but Paul launched beat after beat, digging deep into his crates for a solid three hours and serving up everyone's childhood on wax. The producer then reminded us why he is so beloved, as he dropped his incredible roster of beautiful rhythms, from crowd-favourite Gravediggaz to Handsome Boy Modeling School. Apart from some juggling and scratching, Paul wasn't out to dazzle heads with his seamless mixes, but he can boast that he didn't play one wack track all night, unless you count his B2K tribute, of course. Tonight this prince was king.