Live At The Remedy – 1998

From the mid 90s through the early 2000s, the epicenter of Philly Hip-Hop culture could be found every Monday night at a small second floor nightclub directly off South Street. That club was Fluid, that night was The Remedy, hosted by Cosmo Baker & Rich Medina. This was more than just a weekly party though – this was the embodiment of a thriving community, where the Citizens of Illadelph would find common bonds and seek release and solace through the rhythmic pulse of beats and rhymes. We created our own space there, a world where we were the masters of our own dominion. And that world was shared equally for all. Threaded through the evolution of the music at the time, through the rise of independent movement, concurrent with the very beginning of the Neo-Soul scene, The Remedy became THE DESTINATION for music and culture lovers alike.

It would not be unlikely to have a packed house of locals and loyal partygoers mingling with luminaries from out of town, everyone from Andre 300 to Lauryn Hill to (NSYNC era) Justin Timberlake shaking it while world famous DJs – everyone from Kid Koala to Madlib, Questlove to DJ Craze, Bobbito to Goldie – would play the most underground and obscure tunes to a hungry and receptive crowd. And it was also not unlikely to have some immense talent jump up into the DJ booth and grab the mic, whether it was local talent from the Philly Neo Soul movement, or Slum Village, or Pharoahe Monch, or Bahamadia, or Kurupt.

On this particular night in 1998, it was DJ Jazzy Jeff on the ones and twos, and we brought up Philly’s own Black Thought to bless the mic, followed by Common who ripped it to pieces. The freestyle session continued with Dice Raw, Scratch, Maylay Sparks and Rehani… everyone in the pocket. Also you can hear Black Thought kick a bunch of the rhymes he’d later on go and use on the masterpiece album by The Roots “Things Fall Apart”.

And yes – we recorded it. PHOTO CREDIT: MPOZI TOLBERT #RIPMpozi