Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Hieroglyphics perform live at Area 51
here in Richmond VA.  What a pleasure it was... this show was incredible.  Read
on for a semi-complete play by play if you have the stamina
The show was scheduled to start around 11, and that's when I arrived with my
crew (2 ravers who were more interested in drinking than seeing Hiero).  The
club was already at capacity, so we waited around a good 20 minutes to get in. 
First thing I noticed when I got to the club was the majority of heads there
were ravers- strange how there were no roughnecks at all at this show (or not
so strange).  Anyway, cut to 11:20.. I walk inside, grab a Hienekin and leave
my boys at the bar to bullshit.  
Approaching the stage area I notice a semi-familiar face at the mic.  The crowd
is pretty amped, and I soon realize why.  It's none other than Breezy Brewin of
the Juggaknots, with DJ Mr Len on the tables, and the female emcee from
Indelibles (she rhymes first on "Weight").  Needless to say shit is getting
torn up left and right.  The unmistakable beat to "Fire in Which you Burn"
drops and Brewin flips his verse with precision.  Crowd is getting more hyped. 
Then Len cuts to the beat for "Weight" and a huge Kool-Aid smile takes
residence on my face.  Said female emcee proceeds to rip shit, then goes into a
short freestyle.  At this point I am in awe- here I came to see one of the best
crews from the West Coast and, goddamn, half the Indelible crew is on stage. 
Now it's Brewin's turn on the mic again.  He proceeds to get the crown hyped
and flows into "I'm Gonna Kill You", then the classic "Clear Blue Skies".. shit
is too good to be true.  I'm rhyming along with Brewin, and to my amazement so
is about 1/4 of the audience.  I had no idea Richmond had this many real heads!
 Brewin is about ready to cut, but we're all screaming for "Romper Room," my
personal fave Juggaknots cut.  Not one to disappoint, he agrees.  Mr Len drops
the beat from Ice-T's "I'm your Pusher" and Brewin rhymes the first beat from
Romper Room and puts the mic down.  Incredible.  
Then the emcee of the show, a local head whose name I didn't catch, strides
back on stage to keep the crowd hyped.  He introduces OGK, and a female emcee
whose name I didn't catch, both local heads who proceed to freestyle for what
seems like 45 minutes straight.  Damn these kids have energy- dope, dope
emcees.  I'll definately be checking for OGK.  Once the local heads' long set
is done there's about a 15 minute wait for Hiero to finish getting ready. 
Domino is on stage getting the equipment straight while the host is chatting it
up with the audience about the latest hip hop releases.  Clearly the vibe is
unbiased hip hop love for any and all takers- there is such a positive vibe and
any and all are welcome.
Finally the DJ drops a Hiero beat and Hieroglyphics is introduced.  Tajai, Pep
Love and Casual jump up on the stage and proceed to get the crowd hyped with
the old call and respond game- clearly the crowd needs its fix.  The trio grab
their mics and tear into "After Dark"... the crowd ignites into unbridled
euphoria.  Head nod factor is at break-neck and I'm lovin every second as
Phesto D rips his cut from the Hiero album.  The rest of the crew gets onstage,
but I'm wondering where Del is.  Just as Phesto's verse is ending Del strolls
onstage and to the forefront, at which point the entire crowd reaches their
peak decible levels.  Immediately the beat blends to  "You're In Shambles" and
he begins to rhyme with ferocity- everyone is on his jock at this point. 
Goddamn the man has stage presence.  This had to be the highlight of the show,
once Del arrived it was "No Need for Alarm" indeed.  Del takes a breather and
Casual steps to the front and tears up "That's How it Is", then the rest of the
crew takes their turns with "Oakland Blackouts," "Never No More," "The Who," "I
Didn't Mean To," and "Boo Boo Heads."  Suddenly it's 2:00 AM and time to
disperse.  I'm still nodding my head on the way home and to this day.  
I encourage any and everyone who has a chance to attend the Hiero show to do
so- worth every penny.  Props to everyone that stuck with me and read this
entire review.  See this shit!



"You couldn't see me if you ate 5 million carrots" -keith murray

Sam Ford