don't push me 'cause i'm close to the eeeeedge

you all know that i'm by no means a fan of hip-hop. i guess i like some older stuff but i just never really got into it. last night, i attended "the day of dissent" at purchase. this included a rally led by students marching around campus chanting something about corporations being bullshit. great idea considering we attend a college of mostly liberal students, that is ironically owned by pepsico. the rally was followed by a bunch of performances at the student center, one of them being legendary hip-hop artist, melle mel. i had never heard of him before but as i watched him perform, i realized that this guy is kind of a big deal. first of all, this is what he looks like now:

this guy is fucking ridiculously jacked.

this is what he looked like in the 80s:

that's him on the right with grandmaster flash & the furious five.

i've heard of these guys before, i'm not a total idiot. but i guess i didn't realize that they basically started hip-hop. cowboy, one of the furious five members created the term "hip hop" & melle mel was the first rapper to ever call himself "mc." this guy has won mad grammys, has been in a bunch of movies and is apparently trying to become a pro wrestler. on march 12, 2007, the furious five (joined by dj grandmaster flash) became the first rap group ever inducted into the rock & roll hall of fame. like i said, this guy is kind of a big deal.

everyone at the student center basically came to see him & freaked out while he was performing, including the university police officer who was standing behind me, singing along. his entire entourage sat in a diy vip section in the corner of the student center, complete with velvet ropes and handwritten vip signs. they broke out into hysterics when a student-made documentary about hip-hop showed footage of melle mel from the 80s. he announced that he used to like his pants tight, "so that you could see the change in his pockets." anyway, this guy & his dj/rapper partner (who i'm assuming is also a big deal) were FUCKED UP GOOD. i was so into it that i even danced and when he told everyone to "slide," i slid! after he finished, i realized that i had just seen a legend perform, something that is kind of a big deal.

in conclusion,