It was the 20th anniversary of the The Purple Tape – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. In my mind, The Purple Tape is greatest set of recordings known to man. I wanted to write that, in all its hyperbole because… well, I could. It honestly rests in the top ten of “albums”. Album, meaning: a collection of recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, or another medium. They have become conceptually hard for this generation to understand in a the streaming era, but when it was such a thing, that mattered, it is such.
I had gotten tickets for me and friend who appreciated their contributions to music and at the last minute, he simply texted: I can go. It was a day before the concert and I didn’t want to waste a ticket. A few of my other friends weren’t in town either, so who would go with me?
My son Excel has no idea what what their music means in the contest of eighties and nineties street culture. He so removed from that world it probably sounds akin to the magical world of super-heroes and villains, of which WuTang at times model themselves around at times. The hyperbolic and intensely reflective lyrics that not only tell exciting tales of street misadventures but also the moments in between. I was completely fine with the idea that he had no real interest in understanding any of it, even though I love it.
I purchased VIP tickets where we’d have the chance to meet two of my favorite emcees of all-time, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon the Chef. I’m sure it didn’t mean a lot personally to Excel, but he had to listen to countless hours of their music during his formative years (either in the backseat of the mini-van or at the studio), enough to know that this was a big deal to me. I shared my sentiments about their work, to both Ghost and Rae, of which they appreciated and then we departed.
