LIVE: Lyricists Lounge with Bilal and Camp Lo, Le Poisson Rouge

Photos: Keya Maeesha

Lyricists Lounge is known to be the hip-hop heads' sanctum. You want to hear some dope music that signifies the true essence of hip-hop? Go to Lyricists Lounge.  Want to know what your favorite emcees from back in the day are doing now? Lyricists Lounge is the place to be. Any and everything dealing with the awesomeness of hip-hop is covered by the Lyricists Lounge. At Le Poisson Rouge, they decided to flip the script. Add a little soul flavor to spice things up? Absolutely. So when Bilal and Camp Lo stepped on stage to do their sets, it was yet another remarkable night of music.

The Bronx duo, Camp Lo, opened the show with their deejay for the evening, Ski Beatz. As soon as they were introduced, the crowd started to get so crazy that people were pushing and shoving in attempts to see Cheeba's smile and Suede's swagger. The emcees performed on stage as if they've never lost a minute's momentum. Rocking the absolute crow favorites "Luchini (AKA This Is It)", "Black Connection", "Swing", and my personal jam, "Sparkle",  Camp Lo showed that good music never goes out of style. It is necessary to note just how excited they were to be on that stage. It was almost like they never left. Truth be told, they haven't.

Bilal, the talented crooner with the unique style, was equally as amazing. He has this ability to sing all of your favorites and have them not sound the same for each set. It is almost like having one dope remix after the next. I don't know anyone who doesn't scream when they hear the chords of "MILF'  begin, or try to sing along when he hits the high note in "Think It Over". If you paid attention to some of the women that night, you may have noticed them singing ''Sometimes" to their respective dates. Bilal is just that kind of performer. You never leave his sets unsatisfied or feeling like you were robbed. You are completely full.

Lyricists Lounge continues to pull out treats for their audience. Mixing soul and hip-hop in one night is just a reflection of how far they've come. It is not about staying relevant, but more about keeping fresh in the audiences' mind that music is beautiful. True music heads know and love this.