Max Bell put beer in the school water fountains.
Jonwayne has one of the best live sets around right now, rap or otherwise. I’ve seen him at least four times this year, and he’s managed to leave me captivated, spellbound, etc. each time — I cannot say the same of other rappers I’ve seen multiple times in 2013 (read Abe’s Kendrick piece here). Wayne’s physical presence is the definition of daunting. His voice is an instrument unto itself, as booming as any bass line or drum kick. He’s one of the few MCs — Nocando being an obvious exception — capable of intelligibly rapping over the bass heavy Airliner sound system. And he only needs a sampler and a pair of extra wide sandals to rock you. He is the minimalist poet, the bearded philosopher.
The Wayniac recently appeared on comedian Eric Andre’s Adult Swim show, The Eric Andre Show. I haven’t watched the show, but from what I’ve seen of Andre’s stand-up, I’d imagine it’s hilarious. [ed. note: no need to imagine] Instead of playing a traditional set, Wayne goes “unplugged” for about a minute. The joke is obviously that Wayne needs electricity to play his music. It’s either a thinly veiled commentary on electronic music, or just outlandishly hilarious. Probably both. Ever the thespian, Wayne still manages to move and push buttons as though he were shutting shit down. And Andre and Hannibal Buress’ asides during the silent performance are definitely worth a chuckle. Who knew that it costs $600 to get a woman to fart in your mouth?
Below are a few of my favorite Wayne tracks playable on Soundcloud. You’ll also find his electric and plugged in performance of “The Come Up, Pt. 2” from his album release show at Low End Theory, which took place before costume clad attendees the night before Halloween. It’s the best rendition of the song I’ve seen from Wayne thus far. Unfortunately, Wayne isn’t wearing the crown and Biggie cape (literally a cape with Biggie’s portrait on it) he wore all night. Though, as you watch the video, it doesn’t take much to imagine them.
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