There were no wasted moments when Sean Price took the stage at University City’s Marathon Grill on Saturday night. With a strong undercard of Cymarshall Law, Ethel Cee and Reef the Lost Cauze, the Brooklyn rapper capped off an excellent show that ranks up there with the best of the year.
Electric City’s Mighty Flipside Esq. played host while Bee Eater Records’ DJ Ultraviolet spun for the Marathon crowd pouring in from the rainy West Philly streets. Attendees got a somewhat rude surprise when they were told upon entering that they’d have to take off their hats while in the building. If you aren't a fan of hip hop, this might not seem like a big deal and if you are a fan, please, put down your torches and pitchforks. While no hats at a hip hop show is a bit like no oversized foam fingers at a football game, the four artists that took the stage made that inconvenience worth it.
U.K.-born emcee, Cymarshall Law, was first up and knocked it out of the park with a ton of energy and a distinctive voice that warmed the crowd up on the chilly October night. Currently residing in dirty Jerz, Law is no stranger to rocking Philly stages or opening for Sean Price; the two were in town a few months back at the Khyber for a great Heltah Skeltah show. Just like that evening, Law impressed with his performance and undoubtedly made a few new fans with his excellent live show.
Next up was local female emcee, Ethel Cee, whose fierce lyrics caught the crowd’s attention and raised the energy a few notches. While the audience definitely started getting into Law’s set, especially towards the end, they got even louder for Ethel Cee, even urging her back on the stage for an encore. Cee graciously complied, and rocked another jam to cheers from the slowly expanding crowd.
Widely considered to be one of the best emcees in Philly, Reef the Lost Cauze needed little introduction to the now amped audience. With no delay, Reef launched into several songs from his 2008 LP, A Vicious Cycle, hit the crowd with a couple tracks from his cult classic, Feast or Famine, and even gave longtime fans a taste of his 2003 album, Invisible Empire. While Reef joked that he’s had the same set list for the past few years, there’s nothing broke and nothing in need of fixing; the intensity of his live show makes each song shine if regardless if its your first or tenth time hearing them.
