-[Listen]- AAHH! Fest Chicago 2014
If you’ve been keeping tabs on the national media, it’s hard to ignore the discourse in regards to the troubles that surround the city of Chicago. Images of murders, arrests, gang activity, and general violence seem to precede the innovative and progressive spirit that most Chicago citizens have come accustomed to living day in and day out with. It’s this imagery that event organizers/philanthropists/ musicians Common and Rhymefest attempt to squelch, if just for a few hours, through the power of strong stage presence and music in the inaugural AAHH! Fest Music Festival.
In front of a swarming crowd gathered at the West Side’s Union Park, performers from Common’s past and present showcase their abilities to bring light to Donda’s House and the Common Ground foundation, both instructional programs that provide Chicago’s youth with access to the arts in neighborhoods where such curriculum is usually slashed from educational budgets. AAHH! Fest managed to harness both the drive of local up & coming talent with the star power of some of the rapper’s closest artistic cohorts. The likes of Jay Electronica, De La Soul, MC Lyte, brought stage presence en masse, while Chicago fans were given the rare treat of seeing homegrown talent such as Lupe Fiasco, Jennifer Hudson, Twista, and Common himself share the same stage. Common even manages to employ the comedic stylings of stand-up icon Dave Chappelle to tie sets together in the most humorous way possible.
Perhaps the biggest moment of the night was when the surprise guest, South Shore’s native Son Kanye West, rushed the stage to pull off an impromptu 16 track set which included strong iterations of hits such as “Power”, “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’ “, and “All Of The Lights” while pairing with Common to perform “Hit Em High”. The pack crowd stayed enthralled and attentive throughout the proceedings.