There was a bittersweet reunion at Pink Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on Friday evening (September 19).
Ambiance, Residing Legends, Hieroglyphics, Immortal Approach, Dilated Peoples and the CunninLynguists descended on the historic venue for what would mark Ant and Slug’s last present of the season. However the sold-out crowd was doubtless unaware of simply how emotional the live performance could be—at the very least for some.
Simply weeks prior, Residing Legends MC Aesop (or Aesop the Black Wolf) died out of the blue at age 51. It ripped a gaping gap by way of the longtime group, leaving The Grouch, Bicaso, Eligh, Sunspot Jonz, Scarub and Luckyiam left to hold on the Residing Legends’ legacy with out him.
The Pink Rocks efficiency, which marked the Legends’ first since Aesop’s dying, got here solely 4 days after they buried him in his hometown of Fresno, California. Understandably, the present carried a little bit of unhappiness as among the members struggled to maintain their composure all through the night. However there was additionally quite a lot of gentle—figuratively and actually. Towards the start of the set, Slug joined the Legends to carry out his verse from “Transferring on the Pace of Life,” which initially included Aesop.
The viewers was instructed to show their cellular phone flashlights on in tribute, making a sea of white lights that stretched all the way in which to the highest of the two.5 miles of seating.
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Rocking T-shirts that learn “Legends By no means Die” on the again and a photograph of Aesop on the entrance, the Legends crushed their set regardless of the super sorrow they had been feeling with out Aesop beside them. There was a robust sense, nonetheless, that Aesop was there in spirit—and a number of other of the opposite performers took discover, too.
Hieroglyphics and Ambiance all took a second to acknowledge Aesop and present like to the remainder of the Legends throughout their units. Hugs got out in abundance backstage as Legends’ longtime associates and fellow crewmates proceed to grapple together with his dying. However music, in fact, was the frequent thread tying everybody collectively and proved to be cathartic.
Hiero—comprised of Tajai, Informal, Pep Love, Del the Funky Homosapien, A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, Domino and DJ Toure—delivered a career-spanning setlist that included Souls of Mischief’s “Make Your Thoughts Up” and “93 Til Infinity” in addition to Del’s platinum-selling Gorillaz collaboration, “Clint Eastwood, and the Deltron 3030 single “Virus.”
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One thing about seeing the 9 members of Hiero onstage 32 years after Souls of Mischief dropped their prophetic debut, 93 ’til Infinity, and greater than 25 years after Hiero launched third Eye Imaginative and prescient was transcendent, virtually like a non secular expertise.
Not like the revolving door of present mainstream rappers getting chewed up and spit out by the music business, Hiero has stood the take a look at of time—and Tajai has a idea as to how.
“We’re one of many final crews left,” Tajai tells AllHipHop. “We’re all right here. We’re all wholesome. So it’s a fantastic expertise, but it surely’s not one thing that’s uncommon. We actually rap. Lots of the rappers basically don’t actually do touring and rapping. We actually rap. We nonetheless make music and nonetheless tour. And I feel quite a lot of people reside off of their outdated hits or they’re simply not doing it in the identical means.
“It’s not simply the outdated rappers It’s a younger rappers, too. Fools say I received a tour with like 5 exhibits on the again of the shirt, you realize? They don’t have the followers on the market. However we stored doing it. Take into consideration all people from our period who even has a bit little bit of fame now, they stopped for many years. I feel when the pendulum swung again round to the ’90s s###, then they began doing it once more, whereas we simply stored making music. It does have totally different slants and totally different eras. However we by no means stopped.”
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Whereas Aesop’s absence was palpable, the camaraderie behind-the-scenes was a gorgeous, even tangible factor to witness.
Proof goofed round together with his younger son, Colorado-based MC Samir of The Reminders took images of his two children posing with DJ Babu, Eligh mingled together with his household, associates separated by distance for years reunited and Ant was joined by his spouse, making it a bona fide household affair in a mess of the way.
Aesop might have been lacking within the bodily realm, however the Legends ensured he wasn’t forgotten—it was on their shirts, of their music, on the display screen behind them and backstage, an illustration of simply how everlasting their bond is.
Derrick “Aesop” McElroy: October 1, 1974 to August 17, 2025
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