Ultramagnetic MCs, The Geto Boys, Little Barrie and Heliotropes Live at Red Bull Sound Select SXSW 2013

Red Bull brought everyone back to the heyday of hip-hop’s golden era Friday night at the Sound Select stage at SXSW. Following a rock-tinged start with Brooklyn-based all-female band Heliotropes, and English rockers Little Barrie, things quickly changed tempo when the entire stage went back in time. Critically acclaimed trio the Ultramagnetic MCs, consisting of Kool Keith, Ced Gee and Moe Love, playing SXSW for the first time, took to the stage and hyped the crowd up with an hour-long set of their best-loved numbers including “Ego Trippin’,” “Ease Back,” “Poppa Large” and even Dr Octagon’s “Blue Flowers.” After a brief interval, recently reunited Southern hip-hop pioneers Willie D, Scarface and Bushwick Bill, better known as the Geto Boys, came to the stage one-by-one before performing as a trio, blasting through a good portion of their repertoire, highlights included “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster,” “Mind Of A Lunatic,” plus Bushwick Bill-lead numbers “Chucky” and “Size Ain’t Shit.” Joined on stage by the Ultramagnetic MCs for the encore, they finished off with their classic “Minds Playing Tricks,” they definitely closed on a high-note. Anyone present would know what it must be like to time-travel, as everyone presented were, for a couple of hours at least, supplanted back to the early 1990’s. And damn, did it feel good!