As we all know, yesterday was Independence Day (well, July 4th in the US) and my favorite Hip Hop Band, the Legendary Roots Crew curated this awesome event in their hometown Philly, the Philly Fourth of July Jam. Aside from the Roots, Common, Daryl Hall (of Hall & Oates), Queen Latifah, one-time Manila visitor DJ Jazzy Jeff and Joe Jonas (ok, not all concerts are perfect) performed for over 500,000 fans. I was able to catch it live via livestream yesterday and it was just awesome to see such great performers on stage. To top it all off, the Roots had a surprise and brought L-Boogie, Lauryn Hill to the stage. Ms Hill performed her hits– Lost Ones, Ex-Factor, Fugee-La, and Doo Wop (That Thing). It’s nice to see her back on stage after all these years.

Check the clips below for some of the performances from the Philly 4th of July Jam.

I had a discussion with some friends a couple of weeks back. With the success of the Jazzy Jeff event, DJ Neil Armstrong, and the Phil. Music Festival that had ATCQ’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad, I think it’s time to bring bigger Hip Hop acts to Manila. Don’t you think? Who’s with me? Let’s make it happen.