** Update: For those interested in how the event went, there's a great article from the New York Times on it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/arts/music/12reunion.html **
This year marks the anniversary of two occasions notable for Rockstar fans as well as fans of 1990’s hip-hop – a decade since the release of Grand Theft Auto III in October of 2001 – and the 20th anniversary year since Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito’s legendary college radio show debuted on the airwaves.
The seminal Columbia University (WKCR) radio show aired every Thursday late night from late 1990 through 1998 – providing a platform for some of the biggest names in hip-hop to make their very first appearances on-air.
By the time Stretch Armstrong and Lord Sear appeared as DJs and hosts on the radio in Grand Theft Auto III, Stretch and Bobbito had amicably split to pursue separate endeavors – but last fall, the two reunited back at WKCR on the week of the 20th anniversary of their very first show in October 1990 – taking back over the airwaves for an epic 5 hour reunion special filled with nostalgia, amazing stories from the 90’s, super rare b-sides and jaw-dropping on-air freestyle session recordings from the archives of artists like Mobb Deep, Nas, Biggie, Jay-Z, Big L, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard in their early days – not to mention the good old fashioned late night delirious tomfoolery their listeners loved them for.
Now, this coming Thursday night February 10th – Stretch, Bobbito and longtime co-host Lord Sear are properly celebrating this 20 year milestone with a one-night-only event at Le Poisson Rouge in downtown NYC – sure to be filled with lots of surprise guest artists paying homage to the groundbreaking radio show… and plenty of that good old fashioned tomfoolery. If you’re in the NYC area, you can get tickets at http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/1826.
