Live Review: Jam'n 107.5's Boo Bomb at Memorial Coliseum, Oct. 24

Entrances are important in hip-hop. Think of how Jay-Z began his retirement show at Madison Square Garden in 2004, as documented in Fade to Black: introduced by legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer, running onstage to “What More Can I Say,” rocking a Biggie shirt. You can’t give off an air of pure bravado if you just casually stroll up whenever the DJ calls your name. 

So despite the fact that the Jam’N 107.5-sponsored Boo Bomb was billed as a “throwback” show, there was nothing old-school about the way Ja Rule introduced himself to the crowd. “What’s my motherfucking name?!” he bark-screamed from behind the stage. And, naturally, the crowd erupted. 

Friday night’s show at Memorial Coliseum was an exercise in restraint, something that’s rare for a rap show. Boo Bomb’s seven performers were spread out over a brisk four hours, with everyone getting about 20 minutes to shower the adoring crowd with a series of hits, should-have-been-hits and newer songs that everyone struggled to rap along to. The format was perfect, though—nobody really wants to see Juvenile play any longer than that, especially when he saved “Back That Azz Up” to the final minutes. 

Almost every rapper sounded good and hungry, as if all the time away from the spotlight only increased their need to be heard. West Coast legend DJ Quik rocked the stage sans hype man, mostly sticking to older songs and advising the women in the audience to make their boyfriends feel good. He also successfully lit a joint and passed it off to the front row, something that would never fly at the Roseland. Both E-40 and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony received huge support for jams they recorded almost 20 years ago. Sir Mix-a-Lot wisely saved “Baby Got Back” for last, dragging out his only national hit while talking about Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” (which heavily samples the song) and the crowd for loving him even though he refuses to grab his nuts onstage. 

As the headliner of a “throwback” show, T.I. worked to prove that he’s the most relevant of the largely irrelevant. Despite the fact that new record Paperwork just came out this week, he wisely leaned on more hallowed material, including “Whatever You Like” and epic show-closer “What You Know,” which still sounds as good now as it did in 2006. One song that hasn’t aged well, despite being arguably the biggest song of 2013, is Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” T.I. did his guest verse while shimmying across the stage, but the song failed to take off, a sign that sometimes a song outgrows its welcome after it’s played at every single wedding. 

And then there was Ja Rule. During the show I joked on Twitter that his voice is the best single of 2014, but there’s something to be said for an instrument that gruff and powerful. I’d probably listen to anything he rhymed on, but his reliance on the indelible hooks from “Always on Time” and “Put It On Me” only emphasized the night’s glaring lack of women. It would have been nice to have someone like Ashanti, such an important part of Ja Rule’s sensitive thug lover-man appeal and a solo artist still releasing some pretty great material, there to sing live. The night’s biggest sing-along wasn’t even to a song performed onstage, but when the DJ threw on TLC’s “No Scrubs” in between sets. Let’s hope that Jam’N 107.5 makes this an annual event, but evens the gender ratio next time. 

All photos by Will Corwin.

BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY:

 DJ QUIK:

E-40: 

JUVENILE: 

 T.I.:

WWeek 2015