After a brief intermission, Roots Collective hit the stage to finish off the night. Their set was diverse and seemed a tad more on the traditional side. Those in attendance appeared to respond better to Roots Collective too. As made evident by the non-stop dancing crowd that swarmed the stage from the first note until the very last. The band performed tributes to the late great Bob Marley via covers of his hit songs like “I Shot The Sheriff.” And they also did some original material like their song “Run Around.” However, what stood out the most from their set was the modern twist that they added to their act. They incorporated Hip-Hop into their sound via newest potential member Mariano Weaver aka Mic Pro. Mic Pro is a formerly retired Hip-Hop artist. Also, he is a founding member of the Blaqlizt Entertainment brand. He came out of retirement when presented with the eccentric opportunity to perform with Roots Collective. They adjusted original tracks like “Love & Unity,” “Fire,” and “Money;” to allow Mic Pro to do his thing. The end result was pretty fresh. His old school style and honest lyrics meshed well with the band’s soulful Reggae approach. And the crowd enjoyed the twist too. So much so that they didn’t want the show to end and were pretty vocal about it. The event still had to close out at midnight but Roots Collective and Mic Pro received a lot of praise for their set. People had nothing but positive things to say about it from the union all the way down to State Street. That’s a pretty big deal. Overall, the night was a huge hit.
**My Two Cents: I am not a huge Reggae fan. However, since I started featuring Brooklyn Hip-Hop / Reggae artist Versatile Excell on the site; I thought it would be cool to check out the Reggae / Hip-Hop scene here too. And I am glad that I went. It was really cool to experience the two styles coming together in person. It was something different and the audience was certainly into it. Looking forward to following the partnership of Roots Collective and Mic Pro and seeing how it all plays out. Readers can listen to some of the band’s music and learn more about them here. -MinM
