Kottonmouth Kings drove into Knoxville for their show at The Concourse. Chucky Chuck started the night off, and if you didn’t know any better you would have thought he was a part of the KMK krew from the beginning. The up-and-coming Philadelphia cipher Whitney Peyton grabbed hold of the mic next, before Marlon Asher the ganja farmer got everybody in the right headspace.
By the time the Kings took the stage the crowd was raucous and ready to go. They opened up with K-O-T-T-O-N-M-O-U-T-H Song just to make sure there were no mistakes as to who they were and what they were in Knoxville to do. As the night wore on their one and a half hour set included some of their greatest hits like Tangerine Sky, and the crowd favorite Hold It In. Their latest album Krown Power was well represented with almost half the album included in the set list. Though Kronitron was quite possibly my favorite of the night. Marlon Asher joined the Kings onstage along with Chucky Chuck for Crack Da Frame and Ganja Glow.
The stage seemed to get smaller and smaller as Chucky Chuck, Marlon Asher, Whitney Peyton, and a slew of other guests remained on stage song after song jumping around and adding in their own libs. This continued on through covers of Red Hot Chili Peppers Give It Away, DMX ‘RoughRyders Anthem’ and Sublime’s ‘Lovin’, and even a quick little DJ set by D-Loc who was celebrating his birthday.
The Kottonmouth Kings are known for highly energetic shows and this has not changed over the years. They never stopped moving, even as they took turns slugging a bottle of Jack Daniels, (when in Rome, right?) D-Loc even found his way up into the rafters via a low-hanging plumbing pipe that he repeatedly leaned on throughout the show until finally to the roar of the crowd he hoisted himself up onto it for a song and a half. The antics continued long into the night and the Kottonmouth Kings proved to another city that they are still hardcore. The pit was non-stop. They are still a creative powerhouse. Krown Power hit number eight on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums, and they are still ahead of the curve.
