On what was arguably the coldest day of New York City’s fleeting Fall, indigenous emcee Immortal Technique ended his 34 date Middle Passage Tour with a bang in the Rotten Apple.
As the three-fourths full crowd filed in slowly, but steadily into the downstairs area of Times Square’s PlayStation Theater, Brooklyn mainstay vet Poison Pen occupied the ears of the crowd with several selections that he brought “on the A train from Nostrand Avenue.” Pen was more than enough energy for the finicky crowd, who were suddenly wowed when West Coast legend Chino XL put it down almost his entire set while standing in the crowd.
Not to be outdone, the Harlem headliner Immortal Technique served up a few goodies from his extensive discography before unveiling more than a few singles from his new album Middle Passage. Never one to miss a conscious punchline, Immortal gave the crowd an eye and ear-opening performance in his beloved hometown, Never forgetting their Rotten Apple roots, all of the artists who performed paid homage to their comrade Robert “Pumpkinhead” Diaz, who died June 9, 2015, while waiting to undergo gall stone surgery.
