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Public Enemy puts on
top performance

Despite an embarrassingly low turnout, Friday's Public Enemy show was one of the best I've seen this year.

When Chuck D, Flavor Flav and Professor Griff assaulted the stage around 5 p.m., there were approximately 300 people scattered on the great lawn at KCC. That didn't stop them from turning in a high-energy set that mixed classic hits with new material and political messages.

Artists from Tiki Entertainment were booked to open the "First Annual Hawaii Hip-Hop Festival," with Spookahuna and Christyles impressing me the most. But I was blown away even more while sitting in the cafeteria, watching Chuck sign autographs and greet his fans. For someone who's been a part of hip-hop since the mid-'80s, he seemed really down-to-earth and sincerely appreciative of the people he talked to.

But it's too bad Hawaii doesn't seem to appreciate Public Enemy much in return. Flavor Flav even got dissed when he tried to party the night before the show, getting kicked out of one Waikiki nightspot by security who wouldn't let him wear a hat inside.

Although chances appear very slim, I hope there's a second annual "Hawaii Hip-Hop Festival." It deserves more community support than what it got this year ...

GOOD LUCK to the Nocturnal Sound Krew's DJ Jami and DJ Costik, who leave for New York City to compete in the U.S. DMC Finals on Friday.

Jami secured his invitation after winning the Hawaii regional competition for the second straight year. Costik, on the other hand, took his crates of vinyl and captured a spot by winning the Colorado regional.

Another waxmaster with Hawaii ties, DJ QBert, will also be on hand at the finals to showcase his talents ...

JAZZ MUSICIAN DeShannon Higa recently pulled the plug on his Thursday gig at the Living Room, choosing to focus his efforts on Tuesdays at Indigo. He'll be joined there tonight by Randy Wheeler, Michael Grande, Randy Aloya and Jerome James ...

AND TICKETS go on sale Saturday for a Oct. 15 performance by Jasmine Trias at Kapono's. It will be her first full-blown concert (not counting promotional appearances and her CD release party earlier this year) in Honolulu since appearing with other "American Idol" finalists at the Blaisdell last year ...