One look at the lineup for the 2005 Monterey Blues festival, and it
becomes evident that there is one driving theme throughout the weekend:
this is grown folks music, without a doubt.

Now, speaking as a card-carrying member of the hip-hop nation, that is
not meant as a diss. In fact, if I may add to that statement, the lineup
is really all about music for the grown and sexy, a stable of
sophisticated talent that would appear to be the precursor for the
hip-hop generation that I grew up in. A generation that, unfortunately,
has gradually grown less and less interested in the soul, funk, and yes,
blues that helped birth the boom-bap.

Of course, this weekend's festival is devoid of anything even loosely
resembling hip-hop music. Luckily, I can play six degrees of Kevin Bacon
to draw the connections. For instance: Friday night's 70's Soul Jam features one act, The Delfonics, whose
music has both influenced and been heavily sampled by today's premiere
hip-hop acts.

Of course, growing up as a Chicano in east Salinas, I was already
familiar with the oldies groove of the Delfonics. Their song "La La
Means I love you," is a low-rider classic, one of the first oldies jams
I grew up with as a youngster. I remember back in the day, shopping at
the flea market and purchasing my first "East Side Story" cassette tape,
as part of the fisher price "My first cholo" play set. "La La..." is one
of those low-rider standards, a song that drips with brown-eyed
nostalgia and old school Chicano pride.

More recently, Staten Island MC and Wu-Tang founding member Ghostface
featured a song on his album "The Pretty Toney Album" in which he rapped
passionately over the record (Delfonics harmonizing and all). The track
was released as if he had recorded it while rapping along in his
customized sports utility vehicle. The result was a bewildering yet
beautiful ode to classic soul tunes that bridged the gap between hip-hop
and doo wop.

Saturday's main stage line-up features Chicago blues guitar legend
Buddy Guy, the father of hip-hop artist Shawnna, who is a member of
Atlanta-based rapper Ludacris' crew. Guy's son is also a noted hip-hop
producer who has done work with Ludacris and other high-profile hip-hop
artists.

Of all the acts scheduled to perform, The Neville Brothers are probably
the group that has the most direct link to hip-hop music. Their latest
album, "Walkin' in the Shadow of Life," included the song "Junkie Child"
featuring New Orleans rapper B.G. The track features the Brothers and
B.G. reflecting on the ills of drug abuse, and in a way registers as a
generational gap-bridging, finding a thematically tragic link between
the artists that is stark and poetic.

Of course, not everything in blues can be referenced to hip-hop, but
this weekend, I hope I can find some more of the connections to the
music I love. Attending the festival will be like visiting that cool
uncle who taught you everything you needed to know about being a player,
while maintaining his own playeristic ways. It's grown and sexy folks
music, timeless art that has bred a new generation of bluesy creativity,
driven by the beat of the street.