Wu-Tang's GZA, Slick Rick Make Friends With Hippies

On Friday at the inaugural Echo Project just outside of Atlanta, rappers GZA (Wu-Tang Clan) and Slick Rick appealed to the festival's hippie crowd by being backed by an actual live band. "This is all live," GZA proudly told the crowd when introducing backing musicians the Fyre Dept. "Gotta respect that s---!"

Immediately before taking the stage, Slick Rick told Spinner that fronting a live band helps his music "reach a broader audience," even though it can be hard to get it to sound as slick as pre-recorded tracks.

Midway through the set, GZA further bonded with the audience by pointing to the empty photo pit and asking, "Why do they always shut down the press after two songs? We don't need that s--- empty! Let security know that we're cool with [people being there]." Meanwhile, GZA's fellow MC, Dready Kruger, wore a shirt that read, "F--- Security."

But in the front-of-house, the crowd was far too mellow to cause incidents. Guess the rappers are still adjusting to that broader audience.