Matthew Oshinsky for PASTE Magazine – It’s possible that no band in the world has a more impressive resume than The Soul Rebels. The eight-piece brass ensemble out of New Orleans plays upward of 250 shows a year in every conceivable setting from jazz to hip-hop to funk and rock, and their list of collaborators is too voluminous to do it any justice here—but we can try: Nas, Metallica, Rakim, Arcade Fire, Maceo Parker, Marilyn Manson, Slick Rick, Green Day, Talib Kweli, The Roots…
Back in March, they played a three-night stint at Brooklyn Bowl, with each night devoted to different New York hip-hop legends—Rakim, Mobb Deep, Jay-Z, et al. All this to say: The Rebels know their way around a cover song. So when they visited Paste Studio for a three-song set this week, we were giddy with anticipation. Sure enough, the octet—that’s six horns, two drums—broke out a jazzed-up Tribe Called Quest signature, “Can I Kick It,” from Tribe’s 1990 debut, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.