Chances are, you missed out. Hitting the Campustown bars as usual, wandering around the anticlimactic Taste of Veishea, sitting on your front porch with a beer in hand wondering what makes this weekend different than the rest.

While many occupied themselves with the above activities Veishea weekend, a tight-knit group of 400 or so was kickin’ it live at Hilton Coliseum, droppin’ nonstop hip-hop and jammin’ to the sound of Black Eyed Peas.

I have to admit, I too was skeptical. I follow music more closely than any other subject, and I had barely heard of Black Eyed Peas.

Everyone I know was either fleeing to Iowa City or catching the Smashing Pumpkins in Chicago, Oasis in Minneapolis or Bush and Moby at University of Illinois in Champaign.

Sure, it was pretty pathetic — all the big-name tours were within a few short hours’ driving distance from Ames. It seemed like any live music worth seeing was taking place anywhere but Iowa (Note to Veishea 2001 entertainment coordinators — start planning now).

But the cards Iowa State had been dealt were the Black Eyed Peas and Blackalicious, so I figured I’d go to the concert with an open mind.

What I found out was that Black Eyed Peas aren’t your standard gimmicky hip-hop group. They don’t rap about life in the hood, bitches and hos, drive-by shootings and smoking weed.

“I see you try to dis our function by statin’ that we can’t rap/ Is it because we don’t wear Tommy Hilfiger or baseball caps/ We don’t use dollars to represent/ We just use our inner sense and talent,” they rapped on “Fallin’ Up” from 1998’s “Behind the Front.”

Black Eyed Peas were on stage with a complete live band, including a guitarist, keyboardist, trumpet player, bassist, drummer, MC and singer.

I found myself groovin’ to the music, throwing my hands in the air and waving ’em like I just don’t care. (Sorry … I couldn’t help myself from using the clich‚.)

I have a big problem with current hip-hop. It’s just not about the music.

Many of today’s popular hip-hop artists couldn’t care less about the music they’re making. It’s so formulaic it makes the mass produced food at McDonald’s seem like a gourmet meal.

Depicting rappers surrounded by fancy sports cars and sexy women wearing tight outfits, there’s no way to tell one hip-hop music video from the rest.

Who cares about Jay-Z, DMX, Juvenile or Sisqo? Their music clearly isn’t breaking any new ground. How many more booty songs is the music industry going to throw at us? I guess they’ll stop when record sales begin to falter.

“Back That Azz Up” has been released about a dozen times in the past decade. It’s called the 69 Boyz’ “Tootsee Roll,” Wreckx N Effect’s “Rump Shaker” and Three Grand’s “Daisy Dukes!,” not to mention countless others.

It may sound like I am writing off an entire genre of music, but I’m not. Hip-hop has seen its heroes over the years.

The Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, N.W.A., Public Enemy, Arrested Development, Digable Planets — these are the bands that embody the true hip-hop spirit. Artists like A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Macy Gray, The Fugees and Black Eyed Peas are carrying that legacy into the future.

It shouldn’t be about image; the music is more important, and these artists know it. I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to see a truly genuine hip-hop group that’s going against the mainstream and taking their music in different directions.

For the select few that enjoyed Saturday’s concert, the true hip-hop spirit was kept alive.

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Conor Bezane is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Chicago. He is arts & entertainment editor of the Daily.