The night was warmed up by the legendary hip-hop DJ crew, ‘A Few Good Men’, which last night was represented by E Double D, Psykhomantus, Roc One and Rhize. My intention was to sit down, sip on my beverage, look pretty and tap my fingers to hip-hop beats and leave early. I know, how little faith I have in hip-hop now-a-days. This is probably shocking to those who remember the days when I was a little teenage rapper spitting lyrics in the studio, performing on the table tops in the college canteen and even on stage in front of Keith Murray and Redman in Digbeth.
My faith in hip-hop had been tarnished by the foul-mouthed, women hating, big headed rap stars that turned the genre mostly into a money-making, immoral platform for fools. However, last night saw my love of hip-hop return. Once I heard KRS One ‘whooping’ the sound of the police, I was on my feet dancing on the floor with the students and hip-hop lovers like I had never left the scene. The DJs killed it, big time!
I had decided to stick around as my friend Rochelle Robertson was accompanying the guys on some of their tracks. I know Rochelle is a badass singer and that she would make the night very interesting (which she did – the crowd loved her).
The show began, DME entered the stage. Firstly, I was struck by the attire of the men on stage. They weren’t dressed like the typical rappers. They had on black suits, white shirts and ties, accompanied by the freshest looking white trainers you have ever seen. ‘Quite impressive!’ I thought.
When they began their performance, I was immediately struck by the energy, passion and honest intent behind the words. I could tell they meant every word they said. And what was even more remarkable was that I could actually understand the lyrics. Often, what makes me switch off from rappers is that annoying tendency to mumble every word and arrogantly act like everyone should have heard what they said. I did not have this problem, so I had the luxury of sitting and listening to the words they had offer.
I loved the fact that they told stories. The most interesting lyrics for me were the ones about ‘trainers’. In the track I believe they actually called ‘Trainers’ the guys cleverly described their summarised life stories through the trainers they had purchased over the years. It was so refreshing to hear something other than the popularised misogynistic, cash-gloating, super-egotistical, standard pop rap (can you tell how much I detest this sort of rap?).
My favourite song was led by Rochelle singing the chorus’s lyrics ‘I Don’t Wanna Break Your Heart’. As a woman hearing men say those words, it oozed their vulnerability, love, understanding, empathy, sincerity and if I was a groupie, the guys may have found a pair of undergarments in their pockets by the end of the night, because of that song.
Towards the end of the show, they performed what I would call a bit of a head banger. The beats were powerful, the arrangement cleverly composed, fast paced and hardcore. It was definitely a track that appealed more to the men than the ladies but the majority of the crowd lapped it up like the remnants of the last supper. I haven’t seen people jump up to a track so much since I saw ‘The House of Pain’ in concert back in the 90s.
I must say, I enjoyed the entire night, the band were on point, the DJ’s played ‘til they virtually bleed, the people’s energy remained high throughout the night and Rochelle’s beautiful singing melodies gave the evening the feminine edge that was needed. As for Da Mighty Elementz, at the right times: they blew around the room like a warm summer breeze, their thunder rolled and got the people jumping and the sun beamed to reveal the true stars that Birmingham has given birth to.
Look, it’s simple, if you get an opportunity to buy the EP ‘Ghostown’, you definitely should. You will not be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment