Leeds Hip Hop Scene

 I have a slight anticipation about the gig tonight, after finally guiding the stupid taxi driver to the venue why they just don’t get Sat Nav is beyond me…..

Me: “Woodhouse, Mate…. Woodhouse LANE!!!!

Taxi driver : Is that near Bramley Kid??

Me: “No, Near Hyde Park”

Taxi Driver: “You want me to park here…”

I settle down in my seat as we are entertained by some exciting visuals by the VJ’s and some dirty electronica as we wait for Wisdomtooth and his Watchmen to get the party underway. The clock strikes nine and the music starts, Wisdomtooth opens with his track “Godzilla” - an intense sample that builds the anticipation amongst the crowd, the sound system is immense making the hairs stand on the back of your neck and the bass vibrate in your chest. Next is Wisdomtooth’s “Lungs and Liver” a liquid D&B style track getting the crowd’s head’s nodding away.

Enter Malaki stage right, surrounded by smoke and flashing lights, he spits a few bars for us as we enter into the next track, he fires a barrage of metaphors at the crowd before he introduces his fellow Watchmen who will be entertaining us tonight… confidently stride forth No*Mad and Undisclosed.

The crowd are quite reluctant to come forward to the stage and hide around the corner behind the VJ screens; but show their appreciation for this young trio of emcee’s who are gracing the stage. Each emcee has his own style talking in their own accent’s which is a pleasure to hear and varying their flows on with the varying beats. The tracks are well produced and the emcees have alot of emotion and sound like they believe in the messages they are providing.

We are now introduced to the hip hop outfit Venomous Tings a Hip Hop trio from Leeds feat. Kockee K; they spit some deep rhymes and have some very simple jazzy beats to perform too, they try to bring in the crowd by getting them to sing along to the simple hook but they struggle to get the majority of the crowd involved as they still hide behind the VJ screen. Sadly the Sound Engineer struggles to queue the tracks for the Venomous Tings but definitely a group to look out for, for purveyors of pure hip hop.

Wisdomtooth and the Watchmen return and open with the track “Prison Break”, a driving track with a haunting string violin sample to it. All three emcee’s let fly over the track in turn , Undisclosed spits his paragraphs filled with connotations at us and finally we begin to see life from behind the VJ screen as some people move towards the stage like students with Hangovers on a Sunday lunchtime.

We are then introduced to MC Matter as he hops on the stage to take the mic from Malaki as he takes a breather back stage. He spits an accapella freestyle taking the proverbial out of the BNP bigots; stating Nick Griffin looks like a paedophile which brings a roar of laughter from the crowd.

Matter joins the Watchmen for the last track and all four of them provide a high tempo finale to the set.

A great venue and two very good acts; sadly the crowd were not all that receptive of these hip hop performances as they seemed more to be there for the D&B offerings of Hayashi and EPRC’s Reggae Dub party tracks but I look forward to there next offerings real soon.
Ed