Leeds Hip Hop Scene

Riiiiight….

Y’all know my boy Kidkanevil, right? Tokyorkshire’s finest scratch DJ/ producer with an album out called “Problems & Solutions” which you need in your collection. On vinyl, of course…

His live show is another thing entirely. What works cotching up in the studio with an MPC for company doesn’t necessarily translate perfectly to a club environment. I’d seen one of the earlier sets to promote “Problems…” a few months back and while conceptually it was all good (recreating the album tracks live with the help of a flutist and percussionist), the coherence and energy I might have hoped for was slightly lacking.

There were no such problems last night and it seems clear to me that the KidK band has officially come of age. The Faversham was gratifyingly full for what was essentially a residents night, with support ably provided by DJ Gilla of First Word Records. The band themselves hit the stage hard and fast at the alloted hour, with MC Testament making his presence felt as ever and making the smoothest flow seem effortless.

The structure of the performance was I think effectively unchanged from earlier occasions, run through by KidK on the drum-machine/ sampler and scratch, Testa on the mic, Laura Martin on the flute and Pete Williams on percussion. We were as always given some versions of recorded material plus the live specials - a three-way beat battle between Pete, Kidkanevil and Testament beatboxing and of course Laura taking on and improvising around classic flute loops/ samples from Hip-Hop history.

The news therefore was simply that the vibe and feel of the show was of a much higher calibre, finessed by time, practice and the experience of more gigs played.