all photos: Sexy Fitsum
I definitely went through that teenage Britpop phase where I listened to nothing but “Modern Life is Rubbish” and “His and Hers” for a year, and the sun rose and fell with each flick of Alex James’ fringe.
But until recently, UK Hip Hop eluded me. In college, a friend gave me her copy of The Streets’ “Original Pirate Material” because she didn’t like it, and it took me a good while till I felt differently. I didn’t hear of Grime – the fast-flowing mixture of Dancehall, Hip Hop, Electronica, and other influences made popular by young British artists like Sway and Roll Deep’s Wiley – until Lady Sovereign hit number one on TRL. And I didn’t get into Dizzee Rascal until I heard Ratatat’s synth-infused take on “Fix Up Look Sharp” from their 2004 “Remixes Vol. I.”
So call me a neophyte, but I know one thing – this show was TIGHT.
Brooklynite, indie Hip Hop pioneer, and Def Jux founder, El-P stole the show before the Brits even took the stage. The combo of El-P’s blunt and wordy lyrical style, loud, loud, loud and dissonant keyboards, and the DJ’s insane scratching blew me away. It was full frenzy from start to finish, with the Moog-guy freaking out and doing rock star leaps off a speaker. They shook the walls on “Smithereens” off of 2007’s amazing “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead.” Bounding across the stage, crisscrossing with his fellow MC, falling down, and getting hella sweaty, El-P embodied raw, captivating energy. Dizzee never stood a chance.
Not that he didn’t try - objectively, I thought his performance was pretty great. First of all, he’s pretty cute. And so’s his man whose name I didn’t catch, despite both coming out in T-shirts bearing the pile-of-poo logo of his Dirtee Stank label. But seriously, he had energy of his own, and this show set a high bar for the rest of his US tour.
A couple observations, however, which may have affected his overall reception: With the exception of “Washington, DC,” I personally couldn’t understand a word he said in between songs, so thick was his east London accent. No one’s fault, but it doesn’t exactly pump people up when they can’t understand you. Secondly, Dizzee’s debut “Boy in Da Corner,” which won him the Mercury Prize for British artists, is squarely in the Grime category. But on his 2007 record, “Maths + English,” he took a subtle departure toward more Americanized Hip Hop, evident on the singles, “Sirens” and “Where Da G’s,” featuring UGK’s Bun B and Pimp C. Even so, I think the very young, American crowd at the 930 Club on Thursday didn’t really know what to make of him.
But whether the kids weren’t feeling the Euro vibe or the rain proved too strong a deterrent for potential latecomers, the crowd had visibly thinned by the end of the night. So much so that, when Dizzee left the stage for the encore, barely anyone was still clapping. He quickly rushed back on and gave us “Fix Up Look Sharp,” his biggest American hit and “Flex,” his 2nd most popular single off the new album.
Still, an eerie quiet settled over the 930 Club as those who were left filed out. Maybe if we’d been in the UK instead of the US, kids would’ve given him the enthused response this EFFING SICK show deserved. But that’s just me.
