“I’m walking
down the cycle path on my way into town and there’s this bit that’s really
dark. Really dark. You know where
I mean?”
I don’t, not
really, but I nod. Better to keep the
story going.
“So, I’m
getting to that bit and you really can’t see the hand in front of your
face. So, anyway, out of nowhere, about
twenty feet away I realise there’s a big dude running right at me – he’s a massive bloke, with a massive beard, with
jeans on, but with his shirt off, running right at me! And then he looks right at me, tenses up and
goes to a sprint! So I stand to the side
of the path and brace myself for an attack, cos he’s lookin right at me,
yeah? And then when he’s two or three
feet away he suddenly notices me and stops dead. I just say to him “Alright mate…?” And he goes “Alright….?”
“And then he
just carries on. So, obviously he hasn’t
seen me until the last minute, but he’s runnin circuits or something. Lookin pretty fucking menacing. In the dark.
With his shirt off. But wearing jeans.
What the fuuuuuck…?”
That is
weird, I agree.
Most people
don’t do circuit training shirtless, in the dark.
“He must be
a right cycle path.”
(That’s a
corker, by anyone’s standards, surely.)
We arrive at
The Marble Factory nice and early. Last
time I was here I missed most of the show cos I had assumed it would all be a
later evening type of thing. The doors
were 7.30 and we get there for 8.30, just before the support act start. They’re a British Hip Hop group, but they
really really remind me of A Different World, the late 80s/early 90s sitcom
which was a spin-off from The Cosby Show, although I don’t realise this at the
time. It might just be because their
sound is reminiscent of early 90s Hip Hop (which I like a lot), or it might be
because they’re wearing those sun hats that the dude from Cypress Hill used to
wear, along with people that like the baggy indie of the same era.
Either way,
they’re just not very good. They’ve got
a live bassist, and it’s by far the best thing about them. It really lifts the sound, and without it,
the whole thing would just be a bit lacklustre.
So, to the
man we’re here to see: Talib Kweli.
Perhaps not
a legend, but definitely a veteran – since Black Star (Kweli and Mos Def)’s
first and only album in 1998, Kweli has been releasing records of a
consistently high quality, with a consistently positive message, on a KRS kind
of “most-commercial-rappers-ain’t-shit” kind of tip. It’s ok to say it, but it’s much better to
rise above it, and he’s been doing that for the best part of twenty years as
well.
The set is
classic DJ and MC business, and unless it’s very contrived*, is, in part, improvised
on impulse by Kweli (“Hold up, hold up, let’s give ‘em a singalong song…”)
*(and I
wouldn’t mind if it was – I’ve seen Stevie Wonder do it and I was pretty sure
it was a very contrived way of starting a song, shouting instructions to the
musicians, like “Umm, give me some E flat major over here, and drummer, gimme a
little shuffle…” as if he just made up For Once In My Life on the spot at a
festival in Britain in 2012, and thought it was a fun groove to jam with. But it was really entertaining. So it doesn’t matter if it was improvised or
not.)
Personally,
I am far more likely to listen to a Mos Def solo record than a Talib Kweli one,
even if Def’s only made three and one of them is a bit patchy – dude is a stone
cold, smooth-as-silk rhymer with some absolutely tip-top lyrics, and his debut solo
album (Black On Both Sides) is one of the illest of all time. (Of ALL
TIME, Westy.)
But
live….? Kweli is better. He’s more energetic and takes a good route to
get through a few of his classics, as well as some old Black Star stuff near
the end.
(I’ve seen
Mos Def live a few times, and it’s like he’d rather be a soul singer – he’d be
pretty good at it, he is multi-talented, but I didn’t go to see him hoping for
a few Motown numbers. On each occasion,
I left entertained, but also a bit disappointed. Still, stack Black On Both Sides or The
Ecstatic next to anything Kweli has released and it’s no contest; one is
clearly more innovative and risky, as well as being cooler and a better
straight-up rhymer.)
One thing I
notice about the old Black Star songs is that Kweli struggles a bit to keep up
with the beat; is it because he’s a bit older, and now writes rhymes that he
can handle live? It’s something I’ve had
to consider in writing second and third albums and planning a live set, but
didn’t think about so much starting out.
I’ve noticed it with other MCs as well, so maybe it’s a natural
progression for an artist, writing for themselves (and recording) first of all
and then expanding their range…or maybe it’s just late in the set and he’s
older now. Are they just young man’s
verses? I don’t know but it’s
interesting, isn’t it? (No? Oh well, to each their own…)
There are
some fun singalong moments as well, with Eleanor Rigby segueing into a rap
tune, and some Bob Marley as well (“I’ve been to the UK before, I know y’all
love reggae”).
Anyway, the
small (it’s a school night) crowd are with it for the most part, and Kweli
gives an upbeat performance, breaking through that famous British reserve and
getting the love in return. He does stop
a tune to ask if we’re really feelin it, and it seems like a risky move – but
no contrivance. People respond that they
are with it, that yes, indeed, this is a good tune, but we are a lukewarm
people and if we don’t show enough love we’re sorry, we’re working on it, we do
understand that people are more demonstrative elsewhere; we do appreciate him
coming all this way, but we’re tired, it’s been a long day, and y’know, if the
room was packed, and it was a weekend, we’d let go a bit more, and maybe we’re
just a wee bit shy….(that’s what I
thought people were saying, anyway. I couldn’t hear everyone. Maybe it was just me.)
At one point
Kweli breaks it down to speak about the #blacklivesmatter campaign, pointing
out that to respond with “All lives matter”, or “White lives matter too” is
unhelpful, not because it’s not true, but because “Black lives matter”
apparently doesn’t go with saying and so we need to say it. He goes on to discuss the Paris attacks of
the previous week, saying that it’s important to pay attention to the attacks
in Beirut as well. That could sound like
a contradiction of sorts (ie, don’t respond to “black lives matter” with “white
lives matter too” but respond to “solidarity with France” with “solidarity with
Lebanon too”) but he makes his point well, so it doesn’t sound like there’s any
contradiction at the time.
I’ve heard people make political speeches in their
shows before, and I’m ambivalent; how people say it is at last as important as
what they say – in some places it’s highly controversial to even say “Peace”;
other places it’s considered passe. So,
artists need to tread carefully (especially when abroad) – or just speak from
the heart and see what happens….in this room tonight, everyone is onside and
the speech is well judged, getting plenty of vocal agreement and applause. File this one under "should go without sayin but for fucked up reasons
that also go without sayin, it needs sayin".
(Other times these things can easily just become an infinte facebook-style
feedback loop of self-congratulation – someone stands up at a political benefit
gig and says “Fuck the government!” and everyone who already agreed with that
shouts their agreement and everyone leaves the same, only more so.
I find that a bit boring, to be perfectly honest; I never agree
with everything someone says anyway,
and like to be challenged. I rarely
agree with anything someone says,
come to think of it. Art is supposed to
be challenging, which is why I don’t mind seeing someone chant a prayer for an
hour to a God I don’t believe in, or listen to a political speech I don’t agree
with.
Because I’m better than everyone else.
Still, I know there’s an important reason for it: small groups of
people need to know they are not alone and that lots of people agree with them
and that they are strong and can build a movement. People always respond better to someone
speaking from the heart than giving some cold analysis, but we obviously need
both, whatever our political views or personal experience.)
The sound
tonight is pretty good, but it’s not perfect; what is it about Hip Hop sound
that is so difficult for medium-to-large venues to get right? So many Hip Hop shows are ruined by poor
sound, especially muddy and unclear vocals.
Al, who has joined us at the back of the room, asks if this is just
because some rappers don’t annunciate well, and/or don’t have a naturally dope
voice, and he’s got a point, I expect that’s a factor too. I’m no sound engineer, but it seems like
making two decks and a microphone sound right should be straightforward…what am
I missing? (I welcome comments from
sound engineers reminding me that I don’t know what I’m talking about…)
So, we leave
happy, and as I say, it’s a school night, so we all go home.
Seriously,
though, what was that fella doing on the cycle path, in the dark, with his
shirt off…?
Some weird
people around tonight, mind. Might head
back to Sanctum...
You ARE better than everyone else.
ReplyDeleteExcept those sideburns. They're worse. Much worse.