Rap Exploitated Sessionism - Pikey & Rhymes Hit Ipswich

Having missed my weekly burnout capoiera training session, one passing me in the street could mistake me for a largered up, shit monkey, looking for a fight. They would not be too far wrong. However, today I am not so angry, as last night I witnessed a great many things that made me happy to be ME. And involved in the UK Hip Hop scene.

So yesterday, myself, Rhymes and Pikey Esquire, headed to the home county city of Ipswich. On entering the city limits, one might be mistaken for thinking that this is just another English Upper-middle class hick-town with nowt that much going on, except the odd lynching of Tamil immigrants and some 'oik' deigning to vote anything except Tory. And for the most part, you'd be right.

However, there is a deep-rooted core of resistance; kernels of beauty in this rural wasteland; small islands populated by folk who refuse to drink in Bar Room Bar, would rather firebomb a McDonalds that eat in it, and who respect people who like to dress a little different. One of these places, is the clubnight hosted by Rapsploitation, Ipswich resident Blogger Crew, dedicated to spreading the message. And it was here that we descended to unfurl the first public airing of Rhymes and Pikey's new side project. 

On a support slot for Foriegn Beggars, this was always going to be a lively night. The sound system was perfect, and Pikey's deep bass flappery could be felt all the way out to the non-Polish doormen, raising the eyebrows of the Community Support Officers who dared to poke their noses round the door. Hands were raised and jaws were rightly dropped. I was on DJ duties, and the vibe from backstage was similar. I know the boys have been practicing these songs for a while, and their experience from the QE live set shines through. When we dropped Focus, the roof was literally popped. Minus SherlQck and Source, I was concerned that the adlibs wouldn't be strong enough, but Pikes (bless him!) carried through with wit and force, resulting in one of the biggest ovations I've heard for that tune in TIME. A good set.

And now for the rest of the night - We were followed up by local boy, Nee Hi. While his beats were good, his lyrics and flow were from a bygone era. His heart and force is pushing in the right place, its something I heard years back on NWA demo tapes, done a fair bit better. Nee Hi, as everyone else does, has the potential to be much better, and more exciting and dangerous in terms of delivery - talking about pussy and guns really doesn't cut it anymore.

Next up were live hip hop band, Millionaires By Morning, fronted by local rapper Truth. These guys have only been together since November, but they show exceptional potential. Starting off with a bit of shouty soundclash between the singer and rapper, the group soon settled in to the sound system and acoustics of the venue. Watching these guys was like looking at QE about 3-4 years back - the core of goodness is there, but they just need to hone it a little little bit! Going from studio to stage, and even stage to studio, can be a real culture shock, but I think Millionaires will be big - bigger than they are now, and all it's gonna take is a few promoters to take the chance on them. I'm definitely booking them for a QE support slot first chance I get.

Last, but by no means least were Foriegn Beggars...Or rather the Beggars minus Orifice Volgatron. The FB lineup for tonight was NoNames (struggling with microphones and leads), Dr Syntax (the nicest guy in Hip Hop), Metropolis (the second nicest guy in Hip Hop) and Kyza (sounded like he had laryngitis all night). The slight sense of disappointment that Orifice hadn't shown was palpable. However, this is now a pattern that has seemed to emerge with FB gigs - if it's not in London, and it's not got hype around it, OV aint gonna show. And why should he? He's got a label, an agency and a business to run. He's basically UK Hip Hop's Method Man - an exceptionally talented artist who can call the shots.

Thankfully, Metropolis and Syntax have the presence and power to take the slack. They drop their new tracks that FB's been working on with Noisia. They production is STRONG. Beefy, one might say. Syntax threw out some new stuff from his forthcoming album, which is sounding BIG. Kyza rocked some interesting flows, but spent most of the night sounding like ODB with a sore throat. However - and this will get me lynched - I just don't think...the lyrics for the FB songs...and the flows...really match up to quality of the production.

And here we come to the Foreign Beggar Complex - these guys have had money, which has made money. And now they are international touring artists. And everyone's telling them they are great. And UK Hip Hop needs to be taken seriously, so the scene is saying, "fuck yeah, that sounds awesome."...But is it? Is 'Hit that Gash' really as far as the form can go? Is 'Contact', for all its mashout fury, the best expression we can afford? The Dented garage is currently filled with artists like Sonny Jim, who, for a want of a better word, are awful...Has this what we've become? Just chasing after a dollar? With the resources that Dented has, I would've thought they would be more picky, more business-like in their investments. But in the country that's turned N-Dubz into a global phenomena, we are nowhere on the level that America is, and we're still churning out boring crap that only people in this country buy into.

I don't know what the solution is - I just know that the Foreign Beggars of four years ago, is not the Foreign Beggars of today. Of course it wouldn't be - but its not where I thought it would be either...That's not to say that i didn't mosh the fuck out, and laugh my tits off at the bouncers sweating at the sight of their first pit. This is not a dig at the FB boys, just at the danger of building yourself an ivory tower...FB smash it, and they will always smash every gig they go to, because they know how to perform. There is very little on this planet that will ever match the Asylum Speakers LP, because it is a snapshot in time of genius and perseverance

This all sounds slightly negative. But it shouldn't. Last night proved there is new blood like the Millionaires that we need to support, that we need to tour with, that we all need to invest in for the form to move forward in a positive way.

Anyhow, I found the subject for my next writeup - The Hush House - Ipswich's top dollar blog/dance/club crew, who finished off the night in true styles. I think Pikey had a good time on his birthday, but I didn't get to see him pass out, so I don't know for sure...

Anyhow...yeah...

- Shwinn