Music > Live Reviews

Talib Kweli @ Epic

22/11/15

Arriving at Epic Studios for what will probably be the final time on Friday evening it was immediately apparent that the Norwich hip hop heads were out in full force. A bit if a shame then that the start of the evening felt a bit low key and dare I say it – dull. A DJ playing tunes too quietly preceded a set by Othasoul, a Camden trio who were, actually a bit boring. Comparing it to the visceral thrill of some of the current grime artists their style seemed very safe and had that perennial British hip hop problem – too in awe of their American brethren to be able to truly create something original.

A much better and significantly louder DJ set from 1Xtra’s DJ Cable really upped the ante before Talib’s DJ finished the warm up for the man himself. My slightly negative feelings from earlier fully disappeared within a fraction of a micro- second of his arrival on stage. Hip hop royalty was in the house and then some. Having been to see Joey Bada$$ three days before, the difference between these two Brooklyn natives was enormous. Whereas Joey, good though he was, lost the subtleties of his excellent debut album live on stage, the very opposite was true of Talib. Every single verse, every rap was delivered with razor sharp precision, with the music perfectly, clearly in the mix. His DJ did more than just play records behind him, he supported him, he scratched and he acted as hype man. The addition of a screen also made this feel like a genuine show. When you don’t even drop a single weak track highlights are going to be numerous; classics off the Train Of Thought & Black Star albums obviously got the strongest crowd reaction, but in reality were more than matched by so many other tracks. Palookas off the brilliant Gutter Rainbows album was probably my pick of the crop, with its assertive refrain of “You ain’t got a verse better than my worst one”. Our Wu hands were thrown high for the RZA produced Rocket Ships and we sang along to the Eleanor Rigby sample on Lonely People. The Nina Simone sampling, Kanye produced Get By really sums up all that is good about Talib. This gospel tinged song is soulful and powerful, but never preachy – powerful and positive is more his style. .

Talib exuded an assured confidence all night, brother knows he’s good, but he also came to get down and make sure we all got down too. In the end it was exactly the Friday night party I left the house looking for. I’ve seen a fair amount of live hip hop legends over the years and I can say without any shadow of a doubt this was the best example of live MCing I have ever seen. With Joey & Talib in the same week and Jeru The Damaja just around the corner it’s a great time to be a Norwich hip hop fan. 

@StuPres