One Nation Under A Groove

There is a strong Hip-Hop vibe in the Oxford air as we near the mid point of a summer that has seen increasing numbers of gigs, including KRS ONE, one of the greatest MCs to ever grace the Oxford stage. It seems there are more big names coming in the near future, meanwhile the home grown talent keeps going strong and I for one am glad to be a part of it. The more people that come out to enjoy themselves the better a show can be and the greater the spirit of the scene becomes - action reaction, cause and effect, call and response.

It is in this spirit that I take my first dip into the archives to bring you a review of a wonderful night back in 2005, a reminder that Hip-Hop is for the big and for the small and that you get out what you put in…

Date: 22nd October 2005
Venue: The Forum, Kentish Town, London
In Attendance: Me, Tes. Occasion: One Nation Under a Groove

“The Revolution will not be televised on Channel U” – Klashnekoff

One Nation Under a Groove was a show organised by the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies’ Palestine Society, it was a show that gathered people from all over the world to perform, spread their message and represent themselves. It’s almost a shame that I had won the tickets because this show was well worth the admission, I’m definitely glad to have been there.

Possessed with little information about the event, and an ignorance of the details of the politics discussed, I was unsure what to expect from it. We arrived as the first poet was finishing, as I sipped my Guinness the host for the evening, Abiodun of the Last Poets, took the stage. Abiodun is a natural talker with a voice that makes you listen, after thanking the performers so far he recited a poem that the “spineless” Russell Simmons had been “scared to air” when performed on Def Poetry Jam.

Next up was rapper Invincible from Detroit, the live drummer was a nice touch but unfortunately she had a small voice and the sound system was doing her no favours, end result: I could barely understand her. Does anyone ever do a sound check?!

The crowd might have been a little hard to fathom for some of the artists, it was small and, because of the nature of the event, not particularly boisterous (there were to be exceptions) but it was an attentive crowd that was definitely appreciative.

Next up was a man I was excited about seeing, British poet Benjamin Zephaniah. Benjamin is an oral poet whose work I had previously enjoyed studying, he is a thoughtful commentator on British culture (amongst other things), his insight comes from a well considered personal viewpoint, his passion is obvious and he fuses it all together with a love of wordplay and a sly sense of humour.

Benjamin’s vibrant character makes his performance a joy to behold; his accent is Jamaican meets Brummie (with my slow ear I have to concentrate to comprehend at times) and he plays into his comedic moments which are born out of the ridiculousness of reality. Benjamin on his poem ‘Money’: “Titles are important, it took me 15 minutes to write the poem and 3 weeks to think of the title. You may not like the poem, but you will like the title!”

He also keeps the legacy of Stephen Lawrence alive, this was a young man whose racist murderers were known to all, because of the way the case was handled they walked free – ‘What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us’. I recommend anyone to look up some of my favourites from the night: ‘Wrong Radio Station’, ‘White Comedy’, ‘What Has That Got To Do With Me’. Citing a need to truly experience Kentish Town, upon finishing he said he was going to try and get arrested. The other option being to have sex with someone from the area, he dismissed this after asking for a show of hands: “There are only three of them, and they look very nervous!”

Throughout the night various images are projected onto a large screen behind the performers – kids and troops, world leaders etc. When artists were performing some dope camera work showed their image larger than life behind them.

On a night full of lyrical treats the performance of Poisonous Poets was no exception, although only half the cru was there (Reveal, Lowkey, Stylah and DJ Snips) they put on a good show. The catalogue was narrowed down for the occasion so whilst Reveal was not punch line heavy his a cappella about the daily condition of the citizens of Iraq (that he has witnessed first hand) was most intelligent. An impeccable freestyler it would appear Reveal needs a prompt when performing written lyrics as he reads from a mobile phone, unless of course he was multi-tasking. The double P ran through a few hits, including Lowkey’s ‘Lies’, before Lowkey closed it with an a cappella of ‘Perspective’:

“To a youth wearing hand-me-downs in a shanty town / your Avirex is probably worth enough to get his family out”

“You think having a Gat makes you gangsta? That shit’s fake / ‘cos there’s kids in Rwanda that been strapped since 8”

And if you don’t like that you can spin on it like Alistair Campbell.

Nowadays me and Tes can’t go anywhere without Wu-Tang showing up, in this case it was affiliate Cilvaringz who had been off touring 37 countries. This was his first time in London and he was joined by Arabic rapper Arap who was an absolute monster, a big ball of energy who smashed the heavy beats that were dropping. Abiodun told us how the Wu like to teach and how they drop by when he holds an open house and cooks for people in his Harlem home.

KRS ONE doesn’t fly, KRS ONE most definitely talks – we are treated to his positive ramblings via the video screen.

Next up was DAM, the first Palestinian rap group. The group is made up of three Arabic rappers and a Jewish DJ and they are from an area in Israel. If they were ever daunted at being the only Hip-Hop representatives for a whole people it didn’t show. They rapped in Arabic and Hebrew and spoke English well, an obviously conscious effort to promote understanding between people.

Throughout the night there had been a lot of “Fuck Bush, Fuck Blair, Fuck Sharon” – names that partly seemed interchangeable and more so a “Fuck” what they represent. One member of the group said that he was not going to say these things “there has been a lot of fucking people tonight, if they hadn’t of said it, believe me, I would be saying it but I want to let you know we are not just about fuck this fuck that, we are a people of culture and we are here to represent it”. Arabic, Hebrew – these languages I don’t speak, but I do understand incredible beats, confident and determined flow, excellent delivery, rhythmic songs, a natural easiness with one another and a bold stage presence – things that DAM had in abundance. These guys really smashed it.

It was the smaller names on the night that I really enjoyed seeing do so well but as we neared the end the big names certainly came out strong. Abiodun introduced M-1 and Umi of Dead Prez (Sticman was back home in Atlanta) by telling the tale about how ‘Mind Sex’ (on which he featured) was recorded in prison; he said this was an odd experience for him because he had been in prison for real. Abiodun was not repentant of his crime because he was jailed for stealing money from a Grand Dragon of the KKK:

“And I didn’t do it with no poem either!…I used a .357 Magnum and that’s a whole ‘nother thing!”

The Red is for the blood in his arm, the Black is for the mic in his palm, the Green is for the charm, it grows natural. M-1 and Umi were fantastic, passionate performers; I could hear every word quite clearly and was thrilled as they ran through some older gems and some tracks from the newer mixtapes and albums.

“This is not a concert. It is so much more”

Both guys appreciated being given the chance to perform at this event and they put on such a show. Topics were discussed before songs were performed, I could write a track list but if you know Dead Prez you can as easily imagine it. I hadn’t expected Michael Jackson to be quoted but he was right: “You can make a change”.
There was of course one song that was guaranteed, though M-1 still had a little tease “I’ll do that one, but you better know how to act. If you don’t go crazy I’m leaving”.

“We’ve talked a lot about the amount of bullshit that is out there but is anyone else fed up of these bullshit rappers?!”

When this track dropped it was an explicit demonstration of what I had been feeling all night, of course I’m talking ‘bout Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop.

I thought I was less familiar with Pharoahe Monch’s songs and I couldn’t see how he was going to top this performance, I needn’t have worried. The Mighty Monch was accompanied by two excellent singers who perfectly complemented his raps and really added feeling to the performance. Backing him on the decks is a member of the Executioners who does his own crazy mini-set. Each and every song is lyrical to the end and the opening line of Agent Orange is sublime:

“Pissed on the motherfucking White House Lawn, threw (a rock/Iraq) and I-ran”

The anthems are all present and correct including ‘Oh No!’ and ‘Fuck You’. Before the grand finale we are treated to a few bars of a cappella, unfortunately the crowd seems non-plussed (my guess is they were blown away) with the crazy lyrics and the punch line flies over heads: “They ain’t ready for that”.

“What we have here tonight is Hip-Hop. We have people from all over the world here, in one place, representing themselves and demonstrating their cultures, bringing their message. We are Hip-Hop”

Pharoahe’s words, my sentiments exactly. Where you at? Right Here! Where you at?! Right Here!!
Needless to say, not one person in the building failed to do what ‘Simon Says’.

With the help of Abiodun we coax Pharoahe back out for an encore and then it really is over. My knees hurt, so does my back, but I could carry on right here ‘till I collapse.

It has been mentioned that, great as all this is, we are preaching to the converted. Because of the very nature of the event I agree with this statement but that is not to say that this evening did not have a positive impact.

The positive energy is carried through into the night – Tes and I manage to bag the last bits of chicken in the shop, and they tasted damn good. Almost as good as the taste left in my mouth by this show.

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