Review written by Michael Grant-Harvey, founder of RePPiN4U
We are in the midst of celebrating 50 years of the greatest culture on Earth, and it does not come without it’s controversies. And on this night, that tradition continues.
RAPMANIA
This story goes back to say late 2019. The promoter Spreadlove aimed to put out an epic line up, consisting of Lords of the Underground, Onyx, M.O.P. & EPMD. However talks of an illness called Coronavirus (or Covid-19 as it was commonly called) which allegedly originated from China began to spread across the whole world, forcing a global lockdown and public shows being cancelled. Spreadlove went the ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ route and rescheduled the show and then ultimately refunded the fans with no plans to put this type of show on again, but in June of 2023 everything changed.
Here at RePPiN4U, a mixtape was created to honour the show that never happened, but as the saying goes, never say NEVER.
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/reppin4u/episodes/2020-03-04T11_26_35-08_00
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MIXTAPE
(FREE DOWNLOAD)
The Plandemic did not stop Spreadlove’s ambition, (nor did a train strike but that’s besides the point). Knowing that this momentous occasion that is 50 Years of Hip Hop, he decided to bring together a line up spanning the majority of Hip Hop’s Golden Jubilee.
With a DJ line up of DJ 279, Mr Thing and Shortee Blitz, if you come to expect some Eminem, Little Wayne, Little Uzi Vert and the like… you might as well jump back on the train (oh wait, it was a train strike…oh dear…)
Earlier in the day we learned that Onyx were unable to show up and perform, that left Spreadlove with an option to either replace Onyx at short notice or have the performers have longer sets. Turns out he chose the latter.
1000 N!&&@Z
Around 9:30pm Elzhi, Guilty Simpson, and Phat Kat grace the stage. Considering that they have multiple collaborations together, it was best they shared the stage and did just that, not to mention their solo hits like ‘I Do No Wrong’ ‘Man’s World’, ‘Detroit State of Mind’, ‘Deep’, ‘Cold Steel’, ‘Nasty Ain’t It’? I could keep going! Turns out it was a double celebration as Phat Kat ran around the sun once again.
Spreadlove sequenced the show together like his name was Vincent Kennedy McMahon – starts the show with a CRAZY DETROIT TRIO, then in between sets had the staff at the O2 Forum supply free glasses of water for the crowd especially those at the front to quench their thirst.
MC Mello and Shortee Blitz kept the celebration going, with Mello getting the capacity crowd to sing Happy Birthday to Hip Hop… Shortee did something which may have triggered myself and friend of RePPiN4U – Big O to do a special discussion show about… he asked the crowd to make noise if they love 80s and 90s Hip Hop, to which they cheered for, but when it came to the 2000s.. you could hear boo’s within the O2 Forum which was a bit insulting, off the grid, Big O and myself started reeling off albums released from the 2000s without effort… and without going into the realm of trap music or autotune…
Next up was BLADE 5:21. When he stepped on stage wearing a bathroom robe, it was clear that this man was on a mission – to implement the 4/5 elements of Hip Hop and he did. DJ Mr Thing got his chance to shine on the ones and twos to remind London why he’s one of the best in the UK, Blade took his MC calibre and graffiti himself all over the crowd, and the B-Boys came through all co-ordinating with fashion sense. Blade’s performance made the blast master himself smile from wherever in the world he was at.
Side note goes out to Alchemist who made a surprise appearance at the event… would have been nice for him to do a special set to make up for Onyx’s absence.
EVOLVE AND TRANSCEND
Masta Ace & Marco Polo were next to take the stage. Ace went in with his plethora of gems, he thanked London for putting him on the map from his first two singles which were not popping off in the US like he hoped, he told us the story of the unique connection between himself and Strickland as pertains to their mothers who passed on, big ups to Marco Polo who cleverly had Ace perform ‘Young Black Intelligent’ over the 93 Til Infinity beat… and leaving ‘Good Ol Love’ as his closer was a ‘Beautiful’ end to his set… but then this is where the show gets interesting as Ace announces that Big Daddy Kane was up next… now keeping in mind that Onyx didn’t show up, time management was key here, I was under the impression that extra time was given to the performers, but what about Hijack?
NUFF RESPECT DUE???
The headliner exploded on stage with a b-boy of his own who quite frankly, showed Blade’s B-Boys how it was done!!!! Ironically, it was during the first track ‘Nuff Respect Due’ where Big Daddy Kane was disrespected to the eyes of of the unknowing.
Suddenly a masked man appeared on stage wearing a Hijack shirt, with the illusion that he was joining Kane on stage for a history making moment, but it was not in the way it was intended. Kane suddenly had the music stopped and confronted the guy, which was escalating quickly with Kane taking off his leather jacket to throw hands.
The understanding was, or misunderstanding rather, was that Hijack were to follow Masta Ace for a 15 minute set… there are conflicting reports as to why Hijack couldn’t perform, their fans were in attendance and knew what was going on… but in the eyes of many, they disrespected a legend in the game by attempting to Hijack the show, as it were. Security quickly settled the issue and Hijack left the building… or so we thought.
WE ARE THE STREETS
Fast forward to the end of the night, turns out that Hijack KEPT IT HIP HOP and took their performance to THE STREETS! After all, that is where Hip Hop originated from… THE STREETS! (Word to Noreaga) Not only did they express their displeasure of how they were treated by the promoters/venue management, they made sure they are going to give the fans what they want and their money’s worth – a set which went a lot longer than 15 minutes! The ol’ bill turns up, sees everybody still partying, and realises that like Robocop, somewhere there is a crime happening and continued to walk on like the end credits of the classic ITV serial drama. After all, it was carnival weekend, and that’s where worries and problem could occur.
So roughly 60 minutes earlier the dust was settled and the smoke was cleared and many thanks to Big Daddy Kane who decided that 50 Years of Hip Hop is much bigger than a meaningless squabble and continued the show and celebrated 35 years of his album ‘Long Live The Kane’! Performing his classic material like ‘Warm It Up Kane’, ‘Smooth Operator’, and Ain’t No Half Steppin’, but it was his story about Biz Markie which captivated the crowd to which Kane credits his career to before the capacity crowd sang along to the classic Markie hit ‘Just A Friend’…another highlight was Kane bringing Masta Ace back out for ‘The Symphony’… what a moment that was. Unfortunately, he celebrated this album which meant you didn’t hear any other hits like ‘Show & Prove’, or ‘Platinum Plus’ which he featured on with the late Big L. His set ended with his hype man putting the gown on him and his signature hat thus, the Kane has left the building!
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON
In retrospect, given the time frames, giving the UK acts only 15 minutes according to the show rota was an injustice, because UK Hip Hop artists GO IN with the energy they bring especially when they are sharing the stage with US artists. In my experience, artists like Kemetstry, Taoreta, Shakezpeare and Blade 5:21… they know how to entertain the crowd for 30 minutes if not longer, however it was a blessing in disguise that Onyx did not turn up. With the Hijack incident, there are questions you have to force yourself to ask which you may get no answers. Big Daddy Kane actually finished around the 1:30am mark… so with half an hour to spare, Hijack could have done their thing after all. But what if it was Onyx that Hijack decided to appear on stage? We know how Onyx get down. Had Onyx turned up, would we have seen Blade tear the arena up the way he did? Would Hijack have rocked the street the way they did? Was this a sign for Spreadlove to try one more time for RapMania which would have featured Onyx to begin with? Was it actually a stroke of marketing genius on the part of Hijack? To make an impact on the show’s biggest headliner? While I do not necessarily agree with the actions Hijack took on stage, bottom line – they were on the line up, they came to perform and I do sympathise with them on how passionate they are about how promoters treat UK Hip Hop. I sincerely hope that the backstage politics were resolved, but going by their displeasure, that may not have been the case. Nay-sayers can say what they want about WWE/AEW but their ‘fake wrestling’ theatrics actually teaches you real life situations and how to capitalise on them. It is also worth mentioning that Talib Kweli has weighed in on the situation from the outside looking in, and considering that he is very vocal and often gets into heated discussions on social media, and he is to perform at Jazz Café in Camden September 8, this could make for a very interesting night. All in all, this was a historic night that would not be soon forgotten. Make no mistake, the capacity crowd were in full swing from beginning to end and beyond. Everyone was looking forward to a particular act. It was a win for everybody and a WIN FOR HIP HOP.
RePPiN 4U 