'Ye & Jay go H.A.M in the 02

Hip-hop heavyweights brought the heat to the 02 Arena with a 5 day date for Watch the Throne.

The first stint of their European tour saw an epic 2 hour+ experience blazing up London city. 

With no opening acts, their first performance introduced what they came to do. Rising from the ground on illuminated cubes either side of the Arena, Kanye West and Jay Z squared up with the audience 20 ft. in to the air. 

After the orchestral grand-opening, repeated bursts of flames and lasers filled the Arena and predators came onto the screen and welcomed you into the Jungle.

West and Jay Z both wore all black and 'Ye rocked a black cone studded T-shirt that gave me LIFE! I wanted that T-shirt! But what was not to be missed was their big ass chains that could be seen a mile off!

As I've said before, West is a real performer and he didn't disappoint - jumping around, arms waving off the stage - I was actually expecting him to fall of the stage and end up crowd surfing. 

Alone, and as a pair, they performed back catalogues, including All Falls Down, Big Pimpin', IZZO and Power. 'Ye's energy is unbeatable by far, but Jay Z's confidence was comfortable, nothing could stop the powerhouse.

"If this is your first concert, it's all downhill from here! Ha-ha" - West 

My favourite tracks performed were Who Gon' Stop Me, Otis, 99 Problems and all the Jackson interludes. I never knew how much Jay Z songs I knew, I felt Brooklyn-born schunn - I wanted to jump on stage and rap right next to them.

The show was unbelievable and they knew how to work the crowd, N****ga's in Paris reloaded 6 times and each time the audience got more and more hyped. The atmosphere was outstanding, the crowd were hysterical and the show was SOLD OUT. 

BEST HIP HOP CONCERT!

The ORIGINAL Ms. Hill

YES! I doubted Lauryn Hill's return and lived to sallow my pride and my words. I heard she was real dope. I avoided Twitter for most of the night as there were constant tweets from the Indig02.

I sat in my house kicking myself, wishing that I didn't wait til the last hour to get tickets, so I guess I didn't really doubt her!


Just to make me feel better... or even worse - the clips from the Indig02 14th April 2012, Lauryn Hill.

Sh*t, Damn, D'Angelo...

After his twelve year hititus, fans eagerly waited for his two night show at the Brixton 02 Academy. Ques stretched around the venue, starting behind people who had been outside in the minus temperatures from 1pm that day in order to get the top spot.

Even the most cynical of fans doubted he would come back reminiscent of the Voodoo guy we once knew, but the soul sensation who changed the game back in 1995 came with one thing to prove.


The stage was equipped with a full drum kit for Chris Dave, two backing vocalists, one multi-keyboard player, three guitarists, the lead one being Jesse Johnson of Prince and The Time, Pino Palladino and an additional one for the man himself.

Looking like Jimmy Hendrix from where I was sitting, which was FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR, he was on the stage with some uncombed hair, leather jacket (which he did take off to reveal those rather firm biceps) and these... these baggy, trouser/pant combustion which was just beyond me!


Before he got on stage the crowd were sweating with anticipation, giving a stand ovation five minutes before he even got to the stage. And after that first note.... sighs and cheers of relief to hear that D'Angelo's still got it!  Some women,  people may have set their visual standards too high expecting him to come out with his shirt off and make the "gained weight" gossips eat their words (pun intended), but he's not 21 any more!
But he is the talented, multi-instrumental singer/songwriter that we remember. He still has the Barry baritones and the Prince falsettos and opened the show with his new music.


Now, this was not the concert of D'Angelo: Live at the Jazz Cafe album I was hoping for, but this was D'Angelo revamping himself and being a aggressor of the blues/funk era. With his iconic band member firmly planted in that genre and being blossomed from Minneapolis they FUNKED UP the venue! They had people dancing, not one seat was sat on for the first hour of his performance and for his cover of Parliement's I've Been Watching You.


What he did, and his talent was immense to say the least, BUT... he was tooo self indulgent. In trying exhort all the funk and the Prince-like elements of his music, he didnt give the audience what they wanted enough, with many leaving before his unoriginal version of Brown Sugar!!! YOU CARRRRNT DO THAT! One of his most iconic tunes, you have do a version that equates the tone of the original- at least at the beginning, especially as it was the finale show, causing many leave dissapointed without staying for the encore. 

If he incorporated his signature sound with his specialised band, I'm sure it would have been more than welcomed to experiment with the arrangements and be a side of Prince with an undertone of Rick James if that's what he wants to be these days. But as it's so rare for people to see him, he needs to remind them with a just a few tastes of why they bought the tickets playing things a bit like they were, especially if he wants to bond with a fan base for any new music coming. 


In saying that, his 15 minute keyboard solo set was stunning. Almost worth it in itself. But you heard the reaction to the way too short snippet of How Does It Feel...the roof lifted off!!! And with only a verse and a half of Crusin', can you imagine if he did just that one song with the full band...the crowd would have gone home happy securing his legend status and he could have played rock funk for the rest of the set. Instead many didn't get what they came for.


Personally, I thought it was a tad selfish to pull a whole concert like that when you take so long to do a concert. If you went to for the soul, i hope you had a seated ticket. But if funk is your thing, make sure you get one of those tickets at the door for tonight! 

Grammy Award Winning Legends: Boyz II Men

Saturday 28th January saw the record breaking, most successful R&B group of all time grace the stage of the Brixton Carling Academy, Brixton.
Fans of all ages and all nationalities qued around the block, down the road and along the back roads to get the best unreserved seat for their one night performance.
Recognisably quoted as the Most Successful musical group of the 1990's by Billboard, Boyz II Men opened the show in true 90's style: black trousers, white shirts, waistcoats and black ties with nothing but a mic and a chair each.

As much as I love Boyz II Men, I was disappointed at the lack of production for their gig. There were no instruments, no on stage production, no live band :( Just singing to a backing track.
In saying that, this is Boyz II Men, the group to have the longest number one of 14 weeks on the US Bilboard Charts, so they have their voices to compensate.
The crowd didn't mind AT ALL, with Shawn Stockman as their "spokesman" for the night, Boyz II Men were able to connect with audience show their appreciation, even though the crowd's roar were too loud for the group to hear the music through their ear mics. With that being said, I can see how that would have caused a problem for the mediocre cats in the industry today, but they encouraged the jungle of cheers and continued to harmonise perfectly.

Best known for their soulful ballads and a cappella harmonies, romance filled the air as they performed ground breaking classics such as, I'll Make Love To You, On Bended Knee, Doing Just Fine, Four Seasons of Loneliness, End of The Road  and covering Take That's Back For Good pitch perfect. They also tributed their signing namesake Motown and showcased songs from their 2007 album Hitsville USA, covering the Four Tops I'll Be There/Reach Out and Barrett Strong's Money (That's What I Want). 


Boyz II Men delighted the crowd, explaining the release of their new album, signifying "20" years in the business, performing new tracks and handing out long steamed roses to the audience before running(man)  into I Can't Let Her Go and my favourite Motownphilly. 


With every seat and isle of the Brixton Academy packed with loyal fans, each person left grudgingly left with satisfaction and some even left with personalized gifts from them....