Chiddy Bang - Kings College Students Union, London - November 6th 2010 (Live Review)
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Written by Steve Wellman
Saturday 6th November saw one of America’s hottest artists descend onto the Kings College London Student union with a vast array of fans coming to enjoy what was a fantastic show. Whether it be American fans who have known him for the past couple of years or the English fans who have followed him since his breakthrough into the UK charts with ‘Opposite of Adults’, they all came out to support a very talented duo.
The venue was a very small and intimate which served the atmosphere perfectly. I was situated approximately a high five’s reach away from the stage which made the experience all the greater as I could experience the hip-hop duo and the support bands as if they were performing in my front room.
The first support band was an Alternative/rock band from LA called Awolnation. They were a band where you could clearly see influences from Kings of Leon and bands of the sort but were not quite of that stature. I found myself very underwhelmed as the songs promised to be really catchy and rhythmic but they always lacked that one genius bit of song writing that artists such as the Kings of Leon have mastered. Nevertheless, they were a worthy support band and in years to come could create some really good tracks worthy UK radio play.
The second support act saw a shift in the tone in terms of genre. Smurfie Syco joined the stage bringing his UK rap and grime to the table. Smurfie is signed to none other than Dizzee Rascal’s label (Dirtee Stank) with much hype surrounding the youngster from London. He showed a vast array of tracks which got the crowd buzzing for the main show and definitely created an impression on myself, especially with two of his tracks. One of them was essentially ‘Sex on Fire’ with rap verses filled in but it seemed to work so well, something that I could have never imagined. The next track entitled ‘ASBO’ was his take on the Sub Focus tune ‘Rock It’. This was a major crowd pleaser sending everyone into a frenzy as the drum and bass beat poured through the crowd. This was a more than worthy warm-up with Smurfie Syco definitely being an act to follow in the future.
It was then time for the main act Chiddy Bang to grace the stage and what a reception they got. The duo from the USA have created a major following over the pond and with great reason. Xaphoon Jones and Chiddy are only 19 which I find staggering. They show musicianship and song writing way beyond a 19 year old college student which essentially is what they are.
One of the highlights of the night was the freestyle that saw Chidera have to freestyle about ten topics that were plucked from the crowd. These topics ranged from ‘Venezuela’ and ‘Juice’, quite obviously tough topics for any MC to rap around but the Philadelphian MC effortlessly progressed through the topics with flow that had the crowd wrapped around his little finger. Very impressive is an understatement as it showcased the vast talent that the duo possesses.
The night saw the duo work through many of the tracks on their EP ‘The Preview’, with favourites such as ‘The Good Life’ and ‘Truth’. The set also saw them go back to their mixtape ‘The Swelly Express’. One of the highlights of the set list was the track featuring Q-Tip ‘Here We Go’ with a dubstep element to the beat. This was something that the crowd loved with that element becoming very apparent within many urban sets with the success of ‘Pass Out’ by Tinie Tempah having a very similar element to the track. This therefore sent the crowd into a trance with shapes being thrown in every direction showing the duo’s ability to command a stage and a crowd.
The night closed with the signature track ‘Opposite of Adults’ which contains the sample from MGMT’s ‘Kids’ and was probably the main reason for many of the crowd to be in attendance. This is the track that threw Chiddy Bang onto the UK scene reaching #12 on the UK singles chart which saw a fitting end to the night with the crowd chanting the chorus and verses until their voices cut out.
Overall, the night saw a great array of diversity and it was a great platform for support acts such as Smurfie Syco to flourish and make a name for himself. The small venue added to an intimate atmosphere giving off the feeling that every lyric was meant for you and no one else. A bigger venue would have only meant that more people would have been able to experience the true hip-hop talents of Chiddy Bang. Expect a lot more to come from this group in 2011.
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The venue was a very small and intimate which served the atmosphere perfectly. I was situated approximately a high five’s reach away from the stage which made the experience all the greater as I could experience the hip-hop duo and the support bands as if they were performing in my front room.
