Last night the Foreign Beggars invited everyone down for a free night to celebrate the launch of their latest single – Let Go which features Wildchild.
Approaching Cargo, it would seem that the bridge is having some repair work done and a thin tunnel was filled by party goers trying to get in, after all info about the night had been widely distributed, but it was an invite only event. Getting to see the Foreign Begs near to their local manor is becoming a hard task due to their popularity, so this opportunity to see them was welcomed.
The aforementioned tunnel was adorned by various graf peices, but before we had time to check them out we were quickly plucked out of the line and efficiently ushered in. Have to give props to the guy with the list on the door who was completely battered, but managed to still be sorting stuff out by the time we left.
One inside the free drink was quickly guzzled and really the only problem with the venue appeared, and that was the price of the drinks. The place quickly filled up and it wasn’t long before the first act took to the stage – SkreinTax. A new collaboration between Undali’s Skrein and Dr Syntax, who I thought really ripped it up and took the crowd with them. Both MCs had great presence and filpped through a few bangers interspersed with a couple of accapella frees and generally they got the expectant audience hyped.
Without much hassle the next crew got to the stage and dissapontingly for me didn’t really capture the vibe. Ddubbleedge which includes MC of the moment Mikull Parknsun did their best to keep things going, but really it was a case of persevering and tring harder as the audience increasingly lost interest. Their casual attitude did not capture the vibe of the moment. Also lost on me was some of the Mitchell Brothersesque Bastards track and other up tempo things which just didn’t do it for me. It is a shame as Ddubble Edge are capable of great things at their best. Regardless they are pushing boundaries and that is always a good thing.
Next up was the main act of the night and the crowd went beserk with renewed vigour for the Foreign Beggars. Orifice amazed with his tight and rapid flow, even if it is a bit high pitched and everybody knew for sure he had breath control for days and was ably backed up by the other Foreign Beggars.
Shlomo came out after a few songs to inspire awe throughout the audience with his skills. He started off by largely doing the same set as he did for his apearance on later with Jools, but didn’t stop there as he continued on, holding the stage for quite some minutes displaying different techniques. At times copying current hits, flexing Drum & Bass beats as well as adding in basslines and melodies. This is one guy who knows he has talents and appeal and has the additional skill to enthrall an audience.
The second half of the show seemed much more improvised as Shlomo provided a variety of beats for Orifice to toungue twist over as well as a great but where DJ No Names cut up a snippet of jazz and Shlomo added the beat to great effect. The Foreign Beggars kept the energy levels right up to the end of their set and despite it being a reasonable length show, it seemed to be over too quick.
Special guests Eetch and Poison came up next, a pair of beatboxers from Canada and California who were touring their new EP around Europe. Unfortunately comming after the class of Shlomo, although they tried hard, they lacked his charisma and skill and came off looking second rate. A pair of beatboxers should kill it, but these guys unfortunately we able to do less together than Shlomo could do on his own.
I had to leave at this point and it seems may have missed the performance of the Focussed Few, a crew we have featured on here before. By all accounts they are up on their game and I hope there was enough people left for them to perform to as many people left after the beatboxers.
Overall this was a fantastic night with a great vibe in the venue. The sound was pretty good if a little bass heavy, but the DJs dropped bangers in between the acts and everything went off smoothly. There was even a goodie bag at the end of the night containing a Soul II Sould CD and a poster and stuff. The Foreign Beggars new label – Casual went all out on this and the following press responses should be good.