Kung Fu’s 2nd Birthday 16/04/02 When I first saw the line-up for this night I just knew it was going to be a banger…a YNR showcase, and also a Mudfam one too, along with the regular Kung Fu DJs, Sarah Jane, Harry Love and Kevlar and the additional support of Ceewhy and Flip. And if all this wasn’t enough to convince you, then Mystro and Jehst as the hosts would surely have got your arse down there! If you were one of the unlucky ones who didn’t get to see this, then let me break it down for you. For starters, having a host is a very good idea, so having two was a definite plus to the night, and the fact that two of UK’s finest had the job meant that nothing was going to go wrong. From the beginning everyone seemed to be in a party mood…party poppers, lollipops, free tequila shots, and special offers on some of the drinks behind the bar too. So with that side of things sorted, what were the performances like? Well, Mudfam were entertaining to say the least…definitely one for the rowdies! Skinny was really giving it some. They showcased some of their new material, along with some of their older stuff; ‘Lash Sumthin’ seemed to go down well with the crowd. For those hardcore Mudfam heads, there seems to be a new edition to the crew, a kid called ‘Titch’. He didn’t really get the chance to do his own thing, so I’m sorry to say I can’t say whether I thought he had any potential or not. Anyway, moving on to what I felt was the highlight of the night, the YNR showcase. What can I say? Tommy Evans is wicked live; I was really feeling the energy of his performance, and his political message. His personal version of Jay-Z’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ was definitely amusing! A surprise appearance by Usman meant that we got to hear ‘Dangerous Situation’, from Evil Ed’s Tournament 1 EP! This was one performance which couldn’t fail to get your attention, Yungun busted his new track from the Tournament 2 EP, and yeah, everyone was in the mood for celebration so it fitted perfectly. To finish up this bit of the YNR promotion Jehst and Tommy totally ripped it with ‘Water Torture’! Next up were Ricochet Klashnekoff and Kyza. I must say that Klashnekoff is one funny guy…he was making everyone laugh with his ‘Liam Gallagher’ impressions, spot on, spot on! Of course, everyone seemed to be waiting for ‘Dago Mentality’, it definitely got the crowd going, and I got to mention ‘Nightbreed’ too, which was wicked to hear live. Well…I guess I’ve come to the end of this review. Don’t want to rub it in too much if people weren’t there, but shit this was an absolutely wicked night! In fact I haven’t been to a better hip-hop jam in London since I moved down here, there is no attitude and there are usually lots of surprises performance wise. If anyone lives in or near London and hasn’t been to Kung Fu yet, make sure you get you arse down to the next one on Tuesday 21st May, no excuses. - Rachie-C © ukhh.com 1999 - 2002