Switch (Jehst, Terra Firma, Blade etc.) Ministry Of Sound live Originally billed with a line up that see’s some of the UK’s finest hip hop artists go up against US greats in this genre of music, Switch at Ministry of Sound was the place to be on a Friday night to see performers from both sides of the drink showcase their expertise…….or so we thought. We (J Bean and Sloppy Jallopy) went to check out the shenanigans and treats in store. With a line up that was meant to include Pete Rock and Rahzel with Jehst, IQ, Asaviour, Klashnekoff, DJ Skully, Faith SFX, Shortee Blitz, Clinton Sparks, Semtex & Dan Greenpeace all under one roof, being late was not an option. So we jumped in the ride and made our way down south for a few warm up drinks at the Weatherspoons nearby before the night started. Arriving early to the venue meant we didn’t have to stand about waiting in a massive queue in the blistering cold, freezing our tits off, with only moody bouncers to amuse us. Instead we walked straight into the club in high spirits feeling a little lairy from the drinks only to be greeted with the news that Pete Rock and Rahzel were not performing! This sobered us right up! It was understandable though as they were attending the funeral of Jay Dee (RIP). Left feeling a little gutted and bewildered as to how the gaps would be filled, we wandered into the bar area to be greeted by Shortee Blitz spinning, cutting and chopping a selection of hip hop delicacies on the turntables. Shortee’s set was on point. He played a selection of Primo classics that began with “Rappers R N Dainja” and included “Full Clip”, “D. Original”, “Nas Is Like” and both of the “Crooklyn Dodgers” - this being a sure-fire way of getting the crowd hype. As expected in true hip hop fashion he also played “The Red”, “Fuck the Police” and a whole heap of other Jay Dee classics, as a tribute to the late producer. For us, the high points in his set had to be when he played knockout tracks that aren’t often heard at most hip hop events, tracks like “Stress” by Organised Konfusion, “If you can huh, you can hear” by Mos Def, “Wenimondamic” by Lootpack and to top it all off “Iced Down Medallions” by Royal Flush which sent the true hip hoppers into a frenzy. Shortee Blitz finished his set with classical Souls of Mischief “93 till Infinity” before Dan Greenpeace took over the decks and continued the momentum with a mixture of crowd pleasers. By this time we ventured into the BOX, squeezing through the crowd to find a good view for the start of the live performances. Still unsure about who was standing in for the loss, we waited with baited breath as the host introduced Klashnekoff, Kyza, Skribblah and the rest of the TerraFirma soldiers on to the stage backed by DJ Skully. Opening with “Daggo Mentality” had the whole crowd, chanting ‘Ye-Ye-Yeah Ye-Ye-Yeah Ye-Ye-Yeah Ye-Ye-Yeah Yeah Yeah’ back at Klashnekoff who performed the track with a distinctive sparkle knowing that this track has become an underground anthem. “B4 U Die” was next, followed by “Jamrock Takeover” which adapted Damien Marley’s hit “Welcome to Jamrock” with a Terra Firma twist. Claiming that the ‘Terra Firma takeover is done’ because the word ‘Takeover’ is being bitten by many crews the ‘Terra Era’ was the way forward. Klashnekoff’s west-Indian roots are clearly present in his music with the remix of “Zero” and “Son of Niah” having a dub/reggae sound. The tone was set with “Black Rose” and “Jankrowville” as the closing stages of the performance got under way, leaving the posse cut “Parrowdice” the platform for Kyza and Skribblah to exhibit their skills. The street anthem “Murda” concluded the set with Klashnekoff stressing that the crowd shout ‘Lennox!’ on cue, which they did while going mental as is normally protocol when that track is performed. The performance overall was descent, but not the best we’ve seen of them. I (SJ) felt like Klashnekoff lacked energy and performed as though tonight was just another of many recent performances/jobs that needed doing. The set didn’t flow as well as we’ve seen many times in the past. The rest of the crew (notably Skribblah and Kyza) seemed to have the hunger/enthusiasm and ripped it up nicely. But to be fair, it seemed like all the punters loved every minute of the set. Next up to bat was UK Beatbox Champion Faith SFX, filling in for Rahzel. This young champ began beatboxing in 2003, and in only 3 years has established his natural ability to replicate numerous sound effects, samples, beats and vocals. Even with half of the audience dispersed, Faith SFX performed with much vigour and with the first beat he captured our attention. Executed with precision his rendition of Ginuwines “Pony” was an almost perfect match of the original. Faith exercised the vocal with the beat and bass at the same time and his double time beat box makes obvious his influence of the grime scene. Standing in the background while Faith was dazzling the crowd was guest vocalist Lady Ny, who stepped to the front of the stage and performed some vocals over Faiths mastery. In all the jaw dropping performance matched the hype surrounding Faith placing him firmly in the master class of beat boxers. With Blade, Mic Assassin and Respect BA (both famed for their battle performances at Jump Off) hovering around the stage it was obvious who was next to perform. By this time most of the crowd had left or moved into the bar area, leaving the Box area thinning with mostly die hard fans of Blade and drunks shouting requests even before Blade had started his performance. Noticing that some of the audience were a little spaced out Blade had a little banter with them asking who had been taking pills. Opening the set with “The Unknown” was a crowd pleaser. Respect BA tried to hype the crowd as a hype man should, but this was a bit of a struggle with what was left of the crowd. The well executed performance of “It Your Time” taken from Blade’s latest album struggled to keep the pace moving, forcing Blade to get members of the audience involved and asking who would like to see a battle between Mic Assassin and Respect BA. The response was obvious placing both rappers on the spot and resulted in Mic Assassin winning the battle very convincingly. Blade seemed to have real trouble holding the attention of the audience (apart from the real Blade fans) which was a little unfortunate. He kept trying to chat to the crowd in order to grab their attention back, which was a wrong move and only bored people who were already bored even more. If there wasn’t so much chat we reckon people would have stayed put and rocked to the music whether they knew his material or not. Next on was Jehst! with Asaviour! and IQ! Being massive fans, this was the highlight of the night for us. It also seems to have been for many others too. Jehst’s energy in his performance seemed to have a magnetic quality, drawing people from everywhere within the club back into the BOX. He literally transformed an empty floor into a lively packed one with everyone going completely nuts! A superb set! Better than when we saw him at Jazz Café some months back. A return to his previous performing greatness! Asaviour was superb also. Jehst and Asaviour seemed to vibe of each other magnificently! Like 2 quality strikers that have played together for years and can read each other perfectly leaving defenders completely twisted and powerless against them! Jehst, with Asaviour, performed: Monotony, Vice City, Ape Shit, Citizen Smith, Alcoholic Author, and a solo track by Asaviour (don’t know the name). After Asaviour’s solo track, Parky and Double Edge made themselves known on the stage to the excitement of the crowd. They performed a couple of tracks (don’t know names of either) which went down nicely with the crowd. Jehst and Asaviour continued after this with Staircase to Stage, Under the Weather, Work Ethic, Nuke Proof Suit, High Plains Drifter, and a posse cut with all four MCs. All in all, a great night, even without Pete Rock and Rahzel. Sloppy got completely wasted so J Bean had to drive home, and managed to pick up 3 points and a fine for the privilege! F**king speed cameras! A superb set! Better than when we saw him at Jazz Café some months back. A return to his previous performing greatness! - J Bean & Sloppy © ukhh.com 1999 - 2006