So it's done. A sober show.Nearly four months without a drink and did not want to fall off this evening. Beers backstage. I'll just get a water. Puzzled expressions. Reputation in tatters.
Festival crowds. Not really 100 percent hip hop fans. Know what I mean? Nice buzz at the front of stage but a few where's the hardcore gone? in need of conversion toward the rear. No problem.
'The Return of the Ladies Man' and '4' from the new album swiftly followed by Deejay Random guest scratch battling with Jazz and Zy let the people know we meant business. Reception nice and loud the 'NY to the UK' remix into 'BX to the UK' remix straight into 'Pounds and Cents' coast-to-coast dropping extra verses followed by a Jeru teaser into 'No Collaborations' mixed the old and new with no pause for breath.
Jazz flips a new juggle. Few heads shouting turn it up! Fine. But where's the engineer? Get the levels once and wander off? We ain't playing house cds. There are two mcees and three deejays up here that need your undivided attention.
Hold on we doing a show here.
Squeak slows it down a minute with a Bob Marley interlude and we bang back in with 'Lifted' followed by a 'Live to London'/'Back to London' medley whilst behind the scenes a response to the volume boost request. Make sure Guilfest still with us? Yes indeed.
The deeper 'Can't Swim', the original 'Pubs, Drunks and Hip Hop', the unveiling of J-Zone's 'Back to Skool' and the sparse, lyrical '12 Steps' and we nearly done.
Only one thing left to do. 'Ladies Man'. So we did. And they loved it.
