On Saturday 16th October, the indelible Talib Kweli headlined a night centered on linking Arabic Hip Hop artists with some western counterparts. The night was hosted by DJ MK, who didn’t disappoint with his usual varied lineup of old school and modern Hip Hop classics.
The night’s acts started with a flute solo and lead to a very energetic performance form the collaboration of Lyrical Alliance. I’m sure this was an interesting introduction to Arabic Hip Hop for a number of attendants (myself included) as a majority of songs performed by the group were in Arabic.
The act included Shadia Mansour, Rabah Orrrad, Rayess Bek, Sam and Tamar Nafar. Tamar Nafar also performed an acappella in English which piqued even some of the hardened spectators interest. Most members were performing solo tracks as well as the whole group. They ended with another group track which was well received by the spectators.
As Talib Kweli arrived on stage, the crowd erupted. He treated everyone to a solid performance with a mix of tracks, ranging from early work done with DJ Hi-Tek as well as more more recent work done with Madlib, Estelle and Bun B. A combination of tracks including the socially concsious ‘Ballad Of The Black Gold’ to the banger ‘In This World’ had everyone moving, old and new fans alike.
The show was enjoyed by all to such an extent the crowd managed to coax an encore from the man. This caused the night over run slightly and was unfortunately ended abruptly, courtesy of ‘the establishment’
All in all a great night for great music
–Peter Mundley
SoulCulture were also on-hand the next day as Kweli spent several hours recording a new song at studio with UK emcee Sway. Scroll on for the studio visuals below the concert pics.
In Photos: Talib Kweli Live At The Roundhouse, London (17/10/2010)
Talib Kweli and Sway in the Studio together in London (18/10/2010)
–Photography by Neil Raja and Nirja Raam.
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