» Review: Rising Styles Block Party
As part of the week-long Brighton hip-hop festival, the beachside block party was immense: Skinnyman, Blak Twang, Million Dan, Emmanuel Jal and Brighton’s Enlish as well as the Slip Jam B crew. Skinny came on with guests from Birmingham and Manchester (Meanie) and blew us away with quick-fire, coruscating and incisive lyrics which put the rise in street violence squarely at Gordon Brown’s door (Iraq/Afghanistan cited as influences) and not hiphop’s or gangsta.
The hard-hitting, haunting, ‘I’ll Be Surprised’ off Council Estate of Mind (2004) took audience participation to new levels. Previously, Jal, the former Sudanese child soldier, had brought a lively, conscious-reggae edge to the day, which was superseded by the scintillating hip-hop of Million Dan and clearly dischuffed, Blak Twang, whose set was cut dead at 8.30pm.
Old Paddling Pool, Brighton Seafront.
12 July
5/5
