Saltire and Rampant Lion flags sprawled out and hanging from his decks, Afrika Bambaataa seems happy to be kicking-out-the-jams, for the ‘History of Hip-Hop’ tour in Glasgow.
Fuelled with ample participation from well-known local b-boy talent, The Flyin’ Jalapeños, tonight seems like more of a party than a DJ set, and there is never a dull moment as the venue is transformed into an 80s tinged New York block party.
With shout outs such as: “are you with us Glasgow,” and “this ain’t a goddam gig y’all, this is a party right here,” MC King Kamonzi vamps up the crowd as Afrika Bambaataa takes control of his wheels-of-steel: adroitly implementing vintage scratching and exuding a guru-like demeanor, the Godfather of hip-hop is clearly in his element.
For the less inclined, Bambaataa started out organising hip-hop gatherings in his native South Bronx before defining a genre that hip-hop artists owe it to, setting up DJ battles, street parties, providing beats for MCs, it gave the place a sense of community.
Bambaataa’s sociological aspect in creating this movement was to give people something worthwhile to do in an area where there was very little in the sense of amenities.
The set is a no-hold-barred mix of techno, funk, rock, hip-hop, soul and pop, there are no boundaries as Bambaataa mixes beats from Jackson 5 to Nirvana, dropping a beat on the universal hit ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.
Komonzi rocks the stage hard, keeping the crowd under his socio-political thumb, entertaining while espousing positivity, with rapid-fire rants and freestyles against racial, religious divisions and violence, harking back to the inspiring days of hip-hop, the golden age.
A major downside of the set is a severe lack of Bambaataa’s classics such as ‘Don’t Stop, Planet Rock’, and ‘Looking For The Perfect Beat’ et al. from the album that started it all, Planet Rock.
Still, despite the lack of classics in the mix, Afrika Bambaataa comes to life tonight in an extremely wild and unconventional gig.
Words: Derek Robertson
Photos: Jayjay Robertson
