Why are hip-hop gigs often so crap?

[Petey Pate]

Bet they're all shite live though. Madlib is an utterly tedious DJ, from my own experience.

Never seen him live but his mixtapes are very sloppy and haphazard. Though it's intentional and part of his aesthetic I can't imagine it translating very well when playing for an audience. I've also seen interviews with him where he claims he hates DJing, so go figure.

He's at Maiden Voyage festival at Three Mills Island later this year FWIW.

[up_the_hampipe]

Yeah I saw D-12 (sans Eminem) in London on a whim and it was fucking awful.  Like watching a large group of friends doing karaoke, drunkenly shouting over each other as they walked aimlessly around the stage.  Most of the songs I knew were virtually unrecognizable due to the obnoxiously bass-heavy mix, though that might have been the venue more than their fault.

Why would you see D12 without Eminem? Presumably it was about £2.

[kngen]

As well as the aforementioned shouting (and even louder shouting by the hype man to punctuate THENDOFEVERYLINE!!!, making the thing sound even more of a mess), there is a general lack of stagecraft or even co-ordination to make them visually appealing and/or coherent. Public Enemy were one of the best live bands I've ever seen in the 80s/90s, and I think that was a lot to do with every member having distinct roles (and marks on stage). Compare that to the many, many Wu-Tang (or Wu-Tang adjunct) debacles that have taken place over the years - just a fucking shambles with everyone shouting over everyone else, wandering about the stage, and getting in each other's way. It's confusing, annoying and exhausting to watch - and that's as a fan!

Seen plenty of great hip-hop gigs in tiny clubs, art spaces etc. I guess that's where it thrives - maybe the intimacy lets performers feel actually deliver their bars rather than feel they have to project them as hard as possible?

[Noodle Lizard]

Why would you see D12 without Eminem? Presumably it was about £2.

Yeah, not much more than that, purchased the day of as I had nothing else to do that night.  Somehow still felt ripped off.

[alan nagsworth]

louder shouting by the hype man to punctuate THENDOFEVERYLINE!!!, making the thing sound even more of a mess

Hype guys can get to fuck, yeah. On the live DVD that comes with MF DOOM's "Mm.. Food", there's a dude hyping and he's absolutely awful, just really fucking annoying. There's a bit during "Beef Rap" that goes "Light the doobie till it glow like a ruby / After which, they couldn't find the villain like Scooby" and the hype man goes "WWWHERE DID HE GOOOO?!" in this dumb ass spooky voice and it's been stuck in my head ever since. Most people probably don't give a shit about it but it drives me absolutely crackers how awful and irritating it is.

[Gerald Fjord]

Out of interest, does MF Doom still do... Anything?

[fatguyranting]

Can we also discuss the complete bullshit that is the always fucking pointless piss poor skits in between tracks on hip hop albums please?

[alan nagsworth]

Out of interest, does MF Doom still do... Anything?

Yeah he keeps busy, though nowadays it's entirely collabs with other rappers/producers. I'm really not that arsed about him these days but the "Czarface Meets Metalface" album from last year was decent.

[Malcy]

Can we also discuss the complete bullshit that is the always fucking pointless piss poor skits in between tracks on hip hop albums please?

It's the shagging ones that annoy me. Especially if I forget they're on an album I have on extremely loud and have to sprint to the remote or whatever.

It was the £150 that puteme off.
I have seen and loved Public Enemy - they are an incredible band, live. I enjoyed Dr La Soul first time, less impressed the second time I saw them. Never saw the Beasties.

I actually think rap has had its day. No one uses samples very well anymore. It all sounds very samey, like it's from some sort of rap soup.

£79 I paid for a standing ticket.

The other thing that puts me off and it's the majority of live stuff is people constantly going "Woooooooooo". Shut the fuck up and listen to the music.

[Johnny Yesno]

When I saw Busdriver in Brighton, he was fantastic. Really energetic. I'm more used to seeing bands, and it was impressive how he owned stage. I guess it helped that it wasn't a large venue. One of the best gigs I've been to. Shame it was (a) poorly attended and (b) a day when the EDL decided to have a march here.

This kind of thing, but by himself, doing live mixing and effects on his pair of samplers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvxHx8HYfs0

[Goldentony]

I saw GZA on the same tour and thought he was OK, but then the crowd was sold out and very, very into it and even tolerated him having his DJ hype up GZA's arrival only to fake everyone out and go BUT FIRST PLEASE WELCOME HIS SHIT NEWPHEWS TO DO 4 OR 5 TRAP TUNES AT THIS GIG WHERE EVERYONE IS STONED OFF THEIR BOX WAITING IMPATIENTLY FOR I GOTCHA BACK