Boom Bap Festival 2013
Five years ago I never could have imagined a festival entirely devoted to Uk Hip Hop. This year from the 13th to the 15th of September I along with thousands of other UK hip hop fans were lucky enough to attend Boom Bap 2013. The line up alone was enough to convince any true fan to do any thing possible to get a ticket and the festival was worth every penny.
After arriving early Friday and luckily managing to avoid the long entry queue of eager hip hoppers from all across East Anglia and further, there was the initial rush of getting the tent together and scoping out the rest of the festival, grabbing a program to plan my weekend of UK Hip Hop madness. The first thing that caught my eye was the entrance to the festival site. The graffiti was a running theme through out the entire festival and showcased the talents of many UK artist wanting to show off their skills. The canvases ranged from big boards around the site to cars that had been cut in half ( one of my favourite features) and dotted around the site for our enjoyment. Extending the overall theme of hip hop culture further brought us to the mini ramps where skateboarders where doing their thing all weekend regardless of the weather making things difficult for them.
Already starting to feel at home I decided it was time to check out what we all came here for. First up, LDZ at the Producer stage. Half way through the first song I caught, the tent went from half full to capacity in seconds jammed wall to wall with an enthusiastic crowd going nuts to LDZ classics. Dabbla and crew knew how to keep the crowd and leave us thirsty for more.
One thing became clear early on, making a plan of who I wanted to see
and sticking to it was going to be impossible. Next up I managed to
catch Rum Committee on the main stage and they didn't disappoint. Its
still early and all ready, it's going off! 
After a quick snack break it was time for one of the performances I, personally, had been looking forward too in the lead up to Boom Bap. Brothers of the Stone on the Producer stage, our first dose of many High Focus performances. Running through 3 Amigos and RLD anthems and finishing off with some of my favourite tracks off the new album.
Unfortunately, due to being glued to Brothers of the Stone I missed out on Dead Players on the main stage. Even though Jam Baxter was unable to make it to Boom Bap due to an injury I heard that Dabbla and Ghosttown held their own. I am still gutted I missed out on "Badman". But no time for regrets, next up on the main stage......
The Four Owls
The High Focus team are currently red hot on the UK scene. The Four Owls set on the first night and the High focus showcase on the second night were definite highlights of the whole week end. Fliptrix, Verb T, Leaf Dog and BVA all seem vibe off each other and had some of the best crowd control I have seen to date. After running through classics from Natures Greatest Mystery the Four Owls kept on giving by treating us to some unreleased material and bringing out Dirty Dike for Much to Much. Cant express enough how much this went off.
Due to one of the acts not being able to attend the main stage, the Four Owls and Dirty Dike kept the party going until it was time for Fridays' headline act, Rodney P. With the perfect mix of hip hop, dnb and some London Posse tracks thrown in for good measure. Rodney P capped of Friday as explosively as the day began.
At some point between the Four Owls and Rodney P, I managed to catch Shotty Horroh and Mosh Team perform an energetic set on the Promoters Stage.
After all the stages had closed for the first night, Square 1 were hosting a DJ battle until the early hours of the morning. We wish we could have stayed longer, but we needed to get some sleep to get us ready for the next day.
Saturday
The first half of Saturday was mostly spent chilling in half a car, reminiscing the night before and buzzing for the day a head. After lots of coffee and some of the fine food that was on offer from the festival site, we headed off to the main stage for Fliptrix and Verb T. They ran through a load of material featured on solo projects. I can't think of a better way to start the day. Classics like Fliptrix "The Highway" and Verb T's freshly dropped "I Remain" woke the weary crowd that were still hanging from the night before.
After this we headed over to something that caught me be surprise and kept me glued to the bitter end, The Louis Den Beat Battles.Some of the best Hip Hop producers from around the Uk Battled it out for the number one spot in an elimination style tournament. Producers would step to the decks two at time and play fresh beats to the crowd until a clear winner was decided. With the likes of Leaf Dog, Ill Informed, Bambu Hands and to many others to mention, you can only imagine the level of production that was on offer. This was so good we forgot about the rest of the festival going on and stayed put for for the duration.
We also caught a few of the rap battles hosted buy Tenchoo. Josh fox vs Logan was by far the best battle we witnessed on the day. Both came hard with Josh Fox taking the win. We also Caught the Act on words performance and was overly impressed with Deekay's freestyle ability and the groups overall performance
Sonny Jim was celebrating his Birthday in style on the main stage. I caught the end of his set and found it very amusing when he refused to leave the stage because he wanted to perform "Lemon Squeezy". It was worth it.
When Sonny Jim finally left the stage, the lights went out and the instantly recognizable intro to the UK Hip Hop anthem "It's Murder" was heard through the main stage speakers. The Main Stage instantly filled to capacity with people spilling out side trying to get a glimpse of the legend himself , Klashnekoff.
K Lash left the crowd fully hyped and ready for the next act, Reeps One He smashed out a lively beat box performance including Hip Hop and Dub Sep sounds, and everything in between. This was the clearest sound that came from the main stage the whole weekend, you could feel the bass go right through you.
The High Focus Showcase rounded up Saturday night on the main stage. Fliptrix, Verb T, BVA, Leaf Dog, Dirty Dike, Edward Scissortongue, and Rag and Bone Man were all in attendance and delivered the headline set you would expect from the best on the scene right now. Leaving the crowed way to energized to head back to the campsite, the crew announced after their set that an after party would be held at Square One stage and every one was invited. We all partied until the very early hours and got to mingle with most of the artists that had been performing throughout the day The whole day was a very memorable experience.
Sunday was a little hazy. The weather was horrible but people were up for more. Acts on the day included Dr Syntax and the Mouse Outfit, Mystro, Cracker Jon, Split Prophets Dirty Dike and was headlined by UK Hip Hop Pioneer, Chester P.
The acts mentioned in this review are just a small sample of how much was on offer over the 3 days. The Boom Bap Staff did an amazing job and delivered an A list line up. With plenty of food, clothing and record shops, all night cinema and an electric atmosphere throughout the whole weekend, we highly recommend getting your early bird tickets for next year. The Boom Bap team are already hinting at an impressive line up and new venue for next year. And they have also announced early bird tickets will be available from December. If you are a fan of UK Hip Hop, do not miss out on Boom Bap 2014. Massive thanks to Ivan Andre for the hook up and all the artists I got to interview for the radio show. I look forward to next year.
https://www.facebook.com/BoomBapFestival
http://boombapuk.com/boom-bap-festival-2013/
For better quality pictures from the festival check out Mitchell Brewster Media on Facebook and give his page a like.
https://www.facebook.com/MBMedia
Review by Double Es and NDLC
Due to one of the acts not being able to attend the main stage, the Four Owls and Dirty Dike kept the party going until it was time for Fridays' headline act, Rodney P. With the perfect mix of hip hop, dnb and some London Posse tracks thrown in for good measure. Rodney P capped of Friday as explosively as the day began.At some point between the Four Owls and Rodney P, I managed to catch Shotty Horroh and Mosh Team perform an energetic set on the Promoters Stage.
After all the stages had closed for the first night, Square 1 were hosting a DJ battle until the early hours of the morning. We wish we could have stayed longer, but we needed to get some sleep to get us ready for the next day.
Saturday
The first half of Saturday was mostly spent chilling in half a car, reminiscing the night before and buzzing for the day a head. After lots of coffee and some of the fine food that was on offer from the festival site, we headed off to the main stage for Fliptrix and Verb T. They ran through a load of material featured on solo projects. I can't think of a better way to start the day. Classics like Fliptrix "The Highway" and Verb T's freshly dropped "I Remain" woke the weary crowd that were still hanging from the night before.
After this we headed over to something that caught me be surprise and kept me glued to the bitter end, The Louis Den Beat Battles.Some of the best Hip Hop producers from around the Uk Battled it out for the number one spot in an elimination style tournament. Producers would step to the decks two at time and play fresh beats to the crowd until a clear winner was decided. With the likes of Leaf Dog, Ill Informed, Bambu Hands and to many others to mention, you can only imagine the level of production that was on offer. This was so good we forgot about the rest of the festival going on and stayed put for for the duration.
We also caught a few of the rap battles hosted buy Tenchoo. Josh fox vs Logan was by far the best battle we witnessed on the day. Both came hard with Josh Fox taking the win. We also Caught the Act on words performance and was overly impressed with Deekay's freestyle ability and the groups overall performance
Sonny Jim was celebrating his Birthday in style on the main stage. I caught the end of his set and found it very amusing when he refused to leave the stage because he wanted to perform "Lemon Squeezy". It was worth it.
When Sonny Jim finally left the stage, the lights went out and the instantly recognizable intro to the UK Hip Hop anthem "It's Murder" was heard through the main stage speakers. The Main Stage instantly filled to capacity with people spilling out side trying to get a glimpse of the legend himself , Klashnekoff. 
K Lash left the crowd fully hyped and ready for the next act, Reeps One He smashed out a lively beat box performance including Hip Hop and Dub Sep sounds, and everything in between. This was the clearest sound that came from the main stage the whole weekend, you could feel the bass go right through you.
The High Focus Showcase rounded up Saturday night on the main stage. Fliptrix, Verb T, BVA, Leaf Dog, Dirty Dike, Edward Scissortongue, and Rag and Bone Man were all in attendance and delivered the headline set you would expect from the best on the scene right now. Leaving the crowed way to energized to head back to the campsite, the crew announced after their set that an after party would be held at Square One stage and every one was invited. We all partied until the very early hours and got to mingle with most of the artists that had been performing throughout the day The whole day was a very memorable experience.
Sunday was a little hazy. The weather was horrible but people were up for more. Acts on the day included Dr Syntax and the Mouse Outfit, Mystro, Cracker Jon, Split Prophets Dirty Dike and was headlined by UK Hip Hop Pioneer, Chester P.
The acts mentioned in this review are just a small sample of how much was on offer over the 3 days. The Boom Bap Staff did an amazing job and delivered an A list line up. With plenty of food, clothing and record shops, all night cinema and an electric atmosphere throughout the whole weekend, we highly recommend getting your early bird tickets for next year. The Boom Bap team are already hinting at an impressive line up and new venue for next year. And they have also announced early bird tickets will be available from December. If you are a fan of UK Hip Hop, do not miss out on Boom Bap 2014. Massive thanks to Ivan Andre for the hook up and all the artists I got to interview for the radio show. I look forward to next year.
https://www.facebook.com/BoomBapFestival
http://boombapuk.com/boom-bap-festival-2013/
For better quality pictures from the festival check out Mitchell Brewster Media on Facebook and give his page a like.
https://www.facebook.com/MBMedia
Review by Double Es and NDLC
No comments:
Post a Comment