The Furious Five with Kurtis Blow, Leeds Wardrobe
The Furious Five with Kurtis Blow played the Wardrobe in Leeds
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By Alistair Potter. |  |
Thursday, 01, Oct 2009 04:59
The question rang out from Kid Creole's lips over and over. "Is hip-hop still... in... the... building?!" The crowd's reaction showed nothing but agreement, with Leeds favourite The Wardrobe packed to the rafters with people who were there to see the finest example of hip-hop. The creators of hip-hop. The creators of the word hip-hop itself.
It heated up pretty quickly at the underground venue. With support from Britain's top DJs - most notably Kid Kanevil - the dancefloor started to fill and revellers enjoyed the likes of Run DMC, A Tribe Called Quest and Afrika Bambaataa, though most of this will likely have been down to anticipation. The guys who toured with these legends - who gathered them together in New York City in the 1980s.
The Furious Five soon flooded the stage, minus the late Cowboy, whose death in 1989 has forever been remembered through their unchanged name. After raucous introductions and a quick number, the first highlight of the night was soon made obvious.
Kurtis Blow's entrance was one which created nothing short of sheer ecstasy, as Grandmaster Melle Mel, Kid Creole, Scorpio and Rahiem made a guard of honour, putting hands together in pairs to welcome through the first rapper to sign to a major label as well as the first hip-hop millionaire. And has Kurtis lost his talent? Nope. Not one bit.
No songs were missed from the repertoire, with Kurtis knocking out the two tunes in particular which made his name: If I Ruled the World and The Breaks. For a man of 50, who shot to fame in 1980 with the latter song, he looked like he was frozen in the era, both in clothing and his overall appearance.
An extremely muscular Grandmaster Melle Mel, along with the rest of the Furious Five, kept the crowd entertained with, most notably, White Lines and the signature piece of the band The Message. Everyone was singing along and nobody could help but move to the beat, which isn't bad considering some seriously uncool people were body-popping like never before, as if powered by the music alone.
After the long list of favourites, the gang closed the main gig with Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight as well as I Feel For You by Chaka Khan - which Melle Mel rapped on himself - and a mix of hits including Rapture by Blondie and Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.
Other highlights included the chance to take photos of the Furious Five and Kurtis in some textbook poses - which lasted long enough for some good shots and a lot of laughing - as well as a number where they played to stereotypes and got any woman they could find up on stage, including the obvious attention whores which Kurtis and the Furious Five passed between each other in a hilarious game of hot potato, without the girls even knowing.
One thing was for sure: 32 years of performing the circuits around the world have not taken their toll - it's only made them stronger. Their ability to work the crowd was unmatched, making it a completely immersive experience. The atmosphere, like the band and their lone instrument, was vocal and electric.
Matt Gardner