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TinterNet Family, please welcome Mr Laurence/Lorenzo/RWDN/Whatever he likes to go with, as he is the latest PinBoard Contributor…He’s a cool dude, a part of the family [if you will] and despite his geographical location, knows his sh*t when it comes to Hip Hop!!

Stage presence is a funny thing, some have it and some don’t. While you might expect someone like Jigga or Dizzeeto rock the spotlight with ease, most people’s idea of hip hop doesn’t run to an overweight albino dude from Minneapolis. No, I’m not talking about that fool from Big Brother, I’m talking about Brother Ali from Atmosphere’s highly successful independent label Rhymesayers.

Ali came through Koko in Camden on the 18th of June alongside Atmosphere and support act Kidz in the Hall. The crowd was different to most hip hop shows I go to what with Atmosphere’s #1 ranking in the emo-rap crowd, but once id pushed my way through the sea of piercings and backpacks to the front of the crowd I was pleasantly surprised. In fact the surprise came even earlier when Atmosphere front man Slug came out of the venue to shake hands and greet every person standing in line to get into the show

Kidzin the Hall struggled with Koko’s sound system and most of their lyrics got lost in the mix so that a set I was looking forward to couldn’t really pull me away from the bar. The crowd in general showed no love and it was clear they were just killing time before Atmosphere got on stage.

Once Ant got behind the decks though (and by the way this guy rocks a ponytail and ‘tache combination that redefines sleazy) the place was ready to go off. Brother Ali and Atmosphere smashed the next 2 hours together on stage, flowing through both their back catalogues with ease and alternating main man/hypeman roles smoothly. Even though I wasn’t too familiar with Atmosphere’s back catalogue, which is huge due to both longevity and grind, I got won over by them even as the energetic Slug started to look more and more like the sweaty lead singer of a metal band! Still the star of the night for me was most definitely Brother Ali, who smashed everything he touched whether rapping or singing acapella. The man’s passion for hip hop shone through at every point and it was a lesson to all other acts out there, including Kidz in the Hall who hung on the side of the stage looking envious.

Anyone who hasn’t taken the time to check them out I can definitely recommend Ali’s album “The Undisputed Truth” and I’ll be copping Atmosphere’s latest in the near future.