PinBoard

 What up peeps, this is Pal Mal, a new contibutor to PinBoard. I love my Hip Hop and telling it like it is, so I should be right at home here.

Peace. 

Now that the Pinboard crew members who attended Glastonbury this year are nice and clean again, (and boi were we dirrrrty!), the time has come for a little reflection on how hip hop fared at this year’s festival. Even if the whole planet already knows how Jay-z killed it, there’s no harm in reiterating how BIG he rocked the Pyramid.

Given the serious hype,  the anticipation in the crowd was immense, and made that sardonic “Wonderwall” opening all the more ingenious. Jay-Z powered through a killer set, perfectly tailored to a British audience unfamiliar to hip hop, including samples and covers of recent and classic hits, as well as delivering his best known tracks. Despite an abrupt ending and lack of anticipated special guests, Jay-z did enough to satisfy people’s curiosity and prove that Hip Hop was SO, SO RIGHT for Glastonbury this year.

…This Glastonbury will surely be known as ‘the year Jay-z headlined’, and for a good good reason too!

In the light of Jay-z’s success, it would be easy to overlook the great talent representing Hip Hop elsewhere during the festival…

Lupe Fiasco lit up the Jazz World stage with his unbelievable energy and stage presence. Dizzee triumphed too, wowing the crowds with an acoustic set and duet with Calvin Harris for their song ‘Dance wiv’ me’,  proving once again he is a leading British talent with a knack for nailing those itchingly catchy crossover tracks.

The surprise star though, for us, was Shlomo. He’s a beatboxer who uses only his mouth and a looping machine to create astounding music. Beginning by looping his own beats,  he took the whole experience to the next level by directing a human beatbox orchestra of 6 other beatboxers, that included the 2008 champion Mc Zani, to dizzying effect. Added to the mix of “the music through unconventional means’’ gig was an array of collaborations with various talented musicans which made for an unforgettable and unique performance. To top it all off, a finale beatbox version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher ground’ had the astounded crowd rocking like crazy. His  upcoming  is not to be missed! 

The key to Shlomo’s genius is his willingness to embrace and bounce off all kinds of music. He incorporates such a variety of styles and sounds into his performance, that the effect is pure musical delight. His constant thinking outside the box, and daring to go that bit further, equally reflect the thinking  that was behind the booking of a Hip Hop headliner, and look how mindblowing that turned out to be. Hip hop definitely triumphed at Glasto this year!

Go HERE and watch Jay-Z do his thing!

Pal Mal