Check my review for the recent gig hip hop pioneer played in North London which was featured on MTV's Urban Music Blog, The Wrap Up which I regularly contribute to...
Saturday night saw one of the biggest legends in the history of  hip-hop music play for a crowd that ranged from present day hip-hop  fundamentalists, to middle aged nine-to-fivers reminiscing on their  teenage years. The mighty KRS-One filled out the HMV  Forum in Kentish Town to a rapturous reception that few could receive  and many would aspire to...
 
  
 Looking charged up as ever, the 45-year-old self-proclaimed  ‘teacher’ performed a lion’s share of hits from his 26-year career that  certainly proved that he, if anyone, deserved the title ‘pioneer’.  Having performed his classics like ‘Bridge Is over’, ‘Sound Of The  Police’ and ‘MCs Act Like They Don’t Know’ countless times, I wouldn’t  be surprised if KRS utilised his worldwide audiences as a source of  inspiration for himself. This might sounds odd, but contrasting the  demographics and crowd responses from a London performance to that of an  Athens performance (for example) could provide him with a form of  market research, allowing him to perfect his stage show and keep the  bookings coming until his arthritis prevents him from pumping his fist  in the air while the crowd chant, ‘Hip-hop! Hip-hop!’
  
 With this being a KRS-One gig, I didn’t expect just a recital of  songs and the odd inter-track rambling about whatever was bugging him  the most that week. No sir. Along with hype man and former  world-champion freestyler Supernatural, he conducted an interview in the  form of rap which could only be done as professionally as it was by  someone with such a prolific history and proficiency. He also got crowd  members up to hold a break dance session which seemed somewhat pointless  albeit mildly entertaining. One of the better segments was an  impressions style dedication song; rapping the in the style of Biggie,  Slick Rick and Busta Rhymes, who he obviously rates amongst the greatest  ever. Who doesn’t?
  
 He also provided the crowd with a souvenir to remember this  experience by, in the form of a torrent of tennis balls thrown out into  the crowd. The tennis balls themself had no real value, especially  compared to normal concert giveaways like a t-shirt or CD, but he made  it clear that it was more a symbolic souvenir of the event than a gift  that you should actually make use of! The biggest flaw of this idea was  that they all got thrown toward the middle and back of the crowd ,as  opposed to the front where (I can only assume) the most loyal fans had  gathered!
  
 Other sections of the show that stood out included his year-by-year  portrayal of hip-hop’s formative decade, breaking down who did what for  hip-hop in the 1970s. This reminded me of his album track entitled  ‘Down The Charts’, which is a must listen for anyone that wants to hear a  track with a format so unique and accurate that it contributed to KRS  being placed in my ‘Top 5 Dead Or Alive’ list.