DJ Premier @ Smokestack in Leeds (04/11/2008) - UPDATED with REVIEW

[es-jay]

this Tuesday 4th November. i'm going. anyone else in the area?

[Invincible]

Fuck sake, it sucks living in Kent.

[es-jay]

only one of two UK dates apparently.


had to go to this after not being able to see Al Green nor being able to go to Rock The Bells... i'll try get some pictures on my piss-poor 2 megapixel camera phone.

[Invincible]

only one of two UK dates apparently.


had to go to this after not being able to see Al Green nor being able to go to Rock The Bells... i'll try get some pictures on my piss-poor 2 megapixel camera phone.

Ok man, props.

[es-jay]

just a quick update:

what a show. Premo, ripped it. thats all i can say really. played all the classics and even had Blaq Poet do about 6 songs.

more in depth review coming when i'm not working.

[es-jay]

my show review.

We got to Smokestack at approx 23.30 to find Premo wasn't arriving til after 12. The venue was a lil small, DJ Booth popped in the corner with a very low ceiling, bar area however was rather high. The opening DJ played some dope tunes, bit of James Brown etc while some breakers did there thing. We were stood behind quite a few people so all I could see was the odd foot fly accross.

Premo arrived at 12.15ish, and within 15 minutes was already spinning the first record. He opened up with Das Efx's "Real Hip Hop" which got the crowd going and proceeded to spin some classics from the Gangstarr LPs, "Just To Get A Rep", "Mass Appeal" (Crowd went mad), the "Militia(s)" etc. Mixing and scratching was all on point. There were a few records from Common, KRS and DITC before he stopped everything for his remix of "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". He had a few words to say about some of the MCs from "the Golden Era" before asking the crowd to shout "Classic" after each rapper's name, just a few were Tupac, Rakim, Gangstarr (obviously), Big L etc over a loop of the intro to the track. The crowd obliged.

Premo introduced Blaq Poet who came on to do some songs, i'm not really familiar with Poet's work so I couldn't tell you what he performed, but he was dope. Premier supplied the beats and cuts, and Blaq Poet flowed over each track well and kept the crowd moving. In total he did 5-6 songs or so.

Once again DJ Premier got a bit of crowd participation going for the RIPs, he shouted Big Pun, Big L (L's were raised), Pac, Biggie, Eazy, JMJ, Issac Hayes, James Brown, Barry White.

Me and my mate wormed our way closer to the DJ booth, lemme just tell you, it was sweaty as fuck in there, 150 people crammed into a small low ceiling'd area, not a good idea. It was madness shortly after as he played "Ante Up (Remix)" by MOP. Everyone rhymed along with the Posse, Busta and Remy, "Bitch, Run That!!", shortly followed by Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones". It got a whole lot crazier when he popped on Pharoahe Monch's "Simon Says", again the whole crowd rapped along before Premo cut to some more recent Gangstarr songs, "Rite Where You Stand", "Skills" and "In This Life" from the Ownerz album to name a few.

Towards the end the crowd were going crazy, jumping around and hitting the rather low ceiling. The plasterboard got a fair bashing, small portions of which had fallen to the ground. Premo ended the show with a nice mellow beat and thanked the crowd for there support before being mobbed by fans for autographs. Yes, i was one of them.


All in all, a fantastic show, just amazing to see a Hip Hop Icon like DJ Premier spinning records for just over two hours, it was well worth the £10 i paid for the ticket. If you see a Premo show advertised best believe me you should go. Also, he had a camera man with him, i said a few words to him in my drunken state, so we may see a DVD of this World Tour pop up soon.

Oh yeah, there was little to no trouble, saw one guy get dragged down a flight of stairs by a couple of bouncers (one of which looked the spit' of Arnold from Diff'rent Strokes), that was it. The air conditioner looked like it was buggered. Dripping when we left.


Thanks for reading, and good night.


PS. only got one photograph which may need brightening a little. my phone's camera is just 2MP and has no flash... will try upload it later.

[KURUPTION-81]

my show review.

We got to Smokestack at approx 23.30 to find Premo wasn't arriving til after 12. The venue was a lil small, DJ Booth popped in the corner with a very low ceiling, bar area however was rather high. The opening DJ played some dope tunes, bit of James Brown etc while some breakers did there thing. We were stood behind quite a few people so all I could see was the odd foot fly accross.

Premo arrived at 12.15ish, and within 15 minutes was already spinning the first record. He opened up with Das Efx's "Real Hip Hop" which got the crowd going and proceeded to spin some classics from the Gangstarr LPs, "Just To Get A Rep", "Mass Appeal" (Crowd went mad), the "Militia(s)" etc. Mixing and scratching was all on point. There were a few records from Common, KRS and DITC before he stopped everything for his remix of "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". He had a few words to say about some of the MCs from "the Golden Era" before asking the crowd to shout "Classic" after each rapper's name, just a few were Tupac, Rakim, Gangstarr (obviously), Big L etc over a loop of the intro to the track. The crowd obliged.

Premo introduced Blaq Poet who came on to do some songs, i'm not really familiar with Poet's work so I couldn't tell you what he performed, but he was dope. Premier supplied the beats and cuts, and Blaq Poet flowed over each track well and kept the crowd moving. In total he did 5-6 songs or so.

Once again DJ Premier got a bit of crowd participation going for the RIPs, he shouted Big Pun, Big L (L's were raised), Pac, Biggie, Eazy, JMJ, Issac Hayes, James Brown, Barry White.

Me and my mate wormed our way closer to the DJ booth, lemme just tell you, it was sweaty as fuck in there, 150 people crammed into a small low ceiling'd area, not a good idea. It was madness shortly after as he played "Ante Up (Remix)" by MOP. Everyone rhymed along with the Posse, Busta and Remy, "Bitch, Run That!!", shortly followed by Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones". It got a whole lot crazier when he popped on Pharoahe Monch's "Simon Says", again the whole crowd rapped along before Premo cut to some more recent Gangstarr songs, "Rite Where You Stand", "Skills" and "In This Life" from the Ownerz album to name a few.

Towards the end the crowd were going crazy, jumping around and hitting the rather low ceiling. The plasterboard got a fair bashing, small portions of which had fallen to the ground. Premo ended the show with a nice mellow beat and thanked the crowd for there support before being mobbed by fans for autographs. Yes, i was one of them.


All in all, a fantastic show, just amazing to see a Hip Hop Icon like DJ Premier spinning records for just over two hours, it was well worth the £10 i paid for the ticket. If you see a Premo show advertised best believe me you should go. Also, he had a camera man with him, i said a few words to him in my drunken state, so we may see a DVD of this World Tour pop up soon.

Oh yeah, there was little to no trouble, saw one guy get dragged down a flight of stairs by a couple of bouncers (one of which looked the spit' of Arnold from Diff'rent Strokes), that was it. The air conditioner looked like it was buggered. Dripping when we left.


Thanks for reading, and good night.


PS. only got one photograph which may need brightening a little. my phone's camera is just 2MP and has no flash... will try upload it later.

Sounds cool, saw premo once at ministry of sound.

Was playing with Jazzy Jeff but premo didnt come on till about three, the place was rammed i was hammered and i ended up leaving so only saw about ten min of premo.

[es-jay]

props for reading. i hadn't heard of him being in the UK before, but apparently he'd played in Leeds in 06. hopefully it won't be the last time i see him.

[MediumL]

Sounds gd. Most shows in London end up being somewhere dodgey or midweek which is kinda annoying but if i get the chance for only £10 id def go.

[es-jay]

^props for checking the review. show was on a tuesday night, but i wasn't working til 3pm the next afternoon so it was all good.