Boiler Room has made a rapid transformation from a cool house party on the internet to one of the most important opportunites for DJs and artists to showcase their skills. Their status is such that at SXSW they can compile a lineup that snaps hip-hop’s history (Ghostface Killah) and brings it right up to date (Rae Sremmurd) via artists that bridge the gap between the different eras (BadBadNotGood and Freddie Gibbs).
Stones Throw records DJ J Rocc is another act who stays relevant in 2015 but has one foot firmly in the past. He teams up with Gibbs for a classic DJ/MC set-up. Some of the performance is hip-hop by the numbers (shouts of “Fuck the police” and audience polls on the question “Who here likes to smoke weed?”), but away from the stage patter the pair’s delivery is anything but staid.
Gibbs fires off minutes-long a cappela versions of tracks including Thuggin, one of the standouts from his 2014 album with Madlib, Pinata, while J Rocc provides a steady bedrock for him to flow over. That stripped-back approach is followed by BadBadNotGood – the jazz trio turned hip-hop’s go-to backing band – and Ghostface Killah; the pair worked together on the Sour Soul album. The group’s drummer Alexander Sowinski is left to keep things ticking over with a Whiplash-esque solo before Ghostface comes on wearing a body-warmer and beanie combination that makes him look like he’s off to do a food shop.
That informal approach suits the set which is a laidback boom-bap masterclass made all the better by BadBadNotGood who always seem like they’re cruising at 50% capacity as they ease out hip-hop nuggets, as opposed to the more complex jazz of their solo work. Finishing with Wu-Tang’s anthemic CREAM, and two Ol Dirty Bastard songs (Shimmy Shimmy ya and Brooklyn Zoo), Ghostface might have found collaborators that make him relevant to another generation of hip-hop fans.
Although BadBadNotGood and Ghostface Killah negated one of live hip-hop’s perennial issues (terrible sound), the rest of the bill is blighted by another (horrendous time-keeping). At a live show with a late late curfew that’s OK – things run over and everyone expects it – but when the gig is being simulcasted live on the internet someone needs to keep time and order.
That means when Rae Sremmurd’s set runs over – Kaytranada, who curated the night and plays afterward, calls time on it – and it’s more than enough time for them to show off their less intimidating, party-ready brand of trap. They’re joined on stage by Mike Will Made-It, the producer who introduced them to the world at last year’s SXSW, and rattle through half a dozen numbers including their ubiquitous single No Type. It’s a hyperactive, sweaty and young iteration of the genre that brazenly puts hooks front and centre, and the crowd loves them for it.
