What happens to a rapper when he grows up? Doc Brown is 35, with a wife, two kids, and a promising career in comedy, twinning his macho artform with softie subject matter. A budding partnership with Ricky Gervais – they collaborated on David Brent's Comic Relief song, Equality Street – may propel Brown (real name Ben Smith, brother of Zadie) into the big league. His current set, now on tour, showcases a comedian with plenty to say and sing about, albeit one who often pontificates too long before getting to the joke.
This is at odds with the account he gives of himself. "I'm a nerd, a professional idiot," says Brown; but he is often to be found here thinking aloud about misogyny and racism like a man who takes himself seriously. Sometimes Brown gets pious – "Labels," he says, "who needs them to describe a human being?" – which could be a lyric lifted from the ridiculous Equality Street. Sometimes he waffles, and when he does get to the gags, they can be weak – such as an ill-thought-through quip about being the last item on the television news.
It's good to find a comedian who cares about the world, but Brown's best material doesn't spring from social concern. His ear for oddity – his use of the verb "destroy" to describe the killing of dangerous dogs, for example – and anecdotes from his life, such as the time he took streetwise kids from his estate to the Hackney Empire panto, yield greater comic returns. And the songs are always a highlight. "You chose the wrong bruvver to mess wiv/ Now go get me a fucking digestive," he sings in My Proper Tea, proving once again the high comic value when belligerent rap meets matters of minor domestic significance.
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