Held on the first Tuesday of the month in the sweaty top room of the Hope, long-standing hip-hop night Slip Jam:B’s one of Brighton’s hidden pleasures. Always free, the night’s a showcase of local talents and big spitters in the scene, with guests including Verb T and Elemental in the last few years. Anyone’s welcome to get on stage and give it a go, which invariably leads to variable quality, but it’s clearly a great starting stage for young rappers. Having attended the night sporadically over the past five years, it’s both impressive and endearing to see a fresh-faced nervous 18 year old evolve into one of the night’s regulars.
The night opens in the normal format: rowdy rap battles, jostling for a microphone, optimistic requests for free drinks from the audience, and jocular hugs between regulars Gi3mo, Mos’ Prob, Ceezlin and Flowfather.
As it’s February, tonight’s the annual ‘Rhyme Date,’ giving hopeful single rappers the chance to compete for the heart of (or rather, a hug from) a buxom girl in leopard-print leggings. Tom ‘Valent-Hines’ is the host of Slip Jam:B; committed to fair participation and keeping it friendly. Tonight he’s wearing a ginger mullet and declaring himself to be ‘Killa Black.’
With local rapper Tyni in sidekick duties as ‘Golden Graham,’ Hines commands the stage and it’s truly a local night for local people, as evidenced when two of the lonely hearts are revealed to be ‘Simon from Portslade’ and ‘Dan from Shoreham.’ The rappers battle it out with 8-bars answering questions like, “How can you show me you’re a bit of a bad boy, but not a complete cunt?”
It’s hilarious. It could easily be a Fringe show, for all the witticisms and wigs.
London Zoo, or LDZ, are the headliners tonight, and play all the tracks the audience are waiting for, including sing-a-longs ‘I’m A Dick’ and ‘Get Your Tits Aat.’ As inspiration goes, they’re more about pars than politics, but it’s very well-received, and there’s some memorably clever lines. A happy mosh-pit erupts to viral hit ‘Lipz 2 Da Floor.’
Unlike many other hip-hop nights, Slip Jam:B retains an inclusivity which somehow frees it from the bravado and immaturity that dogs the scene. They recently had their first fight, after almost 13 years of monthly nights. This is about who’s got the best lines, not the best hats. And reflecting the participants is a very varied audience: wide-rimmed glasses-wearing hipsters mingle with dreadlocked hippy girls, a Justin Beiber lookalike throws his gun-fingers up behind a heavily pierced middle-aged rocker. I’m pretty sure someone’s parents are by the mixer.
Hip-hop gets a bad rep, but this is the genre at its freshest, youngest, and most pure. Beyond all the swearing and competitiveness, there’s a touching warmth. This is what live music should be about.
February 7th 2012
Words And Photos By Jessica Marshall McHattie
