O2 Love Music Column – November 2013
It’s been almost twenty years since Kendrick Jeru 'the Damaja' Davis unleashed his seminal debut The Sun Rises in the East (co-helmed by Gang Starr virtuoso DJ Premier) and helped pull the New York scene up by its bootstraps back in the spring of '94. In a rare Scottish appearance, the incendiary rapper will grace the O2 ABC on 8 Nov, ahead of his new EP The Hammer, out later this month. Collaborators on the record are set to include Sabor, The Beatnuts, PF Cuttin, and Main Source mastermind Large Professor, who produced his latest single Solar Flares – a slick track that promises the Damaja hasn’t lost his fury.
From a hip-hop legend, to 90s kings of the heavy, melodic riff: Alice in Chains (O2 Academy, 14 Nov) return to Glasgow off the back of their fifth studio album The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. While it would be remiss to not mention the palpable absence of the late Layne Staley, now over a decade (and two records) since his passing, the metallers’ groove is reassuringly settled with William Duvall’s solid lead vocals. Far from being fawningly retrospective, this tour is set to be a hot ticket for a band still focused on the future.
Recent MOBO champ Shahid 'Naughty Boy' Khan (he of hiccupping chart number one La La La) hits the O2 ABC this month, airing his prize-winning LP Hotel Cabana. The album, which reads like a who’s who of current British chart titans (featuring Emeli Sandé, Tinie Tempah, Bastille, Professor Green, and others), is touted as an accomplished concept album of textured depth. Though still relatively fresh on the circuit, Khan’s racked up quite the production pedigree; check out his infectious R&B stylings on 17 Nov and judge for yourself.
Saaf Landan Rough Trade ruffians Palma Violets, touring their debut indie-thrash LP 180 relentlessly since its release earlier this year, make a pitstop at the O2 ABC on 23 Nov. They’ve been on the road with numerous bands, notably on this year’s NME Awards Tour with Django Django, so they certainly know the score. With notoriously enthusiastic sets, stage-diving antics and raucous showmanship, expect some high-octane Britpop revivalist carnage from Sam Fryer and pals.
The Netherlands might have produced the odd DJ here and there over the years. Here’s one that’s part Surinamese: Clyde Sergio Narain to his mates, Chuckie to his fans. Like Naughty Boy earlier in the month, Chuckie has dwelled in one form or another in international charts, either as a producer or as an artist, pioneering ‘Dirty Dutch’ house – think Cuban tunes fed through a glitching, steroid-fuelled drum machine. All told, he’ll be churning up crowds no bother at the O2 Academy on 30 Nov. [George Sully]