Anti-pop Consortium – The Harley, Sheffield 06/04/10

Following the release of 2009’s effectively experimental Fluorescent Black, Anti-Pop Consortium stopped by on their European travels to pay Sheffield their first ever visit.

Defying convention, Anti-Pop Consortium chose not to open their set with the boisterous call-outs that typify other hip-hop shows, but instead surrounded their various decks and drum machines with their backs to the audience and began to develop an improvised beat. All the while the quartet played off each other, as M. Sayyid shouted out with excitement, “YEAH! YEAH! ROLL WITH THAT!” whenever he sensed the beginnings of a beat dropping that he approved of.

At various times in the night awkward silences did mute the crowd – for instance when Beans’ tounge-meltingly quick rapping lasted that little bit longer than the audience expected (read: could handle), or when M. Sayyid called out “WHAT’S GOING ON SHEFFIELD, U.K.?” and a lone Yorkshire man answered, “Just some music in a pub, mate” – but it was, at least to some extent, expected. Unsurprisingly, Sheffield is not renowned for its hip-hop scene and on the rare occasions that a hip-hop artist does play here, the support seems to come exclusively from The Ruby Kid, who unfortunately has the lyrical dexterity of a teen-poet and the vocal delivery of Gordon Brown on speed. Saying this, the contrast between setting and artist quite suits APC, who are characterized for their experimentalism, and if there was a hip-hop group that would get Sheffield bouncing, this was they.

The night gave showcase to each member and their respective skills, whether it was Sayyid’s playful interaction with the crowd, Beans’ machine-gun delivery or High Priest’s baritone timbre – each member managed to stand out in their own way and collectively they exemplified the difference between natural hip-hop and forced hip-hop (see: The Ruby Kid). Despite the divide between cultures, APC fully succeeded in pumping up the crowd and looked genuinely shocked with the audience’s grateful and thunderous applause. As the group left the stage, Sayyid shouted out (mockingly?), “WE’D HEARD GREAT THINGS SHEFFIELD, GREAT THINGS. AND YOU PROVED IT!”