On Sunday 6th July I attended Wireless Festival 2014. My reason for attending? Kanye West.
After a day of basking in the sun, listening to Iggy Azalea, Tinie Tempah and Pharrell, the fans finally got what they came for.
Before seeing Yeezy, I already knew it would be the wildest show I’d ever see, and he did not disappoint. After a total overhaul of the stage, cutting off the sides and back of the stage with black screens, Mike Dean cooly walked up to the stack of keyboards. A fuzzy scramble of noise blared, to which Kanye’s DJ then walked up to the right side of the stage, operating the laptop and decks. Following this, Ye walked out to the tremendous roar of what I estimate to be around 60,000 Kanye crazed fans. He stood in the centre of the rectangular screen peering upwards through his Maison Martin Margiela diamond face mask, observing the vast expanse of people on his last Summer Run Tour date. The crowd’s excitement was tangible, the setting was surreal and so too was the noise, the blaring unidentified bassline continued with the addition of sporadic dog barks. Shortly after, the instantly recognisable drums of ‘Black Skinhead’ pierced the air. Ye burst into life, the red screen behind him flashed violently, he broke forward, jumped up and the highly anticipated gig was underway.
Being the last leg of his Summer Run tour 2014, expectations were high. However Mr West delivered, as expected, on all levels; the visuals, the outfit, the live performance, the music and of course the rant. Despite being supposedly ‘booed’ off stage the night before in London, Kanye set about delivering a speech based on creativity, passion and art. In Ye’s anti-rant he apologised for not being ‘a belligerent asshole’ and for ‘being nice’ - a clever comeback to the people doubting his personality, whilst shedding light on his humorous side, warranting laughs from the hyped audience.
Besides that, I was there for him and his music. He let the audience indulge in songs off of Cruel Summer to begin with; ‘Mercy’, ‘Clique’ and ‘Don’t Like’ warmed the loyal crowd of British Yeezus fans.
On display behind him was a colour inverted live feed of Kanye West; the texture and temperature of which added a differing dimension to the live show. After revealing his face and taking off the famous face mask, he then went on to play ‘Blood On The Leaves’, claiming he usually does it at the end of the show, however the crowd was ‘way too hype’ so instead, he dropped it a quarter of the way through. ‘Mad’ is the only word I can find to describe ‘Blood On The Leaves’ and when he did it again at the end I found myself at they very front of the crowd, risking my phone’s life and taking this photo.
His set flowed with ease, bouncing from hype tracks like ‘All Of The Lights’ and ‘Bound 2’, to masterful pieces like ‘Heartless’ and ‘Runaway’.
Overall the experience was enjoyably overwhelming. The raw sound and artistic environment made the evening incredibly surreal. Getting so close to one of my idols, the man who claims to be the number one ‘rockstar’ in the world, and the man who is easily one of the most influential people in music today, made it THE best live performance I’ve ever seen. Period.
From The Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Jay-Z to Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow and Slayer, Rick Rubin has worked with almost every artist under the sun.
His career, spanning a prodigious 30 years has enabled Mr Rubin to make his very own mark on the world of music.
Although to many he remains unknown and his input is rarely recognised by the ordinary music fan, his blanket of influence spans numerous genres, musical trends and three decades.
He first founded the legendary Def Jam label in 1984 with a certain Russell Simmons, a fellow New York University student. Rubin and Simmons were among the many key producers and artists behind the commercial growth of hip-hop, helping the genre to reach inconceivable heights. Artists like LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C and Beastie Boys were amidst the Def Jam roster in the 80s, making hip-hop a household name. Rubin’s heavy metal roots combined with his passion for hip-hop resulted in the punchy guitar riffs and boisterous sounds produced by the Beastie Boys. The snappy drums of Run-D.M.C also reflect Rubin’s punk origins.
Over the course of 20 years, Rick Rubin produced more hip-hop albums and worked with more varying artists. His work with Jay-Z on his 2003 platinum smash hit ‘99 Problems’ was perhaps his most notable production.
Moving away from hip-hop, Rubin went on to work with artists the other end of the scale, polarising his influences and developing his spiritually. His body of work hits a schism when he appears on the 2004 Slipknot record; Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). This album will be of endless debate, as to whether it is or it isn’t Slipknot’s best body of work. However, despite the seeming untouchable nature of Rick Rubin, Slipknot band members have spoken out, commenting on Rubin’s absences and unhelpful presence.
Despite this, Rubin seems to be doing what he did 30 years ago, however not inventing hip-hop this time, but reinventing it. In a time where hip-hop gets overlooked on radio stations, and dance music is topping charts, Rubin and his partner in crime; Kanye West seem to be standing in as hip-hop crusaders.
Kanye’s controversial 2013 album ‘Yeezus’ had Rubin as co-captain, creating an incredibly graphic and visual piece of art. This reinvention of hip-hop keeps clear of the trap takeover, although it’s awareness and appreciation of the EDM trend aids Kanye and Rick in their mission to make hip-hop a revolutionary genre once again.
Rick Rubin is one of my favourite people. His contribution to music from behind the stage is immense, affecting people who are blissfully unaware of his presence and incomprehensible talent. He has teamed up with many artists over the years, not just Kanye West, to continually change the face of music. I am overwhelmed with excitement at the prospect of Rubin’s future projects. New Yeezy albums? New Hova albums? New Lana Del Ray? or maybe new Jake Bugg, whatever it is I’m excited.
My search for more live music took me to the capital in early July.
I’ve been listening to the Canadian born DJ/producer for over a year, after a friend introduced me to a Common remix of his, and when I saw a poster for his European tour I couldn’t afford to miss his one UK show.
After much deliberation, I’ve came to the conclusion that Kaytranada is the best DJ I’ve seen live. His unique ability to blend retro RnB riffs and vocals with slamming modern drums is an irresistible combination for me. Another layer that appeals to me is the house music element in his works. Only recently have I become a fan of house music, deep house especially, however like I’ve said, the mix of house, hip-hop and RnB is a winning formula, giving certain rap songs a much needed uptempo feel.
Despite this, music like his and DJs alike can only be fully appreciated live and loud. The intimate KOKO venue played host to his gig. Unaware of his overwhelming UK support, I was surprised to see it sold out. With the place packed, after the brilliant Sango had dropped his lively warm up set, Kaytra came on and delivered. The walls shook with trembling basslines and the floor bounced with energy.
His set was a mixture of old and new, with numerous recognisable classics; Biggie, Busta rhymes and Pharrell all made brief features. Intertwined with these were his very own remixes of Azealia Banks, J Dilla, Janet Jackson and Aluna George. Also, on top of those were his own produced tracks - all of which the crowd knew, allowing us to be taken aback by the heavy drops, and delighted by the effective use of rap classics.
I especially enjoyed the Collard Greens/Killa Cats remix. Although not a classic, Schoolboy Q’s track graces the Canadian’s and makes the record flow seamlessly.
Kaytranada is easily the best DJ I’ve seen, controlling the crowd with ease and pleasing his loyal UK fans with a jaw dropping set.