Simple Chaos Entertainment

Fabian Ledgister, Gleaner Writer

Rapper Chillum gives a heated stint at 'Chaotic', which was held at Endless Studio in Cross Roads last Saturday. - Fabian Ledgister photo

In a testament to the true birth of hip-hop, rappers across Jamaica on Saturday delivered a lyrically-explosive night dubbed 'Chaotic' at Endless Studio in Cross Roads. The slew of young local rappers, donning do-rags under fitted caps and hoodies, flipped their Ebonics-inspired tongue play, clever hooks, and a few energetic rap battles that eerily resembled an excerpt of the popular movie, Eight Mile.

A delay in the event was easily forgotten, as disc jockey, Shane - the fire starter, kept the vibes pumping with 1990's hip hop hits like What, What by Noreaga, as well as Roc Da Mic by Freeway and Memphis Bleek. As selections kept the meagre turnout dancing, an impromptu pre-show took place on a nearby balcony, as anxious artistes began to freestyle.

True life stories

"Looking for a beat, so I can eat, can't sleep, days I'm on the job, but at night it's a robbing spree," spitted Tau 'Chillum' Cooke, as he cleverly referred to anything he saw.

Despite the late start, the performance line-up began quite impressively, as local rapper, Kyle 'Six' Poole, charged the mic with songs like, Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy, using the catchy line from the cult classic film, Scarface, to throw words at some unknown arch-nemesis. The night would later reveal that nemesis.

Like most local rappers, Poole could be heard melting his own Jamaican patois with his learnt hip-hop Ebonics. He created quite an interesting sound which some have viewed as the birth of a new musical genre.

After a non-memorable performance by Telwell, an explosive duo, Truth and Element, took the stage and re-energised the crowd with singles that told true life stories and struggles. In fact, the rappers had a similar sound to the controversial underground hip-hop group, Dead Presidents, who also rap mostly about life stories and black oppression.

Patrons were then treated to one of the night's best performers, Scantana, who had the crowd singing along to his single, No Hook. The artiste currently has a single released on Taxi (Sly and Robbie) label featuring Adena Myrie called, Cornwall, Middlesex, Surrey.

The Bebble Team was up next, as their diversified members each offered their own interesting rap styles, which blended together well. One single in particular, Who am I, by group members Pyramid, Massacre and Sauce Man, got the crowd involved in the performance.

The night was far from over, as young dancer, Sumoya, had the crowd cheering when she performed the latest hip-hop dances like the crunk, pop and lock, and some fusion of dances only Michael Jackson could complete. Afterwards, a female rapper could be heard with hard-hitting lyrics and punch lines on a single called, Champagne. To the surprise of everyone present, the 16-year-old dancer had flipped back her hoodie, grabbed a mic from a male rapper, and began spitting some lyrics way above her 5' 2" height.

The night ended with a feud between the two founding members of Black Mask Crew, as Cooke made an all-out verbal assault against rapper Poole.

Event promoter, Nykkiicia Cion of Simple Chaos, described the event as having met some of her expectations.

"These hip-hop live shows have been staged by us since 2007 to give the young rappers a chance to showcase their talent, but I wanted to find a venue that would convey the underground authenticity that I wanted, and the Endless Studio was perfect, but not enough sponsors are seeing the vision and the potential of hip-hop in Jamaica," said Cion.

Kariuki gives an emotionally-charged performance.