It's a slow-burn beginning. Over the sparest of beats, rapper Paradise leads in the smouldering 'Still I Rise'. As the empowering track reaches its splintering climax, it becomes clear that, when the revolution comes, 57th Dynasty will be in the streets, naming names. Righteous ire is their fuel.
A couple of nights before, Roots Manuva scooped a Mobo for his blinding debut LP, even so, 57th Dynasty know this isn't the time for complacency among British hip-hoppers. Tonight's club night, with a bill full of UK rap acts, is the antithesis of the trendy trainer set. It's raw, scruffy even.
Live, 57th Dynasty come on like you always dreamed the Wu-Tang Clan would be, a holy chaos with hot-lead hip-hop at its core. There are seven onstage tonight, playing tag with mics and unleashing verse after verse of steely street hip-hop. It's a deliciously Brixtonian soundclash, dribbling ragga and dub in its goth-hop brew, and only the unpleasant sexism of 'Hanky Panky' drags the crew back down to earth for a misjudged moment.
As a shuddering 'Boro 6' brings the set to a close, toaster Thunda Storm pulls 13-year-old word-slinger Lil Monsta from his adoring public and joins the rest of the crew as they troop offstage. And another roomful of converts file out, safe in the knowledge that 57th Dynasty ain't nuthin' to fuck wit'.
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