In certain parts of the media a young man by the name of Benjamin
Drew, alias Plan B, has become somewhat ubiquitous over the last few
months. Having been a fan of what little music he has made available
since the end of last year, I jumped at the chance to see him in
concert for under a tenner. For those who don't know Plan B belongs to
the new music genre that has been dubbed 'grime', which is an urban
fusion of many and any other genres, but particularly hip-hop, UK
garage and ragga/dancehall. B adds, just for a bit of spice, some
influence from Radiohead, Johnny Cash and Nick Cave. Unfortunately, in
most reviews and reports of the artist he has been understandably
compared to the likes of Eminem and The Streets and while it is
somewhat of a cliché to want to be recognised and totally original and
unique, Plan B manages more than most to arrive at a very individual
sound by mixing, in an interesting way, his diverse influences.

I was very much looking forward to the gig itself, though, having only
heard around half an hour of his music but knowing that his record had
been fully completed it was obvious that there would be a show closer
to an hour in the small venue just outside Angel Station on the
underground (I was shocked to find out that it was essentially a bar
on the top floor of a mini-shopping centre.) After ordering a
ridiculously expensive pint¹ and watching the
support I wanted tentatively for the man of the night to come on
stage. He came on with his acoustic guitar and two backing singers,
while I already knew he played guitar I was shocked to see that there
was a drum kit set up, and even more odd, a double bass - or perhaps a
Cello I didn't see the bottom - that was both plucked and played with
a bow throughout the night.

His music speaks for itself, it is at best raw, powerfully expletive
and often avoids the norm by indicting the youth who live their lives
of violence, sex and unemployment - one particular song Kidz mocks a
14 year old boy who has sex, but can't use a condom because his
appendage is too small to fit. Occasionally it slips into lower grade,
swearing-for-the-sake-of-it music but for the most part it is a
refreshing step away from the egotistical, gun-glorifying,
self-fellating, female-objectifying 'gangsta' attitude that is
normally associated with rap (sometimes missing the letter 'c' as a
prefix.) No, homegrown hip-hop deserves more limelight than it
receives if for nothing more than the way that British artists use
names which are detrimental to their ego, rather than bigging
themselves up as is the case across the water. Names like Plan B hint
that they are the second choice, Lowkey suggests that he is
understated and unimportant (while punning on the Norse God of Chaos)
and Jehst implies that his music is somewhat of a joke. It is no
surprise then that Plan B uses a number of different characters
throughout his song - something which he does up on stage with
performing fluidity, speedily changing his voice pitch and facial
expressions - arguing that his own upbringing was too boring and
uneventful to talk about, so instead he looks at the world around him
to be his muse and in that way, he can never be accused of being fake.

Certainly I would go to see him again live because he is better on
stage than in the studio. A lot of rap becomes indistinguishable or
loses sound quality when performed live but Ben seems to know how to
use the microphone and his own pacing to make sure that every word is
audible and the audience know the message and lyrics of his songs.
Further credibility should be given to the man for having the guts to
tell his audience to be quiet during one of his tracks, as they were
being rudely loud and ruining everyone elses experience, and having a
joke about coming on stage and singing the wrong part of a song. Check
out his music at myspace or even better watch a semi-live
acoustic performance, preluded by a monologue by the man at his own
website.

I will be eagerly waiting in line for the release of his debut album
in a few months.

The Corner of Chaos
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