It’s been a mad couple of weeks for us up on Newman mountain; ultra runs, holidays, then straight back to work at the other end of the country almost the second I got back. So come last Friday night, my tired, weary, donut filled bones were ready for a night out dancing to Hip Hop Hooray with my friends.
I’d seen Hip Hop Hooray at the Gateshead Beer Festival in August and there were undoubtedly the highlight of the whole thing. When we found out they were doing their own gig at the o2 Academy, we were straight there. It’s no surprise that a hip hop tribute act would appeal to me, after all, I’ve written many times about how 80s hip hop is the beating heart of my musical make up.
They’re a wedding band by definition, however Hip Hop Hooray are a wedding band with a twist. They’re fronted by rapper James and made up of the regions most talented singers and musicians. In fact, if i’d known about them when I got married in 2013, i’d 100% have hired them. The o2 was the perfect venue for them and it was packed from the moment they came out with Macklemore’s Can’t hold us; they had the whole place jumping from start to finish. And let me tell you, as someone who’s tried rapping that song in karaoke and finding it damn near impossible, it’s a testament to James’ talent.
The setlist was perfect, both modern and old school classics; Sugar Hill Gang, Run DMC, Destiny’s Child, MC Hammer and Nelly were all present and correct, they may as well have just downloaded my spotify gym playlist and used that if i’m honest! They had a great rapport with the crowd and among their stellar set was a happy birthday wish and even a marriage proposal, which really united the crowd.
If I were to pick on fault? To be honest, we were dancing an singing all night my only criticism is that they weren’t on longer. That sad it was almost a 2 hour set so that really is just me being greedy! I can’t wait for them to do another show like this, it was the perfect girls night out!
Either that or I need to convince Dave to let me have another wedding…
Twitter: @hiphophoorayuk
Instagram: @hiphophoorayuk
