Publication Date: 28 March 2007
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A comment on its MySpace: '...it's that time again...'
< play the theme
FACE IN THE CROWD
It had it all:
Massive hype (everyone who had even the remotest connection with the younger, highly dynamic strata of London's UK gospel music scene was going on about it); controversy (there was much made in some quarters about the event's name. 'GHETTO' and 'GLORY' were seen as a highly incongruous. TRYUMF explains the reasoning behind the name on the GHETTO GLORY MySpace)
And finally: GHETTO GLORY had all the progressive rawness that has come to symbolise the success of the MySpace/DIY ethos of the current generation of UK gospel artists, particularly the highly prolific Garage/Grime and Hip-hop contingent...
I attended the event, but left the reporting to one of UK Gospel.com's latest signings, DJ BREAKTHRU (you'll be seeing - and reading - more from him in due course).
And finally: GHETTO GLORY had all the progressive rawness that has come to symbolise the success of the MySpace/DIY ethos of the current generation of UK gospel artists, particularly the highly prolific Garage/Grime and Hip-hop contingent...
I attended the event, but left the reporting to one of UK Gospel.com's latest signings, DJ BREAKTHRU (you'll be seeing - and reading - more from him in due course).
GHETTO GLORY was a fantastic event on so many levels (and UKG was a major online partner, something I'm repeating this year), and with GG 2 just round the corner (APRIL 7th 2007), it felt like the right time to let BREAKTHRU bring you his take on event 1.
Just one question for you: what are you doing on the 7th of April...?
Yinka Awojobi
Content Development
UK Gospel.com
Just one question for you: what are you doing on the 7th of April...?
Yinka Awojobi
Content Development
UK Gospel.com
GHETTO GLORY 1...
After an extensive Myspace advertising campaign, there was a huge buzz regarding one of the biggest events for UK Gospel in 2006. The vision of event organiser DWAYNE TRYUMF was to
have (and I quote): '...the UK's toughest Gospel Grime and Hip-hop MCs all going back to back, spitting bars representing Jesus Christ to the fullest...'
So, on Saturday October 28th, a massive crowd from all over the UK descended onto Elim Church in Clapham (incidentally also TRYUMF's neighbourhood), in anticipation of this ground-breaking evening.
The atmosphere was charged and expectant. The lights were dimmed as the names of all the
artists performing that night flashed - in full Technicolor - across the projection screen, while the sounds of the latest Christian Hip-hop pumped through the huge P.A. provided by HIS MAJESTYS SOUND SYSTEM (HMSS).
TRYUMF eventually emerged from behind the decks to officially open the event with a word of prayer, asking God to direct proceedings and receive all glory. He was then joined on stage by L'DUBZY, and the two performed 'OCTOBER 28th' - the official theme tune, with the hyper
have (and I quote): '...the UK's toughest Gospel Grime and Hip-hop MCs all going back to back, spitting bars representing Jesus Christ to the fullest...'
So, on Saturday October 28th, a massive crowd from all over the UK descended onto Elim Church in Clapham (incidentally also TRYUMF's neighbourhood), in anticipation of this ground-breaking evening.
The atmosphere was charged and expectant. The lights were dimmed as the names of all the
artists performing that night flashed - in full Technicolor - across the projection screen, while the sounds of the latest Christian Hip-hop pumped through the huge P.A. provided by HIS MAJESTYS SOUND SYSTEM (HMSS).
TRYUMF eventually emerged from behind the decks to officially open the event with a word of prayer, asking God to direct proceedings and receive all glory. He was then joined on stage by L'DUBZY, and the two performed 'OCTOBER 28th' - the official theme tune, with the hyper
DUBZY spitting rapid fire lyrics, and DWAYNE joining in with his own double time verse.
The energy in the air was palpable, and as soon as the bass line dropped on this heavy Grime beat, the crowd were on their feet, which is where they remained for a lot of the night.
MCs such as FAITH CHILD, TRIPLE O, HAT MAN and others joined DUBZY on stage to rip it up back to back session, with all the MCs delivering rhymes and freestyles over various Garage instrumentals.
There was a huge amount of audience participation and humour,
with great interplay between all the guys sharing the mic:
JAHAZIEL went up with S.O. and had the crowd on their feet,
ROYAL PRIESTHOOD (sans ROUCHEON) were accompanied
by singer ADONYE GREEN, COMMISSION opened their set
with ICIE going into character as a vengeance-seeking youth, his
stark rap highlighting the dangers of violence and seeking
revenge. BLESS then joined his brother on stage, and the two
rocked the house with their unique music ministry.
The energy in the air was palpable, and as soon as the bass line dropped on this heavy Grime beat, the crowd were on their feet, which is where they remained for a lot of the night.
MCs such as FAITH CHILD, TRIPLE O, HAT MAN and others joined DUBZY on stage to rip it up back to back session, with all the MCs delivering rhymes and freestyles over various Garage instrumentals.
There was a huge amount of audience participation and humour,
with great interplay between all the guys sharing the mic:
JAHAZIEL went up with S.O. and had the crowd on their feet,
ROYAL PRIESTHOOD (sans ROUCHEON) were accompanied
by singer ADONYE GREEN, COMMISSION opened their set
with ICIE going into character as a vengeance-seeking youth, his
stark rap highlighting the dangers of violence and seeking
revenge. BLESS then joined his brother on stage, and the two
rocked the house with their unique music ministry.
S.O. (left) and JAHAZIEL
...It was amazing to see the large number of
industry people and gospel artistes who
were not scheduled to be ministering
turning up to support....
industry people and gospel artistes who
were not scheduled to be ministering
turning up to support....
The Grime and Hip-hop sound was softened by the smooth but powerfully credible, soulful and funky NEW DIRECTION CREW. They stormed the stage, mixing heavy RnB, great raps, and killer vocals. Brummie GAP D hyped up the crowd, bringing with his Grime-based flow an infectious energy (and a crazy crew of supporters from Birmingham!)
E.MINER (of pioneering group M.O.D) performed a brand new track from the duo's upcoming album. 'WHO?' is a track that simply declares the greatness of God, and as he dropped lyrics, the crowd got involved in the call-and-response chorus. The place was on fire, and the anointing
was heavy in the room.
One of the pleasant surprises of the night was a recital from spoken word artist [VERB] S.W.I.S.H. The excitable audience was silent, hanging onto his every word. Without music, his deftly crafted piece about Christ being the only answer to society's woes rang out clear and made a big impact.
The night kept rolling with DWAYNE conducting from behind the decks, calling out people from the crowd to come up and minister. Every single artiste came with something different, adding
E.MINER (of pioneering group M.O.D) performed a brand new track from the duo's upcoming album. 'WHO?' is a track that simply declares the greatness of God, and as he dropped lyrics, the crowd got involved in the call-and-response chorus. The place was on fire, and the anointing
was heavy in the room.
One of the pleasant surprises of the night was a recital from spoken word artist [VERB] S.W.I.S.H. The excitable audience was silent, hanging onto his every word. Without music, his deftly crafted piece about Christ being the only answer to society's woes rang out clear and made a big impact.
The night kept rolling with DWAYNE conducting from behind the decks, calling out people from the crowd to come up and minister. Every single artiste came with something different, adding
their own unique flava to the mix.
The evening was dynamic and spontaneous, and although
at times a little rugged around the edges. This added such
a realness and authenticity to all the performances.
This indeed was a full course of the best of UK Gospel,
gathered with unity and purpose to declare the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Throughout each of the performances and testimonies,
ministry was the main focus. Towards the end of the evening's proceedings, a powerful and challenging presentation of the gospel was given by a local youth minister from the Elim Church.
There was an open Hip-hop cypher to bring things to a close, and then a Garage/Grime back to back. The stage was swarmed with artistes, and people from the audience had opportunity to
The evening was dynamic and spontaneous, and although
at times a little rugged around the edges. This added such
a realness and authenticity to all the performances.
This indeed was a full course of the best of UK Gospel,
gathered with unity and purpose to declare the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Throughout each of the performances and testimonies,
ministry was the main focus. Towards the end of the evening's proceedings, a powerful and challenging presentation of the gospel was given by a local youth minister from the Elim Church.
There was an open Hip-hop cypher to bring things to a close, and then a Garage/Grime back to back. The stage was swarmed with artistes, and people from the audience had opportunity to
L-R: L'DUBZY, FAITH CHILD, HATMAN MC and TRIPLE O
also flow freestyle over the various beats.
ROYAL PRIESTHOOD's youngest member, 2 year old KIEYEN, stole the show - demonstrating his vast array of dance moves!
It was amazing to see the large number of industry people, and gospel artistes who were not scheduled to be ministering, turning up to support. The only disappointment of the night was that not enough of the artistes had material available for purchase!
Overall the evening was a huge success, really highlighting the breadth and diversity of talent the UK Gospel scene has to offer. It was awesome to see the way in which egos were laid down, the beautiful unity and fellowship between all involved, alongside great performances and heartfelt ministry.
This was truly a ground breaking evangelistic event, and hopefully the first of many more!
ROYAL PRIESTHOOD's youngest member, 2 year old KIEYEN, stole the show - demonstrating his vast array of dance moves!
It was amazing to see the large number of industry people, and gospel artistes who were not scheduled to be ministering, turning up to support. The only disappointment of the night was that not enough of the artistes had material available for purchase!
Overall the evening was a huge success, really highlighting the breadth and diversity of talent the UK Gospel scene has to offer. It was awesome to see the way in which egos were laid down, the beautiful unity and fellowship between all involved, alongside great performances and heartfelt ministry.
This was truly a ground breaking evangelistic event, and hopefully the first of many more!
LINKS
About DJ BREAKTHRU
...from his MySpace page
I'm Lindford. I love God, my family, good friends, good music, and
good food :-)
good food :-)
GENERAL:
Currently living in England, UK. Studying hard (or not so hard
sometimes)
sometimes)
MUSIC
...is (or should be) a powerful and beautiful expression of the soul of the
artist. Insightful. Personal. A glimpse of their hopes, vision, innermost
thoughts and fears, reflected in notes, melodies, rhythms, and syllables....
That or just straight Crunk!
artist. Insightful. Personal. A glimpse of their hopes, vision, innermost
thoughts and fears, reflected in notes, melodies, rhythms, and syllables....
That or just straight Crunk!
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Breakthru's favourite Music? Movies? Television? >> Go to his MySpace page
