So… onwards to post 501, and one that has been sat in my drafts box since forever and a day (hey, some things never change).

I had wanted to see Phreeda Sharp play for a while, it was just whenever she performed I would always have a work commitment the next morning (gone are the heady days of gigging til midnight on a school night).  I finally managed to catch her performing at Barfly earlier in the year and it was everything I was looking forward to… 20ish minutes of pure madness!

Starting with the music, everything was jacked up about 10, ooo per cent.  The basslines were heavier and Phreeda’s stage presence was at times like a Jaguar prowling from side to side delivering her songs with venom.  It was nice to see already cooking cuts given an added shot of adrenaline.

And then there was the madness, half-naked men thrusting like they had a three-foot ferret loose in their shorts; she called them the Bad Joes.  Phreeda didn’t let them have all the fun throwing in her own gyrations.  Mix all of that with the bass-thumping music and it was a great little set.

Looking forward to seeing more of her.  Phreeda is delivering something the mainstream UK rap scene needs at the moment; a venomous, yet accessible lyracist.  Let’s hope the radio gets the message… if not  she just probably needs to send the Bad Joes round to start some drama!

Rob

This next photo, while far from the great, I just fell in love with when I saw it.  You’ve got Izzy Trixx in the background with her hands on her head like “F***, I just queued the wrong track” (although in all honesty she’s probably just dancing).  At the same time you have one of the Bad Joes thrusting like he was trying to impregnate three nations in a single hip movement.  All the while Phreeda is just doing her thang, seemingly oblivious to what’s going on around her.  I think it captured the madness, unpredictability and fun of her set!