With Vancouver still reeling from Kanye West’s high profile double cancellations, hip hop heads were due a burst of rap eccentricity. Which made last night’s performance by hip hop supergroup Deltron 3030 at a packed Commodore Ballroom that much sweeter.
In terms of pure oddness, Kanye’s Jesus/Yeezus confusion barely bears comparison to Deltron’s unique shtick, which sees its members – 41 year old rapper Del the Funky Homosapien, producer Dan ‘the Automator’ Nakamura and Vancouver-based scratch DJ Eric ‘Kid Koala’ San – spin tales of a dystopian future (3030 or 3040, depending on which of the two albums you’re listening to), a superhero, the eponymous Deltron, and his battle against the corporations controlling this planet and beyond.
So far, so straightforward. But throw in a 13-year gap between those albums, and it becomes clear why a Vancouver appearance by these musical mystery men was such a hot ticket.
In Pictures: Deltron 3030 unleash funky future rap vision
Things started weird; a sample of John McEnroe tennis commentary looping on the score “30-30” provided the band’s introduction, the three superstars backed by a live bass player, guitarist and drummer. Starting the show with a trip back to the future, old tracks “3030,” “Things You Can Do” and the timeless “Positive Contact” all did their job in getting a nostalgic crowd suitably amped up.
Leaping 13 years to the present, the unmistakable voice of Joseph Gordon Levitt heralded the arrival of the new material, his spooky narration forming the opening to “Stardate.”
Seemingly the core creative force behind the Deltron 3030 projects, Nakamura’s wizardry in the studio was not matched by his stagecraft. Reduced to hunching over his gear triggering samples, his forays into the role of hype man never really convinced, whether he was conducting his band, teaching the crowd its participation role with the hook of “Nobody Can” or introducing Kid Koala as “the best thing from Canada since poutine.” Critical acclaim, it turns out, is no substitute for genuine charisma.
Potential front man Del the Funky Homosapien was deliberately shunning the spotlight, letting Nakamura take the mic during breaks and aloofly keeping his sunglasses on for the entirety of the night; his tongue twisting lyrics taking their toll on a deliberately choppy flow.
But perhaps that was the entire point. Because in an era when so many mainstream hip hop artists have become virtually indistinguishable from each other, a group without swagger dropping rhymes about science fiction once a decade definitely stands out from the bunch.
Of course, the beats still packed a punch, “Virus” and “Memory Loss” lurching with a mix of production polish and future urban grime. The eventual conclusion, “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz, was improved immeasurably by the addition of live cymbal crashes and the absence of Damon Albarn, finishing in an avant garde barrage of noise from the decks and effects of Kid Koala.
As Kanye West will presumably learn at some point in the future, it’s not 60-foot video screens that make a hip hop show interesting. It’s ideas.
