Here’s what went down when our Matthew saw Children of Zeus at the Metronome…
Mancunian hip-hop/soul duo Children of Zeus have been wowing fans with their seamless blend of the two genres since their inception, creating a unique, chilled out, low-fi sound and becoming one of the city’s most respected artists of recent years. For their Nottingham performance at the Metronome, they gathered a plethora of special guests from our home turf to support them, creating a nighttime jam packed with hip-hop, soul and R&B melodies.
The night started with stellar performances from MC Karizma and Jazz artist Jack Wolff, setting the tone for the evening. The old school feelings continued between the snappy live sets with Notts’ own DJ Scratch Fever spinning classic hip-hop tracks from Wu-Tang Clan, Black Sheep and more.
Up next was MC Jugga-Naut, or “Juggsy Malone” as he prefers... Jugga-Naut has been gaining a lot of momentum lately, with his 90s rap style, self-produced beats, and of course, his recogniseable wardrobe selections. He even produced one of the beats on Children of Zeus’ latest album, Travel Light, making the show a special moment for both artists. Jugga-Naut would alternate between rapping along to his own beats whilst mixing in remixes of much-loved tracks, rejuvenating them with his own bars and rhymes. Juggsy would also hush the entire audience at times, delivering sermon-like verses before breaking back into his beats and getting the crowd hyped up with his endless chanting and humour.
“I say Nottingham! You say City!”
Next up was singer Harleighblu, a Notts-based eccentric who was dubbed by Mistajam as the “new queen of hip-hop soul”, accompanied by a three-piece band consisting of synthy keyboards, funky bass, and drums. The raw, beat-heavy band provided the perfect counterpoint to Harleighblu’s uncompromising, self-possessed, cat-like soul vocals, packed with an abundance of attitude. The band put on a thrilling set, with her infectious and charismatic enthusiasm in both her voice, dancing and overall stage presence being impossible to resist.
With the crowd as ready as ever, the headline act Children of Zeus came to the stage to a massive ovation from the Nottingham crowd. Th group consists of DJ, MC and beatmaker Konny Kon and MC, actor, and the now well-respected Soul singer, Tyler Daley. The duo have differentiated themselves by incorporating their love of soul music to their hip-hop roots, creating a unique mix of the two worlds, culminating all the different influences throughout the evening. The duo’s low-fi sound was the perfect way to cap off the entire night, with Daley’s luscious vocals swimming over the beats, and both his and Kon’s rhymes hitting the sweet spot.
The whole evening was an excellent fusion of Nottingham and Manchester talent, further showing the strength and sonic diversity in the current UK soul and hip-hop scene.
OnPoint Presents: Children of Zeus at Metronome took place on Friday 1 November.
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