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Kano needs to appeal to serious music lovers if he is
to survive |
Kano's crown slips
REVIEW - KANO
Astoria by Christiana Ioannou
WITH a Mobo award for Best UK Newcomer, a Brit nomination
and a highly successful debut album Home Sweet Home, Kane ‘Kano’
Robinson is currently the most sought after and hyped 20-year-old
UK Grime master of 2006.
After his first commercial performance at the Scala was cancelled
in October 2005, amid police fears of violence, a swiftly re-scheduled
gig at the London Astoria four months later allowed this confident
young MC to prove why he deserves to be on top at the moment.
But on the strength of his performance, I was left struggling
to understand his crowning.
Trying to be Dizzee Rascal, Slim, and Wiley from mainstream
Grime collective Roll Deep, he just wasn’t as good, coming
across as inexperienced at best.
While his album is good, on the night it just sounded like shouting.
If 2pac’s music is poetry, and Biggie has his bitches and
hoes, Kano doesn’t stand up.
He doesn’t live in an American ghetto, he isn’t talking
about his real life, and it doesn’t come across. The young
kids obviously loved him, but once the hype’s died down
and the teenyboppers have moved on, he needs to be a serious
artist that appeals to music lovers.
That means growing up, and not spending the whole night talking
about girls: “How you girls doin’,” and “Why
don’t the laydeees give us a show of hands.”
With swarms of young fans who looked like they were out past
their bedtime, I wondered how many of them had got in, considering
there was an age restriction.
Biggest cheers on the night were for Reloaded – which he
reloaded one too many times – and Ps and Qs, while for
me, the evening was rescued by Leo the Lion from The Streets,
who’s soft passionate sounds on Nite Nite were much needed
to calm the hyperactive crowd.
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