Roots Manuva

Sheffield Leadmill on Thu 24th Nov 2005

London-born Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva has come a long way since his debut some eleven years ago on the influential Sound Of Money label. From his early underground collaborations with the likes of Black Twang and Coldcut, a decade later he’s at the forefront of UK Hip-Hop, after 2001’s massively successful ‘Run Come Save Me’ album spawned the hits ‘Witness’ and ‘Dreamy Days’, clearing an easy path for the likes of The Streets and Dizzee Rascal.

For a figure as revered as himself, crowds flock willingly to see his shows and tonight at The Leadmill, things are no different. The Northern Cheer ignites the air as The Roots Manuva Band take the stage, before Smith himself appears from behind the shadows like a ghost primed to haunt with ethereal hip-hop beats. As the bass rumbles of set-opener ‘Join The Dots’ crawl beneath the floorboards the crowd wail with awe and the anticipation manifests itself in the form of wild and chaotic dancing.

Unfortunately, the sound proves to be muddy and distant and as much as they want to immerse themselves in it, soon people’s initial energy peters out, as a lacklustre performance unfolds on stage, killing any momentum. Recent single ‘Too Cold’ should be a cause for celebration, but tonight’s down-tempo rendition fails to jump from the stage to the dancefloor, keeping rigidly to itself.

For the first half of the show it’s all a bit of a sorry shame and then, just as you’re losing hope, like a divine intervention from the man himself, an engulfing, beat-heavy cover of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ helps Roots Manuva find his muse, and suddenly the show shifts into top gear. It’s followed by show-highlight, ‘Witness’, which prompts a mass sing-along, and in the short space of these two songs a complete turn around takes place. From hereon, Roots Manuva is unstoppable.

‘Awfully Deep’ and ‘Colossal Insight’ manage to overcome the bad sound but, thankfully for the band, the crowd seem so desperate to have a good time they’d probably be OK dancing to the sound of someone playing a toy drum, regardless. ‘Dreamy Days’ should be the show’s peak, but unexplained sound interference and the ensuing confusion throws it off kilter.

Still, a rapturous encore, featuring a guest appearance from members of tonight’s support act, Banana Klan, wraps up the show in meticulous style. The evening has its highs and lows but, when considering the ramshackle nature of most hip-hop shows, ultimately it’s charms shine through. Judging by the ear splitting cheers that the crowd emit from start to finish, only a fool would judge Roots Manuva as anything but the greatest.

article by: Alex Hoban

published: 28/11/2005 07:01



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