MAYDAY 2007 - Looking Back
The 2007 MAYDAY FESTIVAL was brought back from the brink of closure. Local authorities still concerned following recent violence related to urban nightclub events pertioned to prevent the 2007 free show.
Organisers and promoters succeded in getting the message across that this event was primarily a local community and family event and did nothing to intentionally attract visitors from 'out of town'. To this end, the scheduled line up of big acts such as THE FUGEE ALLSTARS had to be withdrawn in favour of local acts, the success of which was shown at the 2006 event.
Despite the generator for the entire sound system arriving 5 minutes before showtime, the Missile technicians performed miracles in getting the show underway only 30 minutes behind schedule. The crowd appeared stronger than in previous years, perhaps because the stage was further in than previous years but it did make for a buzzing atmosphere.
NOTORIOUS ECHO launched the event with a warm up that got the crowd in the perfect mood for what was to come. The first act on stage were KDS, KDOT's and SNOOZE who got the show up to speed in now time. unfortunately the opening act was to be the excellent live band KADENCE who split only days before the show. One of the surprise acts of 2006 returned in the form of BROTHER HOOD, a family duo with MINOR MENACE dropping supersonic lyrics, making a big noise from a small speaker. GULLY REGIMENT followed with their own darker edge which proved more popular with this years crowd proving that in some ways they were ahead of their time.
SAESHANCEE & KASHIKA were also no stranger to the Mayday stage but were clearly very nervous but look promising to come through in the future. They are certainly a determined duo. SWEET TALK took to the stage and brought a lighter, more mature sound to the event which was very welcome as a contrast to the high-credibility grime flavas which proceeded.
There is no doubt that LEXU$ and the VIP FAMILY stole the show, why LEXU$ hasn't taken things beyond Ipswich i'll never know. The banter between him and KANTE$ flowed, with Kante$ taking a bigger role on stage than ever before. BLUE EYED PAPI must have won the award for most colourfully dressed in the park and wore pink with courage (they say real men love pink!). After lighting up the stage, the VIP Family traded places with DIGGA who continues to put his all into his performance, you can almost feel the pain. JAY and CLEMENT MARFO continued proceedings to the Open Mic Contest.
This was to be a surprise, in recent years, the open mic contest had a threatening feel to it with rival crews taking the whole thing too seriously and personally. None of that this year with profanity and gangster lyrics strictly banned. 8 competetors took part including a singer (who was brave but didn't get very far) and a real surprise, a human beatbox that proved to be one of the show's highlights. This guy was amazing, pushing the sound system to the edge with vocal beats and scratches you'd never imagine a human could make. The winner was MC RAWKID who performed exceptionally.
After the first round of evictions, the dance contest proved to be a close call. This year there were only a couple of dance crews so it was good to see a high standard in this competition. Although most dancers concentrated on fairly classic moves, the outstanding performance came from a b-boy with some incredible acrobatic moves. The winner by crowd vote can be seen in the galleries.
It was now time for the DJ's and MC's to take control with MELLOW TONE providing deck duties. Mellowtone are seasoned pro's and you could hear it, pulling together the crowd and lifting their spirits. GET RAGGZ performed in their classic fashion along with sets including SHADOW BLOCK, PEPPERS, LOIN I, PROPHECY, DJ SKULLY and to complete the show an extended showcase with the URBAN DJ CUP CLASH WINNERS of 06, EAR 2 DA STREET, firing up the crowd and closing the event leaving them wanting more.
Hosts for the event were MC POLO and DADDY TURBO who made as always an excellent job of holding the show together.
There was a fairly high profile police presence, including helicopters, at the event with a multitude of officials scurrying around behind the scenes, a reflection of the siege mentality shown by Ipswich officialdom.
The 2006 REVIEW
In the last few years, the Annual MAYDAY festival has gone from strength to strength, featuring some major names such as Nate James, Heartless Crew & Monroe.
This year we chose to revert to our roots, introducing a greater selection of local acts as a reflection of the increased level of performance in some ways brought about by talent shows on TV such as X-Factor. We decided to play on this with our own homegrown version which we named M (Mayday) Factor. The competition really took place behind the scenes before the event, preparing a great selection of acts for the Mayday Urban stage.
DJ Echo launched the set, closeley followed by a first for the Urban stage, a full live band that had recently formed called KADENCE. It was an amazing performance, particularly in the light of it being their first. The drummer in particular displayed incredible skills and will be a musician to watch. Vice Versa, a local dance troupe, set the standard and were closely followed by an MC/DJ set from VIP Families Blue Eyed Papi, Lexu$ and supporting crew, performing a confident set on the back of a raft of local club performances in 2005/6.
Ear 2 Da Street showcased some of their material with the now standard DJ/MC format. In years gone by, many MC crews lacked in stage prescense, simply standing in a small group, ignoring the crowd - these days standards of performance have had to improve and this was visible in many of the performances seen on this day.
Next up came Blazin' & Minor Menace providing one of the highlights of the day with Minor Menace stealing the show with his speed of light lyrics and stage skill. His crew performed with great skill but the youngsters ruled!
Sinderella Story, a female 2-piece were looking stunning and provided a great vocal performance, representing todays need to not only sound great but also look good.
Cemone and Lusardi made their debut performance but suffered with nerves, preventing them from displaying their full talents but i'm sure they'll return stronger with the experience gained.
Edge Star have been a familiar sight over the last few Mayday events and didn't disappoint with an exiting new routine and co-ordinated look.
It was time for more vocal moves which were delivered by a further suprise on the day. The vocal talents and passionate presentation brought by MC Digga was impressive and in some respects, unexpected!
Peppers and Get Raggz performed in customary fashion, drawing in and involving the crowd in their show.
It was now the turn of Miss Henry, Mayday veteran and all-round babe. Miss Henry sang her latest songs with her truly amazing dancers who in my opinion were the stars of the day, mixing fluid and loose choreography with stunning acrobatic skills whilst fully supporting their leader - a truly professional troupe who should go far.
Shakyra followed but had an impossible jod of following the previous act and did a great job under the circumstances. Her performance was smartly followed by Lexu$ in his solo capacity. Lexu$ deserves to make a transition into the mainstream in the same way that Nate James has, showing great stage skills, the ability to rock the crowd and communicate with them and to perform his own material with confidence. Lexu$ is a star in the making, no question. The R'n'B club scene in Ipswich has been dominated by Lexu$ and Kante$ with Kante$ opening wearing a truly massive Afro, strutting the stage before he stepped back behind the decks, a place i'm sure he feels more comfortable.
A further 8-piece dance troupe entertained the crowd, displaying some stunning, energetic moves, unfortunately their name escapes me but they certainly deserve a mention here as provided an exhiliarting show.
Next up came Phenzwaan, a music poet dropping an extremely clever tapestry of socially concious lyrics in an environment that must have been a phenominal challenge. It is safe to say that dropping poetry on an Urban dance stage takes some guts and Phenzwaan succeded in gaining audience appreciation and respect.
London generally provides the source for the latest urban music trends and was represented by Shizzo, a three piece Garage/Grime combo. They were clearly professional and well-rehearsed in their performance but with the sun shining and a happy Ipswich crowd, their material was misplaced and more suited to a dark club or street environment.
Then came Candy, Outlaw Candy and oh yes, he was on fire! Candy has experienced a musical rollercoaster ride over the years but his performance this year was bang on, showing that Candy has a lot more to give. His expression truly lightened the mood and gave a summery, Jamaican flavour to proceedings. This was his year for sure.
Lyrically Scar'd came back with a darker Grimey slant. Their look was great and were well marketed but as with Shizzo, the flavour in the park was sunny and bright rather than dark and aggressive.
The headliner for Mayday was Hotsound, formerly from 1X-tra, their show was exceptional. The crowd was loving the participation with showers of free CD's making their way to the front row. Their antics accelerated the mood and raised the game.
The open mic competion resulted in the now familiar bickering and complaining and being notable for the lack of professionalism in comparison to the preceeding acts. Hopefully in 2007 our homegrown rap talent will pull its self together, come on guy's, rap has moved on from slagging each other off !
At Mayday events we like to cover all urban musical angles with Culterment making their way to the stage. Representing Roots & Culture music, they set a slighlty mellower tone which acted as a great contrast to the event.
It was at this point in the day that our photographer ran out of film which is why we are unable to show shots of the Ashanti performance. Ashanti provided a familiar show, closing the event and experiencing the frustration of having their set restricted by council licensing requirements.
Daddy Turbo from BBC's Ebony Eye made a superb job of compereing the show although he had to make an early exit to broadcast his radio show.
Over all it is safe to say that this years event was one of the most successful and will be a tough one to follow. Let's see what we can pull out of the bag in 2007 !
   
     
Above are some of the photos from the day, click to visit the Gallery |
