It’s been a long time coming but now, finally after a several years of Auto-Tune based stagnation and beats so glossy you could virtually see your face in them, hip-hop is finally, and thankfully, broadening its palette.
You must have noticed; Kid Cudi kicking it with Ratatat, Lil-Wayne reinventing himself as a rocker even Jay-Z hanging out at Grizzly Bear gigs. The examples are numerous but up to now the results have been mixed. But this new strain of experimentation is no fad- it’s an absolute necessity for hip-hop to continue being relevant and in the shape of Philadelphia’s Chiddy Bang, we have the most able and willing torch carriers yet to emerge in this exciting new era.
It’s been a phenomenal few months for Chiddy Bang. Their debut single, ‘Opposite Of Adults’ entered the UK charts at number 12 and has remained in the top 20 for over 5 weeks selling nearly 100,000 copies to date.
Having met at college in Philly in 2008, the duo quickly came up with a fistful of tunes which circulated around the American college circuit like wildfire. In summer 2009 their debut mixtape, Swelly Express was uploaded on to myspace and received over 80,000 downloads in a month. Since then the band have been riding on the crest of a wave with Kanye showing much love on his blog and playing support shows with the likes of Wale, Kid Cudi, Snoop Dogg, Three 6 Mafia and Mike Posner.
Next single, ‘Truth’ is another stomping tune and stays true to the bands new school sampling form this time sampling Passion Pit’s ‘Better Things’. The band play a huge university tour in the UK throughout May.
9th May Sin City Swansea
10th May The Old Fire Station Bournemouth
12th May Waterfront Norwich
13th May Bucks SU High Wycombe
14th May O2 Academy Oxford
15th May Sheffield University Sheffield
16th May Hull University Hull
17th May The Electric Circus Edinburgh
18th May Liverpool University Liverpool
19th May 53 Degrees Preston
21st May Gatecrasher – Notingham Nottingham
22nd May Leeds Uni Union Leeds
24th May Reading University Reading
25th May O2 Academy 2 Birmingham
26th May Roadhouse Manchester