Hype ‘` it’s a wonderful thing. Look where it’s got Lilly Allen. With a little help from a Dad-inspired media machine, her silky smooth blend of ragga, hip-hop and pop elevated the spiritless ‘`Smile’ to the top of the charts. So, with this in mind, it’s easy to be cynical of the overwhelming optimism that greets Jamie T tonight.
Lauded as the next great British singer/songwriter, the South Londoner’s amalgamation of roots and beats is causing hysterical waves in the goldfish bowl of England’s music press. But as he sheepishly ambles on to the stage, his awkward apprehension belies the ego-boosting superlatives lavished on this prodigious twenty year old
Backed by an ensemble of musical ragamuffins, Jamie mumbles his way through an incomprehensible introduction before launching into a loose-limbed ghetto skank. Sounding rusty and under rehearsed it’s not the blistering beginning you’d expect from a sprightly upstart.
But as he scurries in to the bass heavy ‘`NWA’, a speckle of light begins to emit from this star’s ragged edges. A groove-laden spectacle of 80’s synths and two-tone riffs, it’s an inspiring call-to arms that sees the band stepping into the realms of genre-merging like a Sandinista-era Clash.
Stapling his influences to the collar of his pristinely pressed polo shirt, Jamie wholeheartedly swindles from the likes of Strummer, Toots and Hall. Yet amidst this unabashed reminiscing is an astonishingly progressive sound that trounces all over the pseudo-ska drivel of The Ordinary Boys and Dead 60’s.
With scathingly observational lyrics executed like a rastafied Dizzee Rascal, Jamie is transformed into a reluctant generational hero. Steamrolling through the dancehall vibe of ‘`Salvador’, you could be forgiven for presuming he’s yet another Mike Skinner wannabe but this boy merits much more than such fleeting tributes
His true talent lies in his ability to mesmerise the masses with just an acoustic bass and maundering vocal. The delectable ‘`Back In The Game’ bears glowing testament to this. Unpolished and jagged, it’s a heart-stopping moment of inspiration that draws as much from the essence of folk as it does reggae.
Returning to the stage for a poignant rendition of Billy Bragg’s ‘`A New England’, Jamie’s looks comfortingly at ease with all he’s achieved. Public Enemy may profess otherwise, but, in the case of Jamie T, don’t just believe the hype ‘`embrace it.
