There has been a lot of debate and interest surrounding the return of Plan B and his ‘controversial’ new musical direction.
His transformation from aggressive hip-hop wordsmith to snappy dressing soul crooner has certainly brought mainstream attention but has it also lost him fans of his earlier work?
As I had seen Plan B before and was impressed by what he did, I came to this gig with one question in my mind.
Does this new direction work?
The answer wasn’t long in coming but it did have to wait until the rather impressive human beatbox intro was out of the way.
Honestly, how exactly do you learn how to make those sorts of noises with your throat?
In what is either a happy accident or an inspired tactical shift, Plan B no longer seems burdened with the tags placed upon him by the media.
Back in 2006 Ben Drew/Plan B was being touted as ‘the new Mike Skinner’ or as London’s answer to Eminem.
He was never either of those and those comparisons really missed the whole point of his music.
Still, it didn’t help by printing that across the front of his CD.
It becomes clear as the first verse of ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ kicks in that this ‘new direction’ works.
His voice, sweet and soulful, harmonises with the backing singers before soaring to the high notes.
The sung verses set the scene and the rapped parts, now sparingly used, drive the story forward.
The thing is. If people had actually been paying attention first time round then they’d see that he isn’t really doing anything that he didn’t do before.
Songs like ‘Mama…Loves a Crackhead’ and ‘Dead & Buried’ showcased the blueprint for what has become the ‘Defamation of Strickland Banks’ concept album.
He has taken an idea from the first album and pushed it on to the next level.
The lyrics are still witty and well observed but this time they lack the barbed hooks at the end of each line.
It makes everything just that little bit more accessible.
It is not flawless as a couple of songs are not quite as strong as the rest but Plan B manages to be both completely different from the last time I saw him and yet comfortingly familiar.
Much as I loved the songs on ‘Who Needs Actions…’ I can’t imagine having a whole crowd singing along to any of those songs quite the way they did to ‘She Said’.
I’d be the first to admit that it wasn’t the easiest album to listen to.
Or in his words “I talk morbid just to make you feel awkward”.
It’s telling that only one song (Charmaine) is on the setlist.
Actually, I found it difficult to hear ‘She Said’ because the crowd were so damn loud.
The Classic Grand was packed to the rafters. The crowd, seeming like they loved every minute, were so wound up into a frenzy that they had the feeling they could explode at any moment.
And it is the behavior of the crowd that gives the complete answer to my question.
I like the new Plan B material and am glad to see that he is still doing things the same way.
It shows what a versatile performer he can be but I just can’t shake the feeling that I miss that little element of danger in his music.