Scrooby Dooby Doo (Bet I'm the first one to say that...)

dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip
Brighton Concorde 2

UK hip hop is rubbish. The headliners tonight think so, and a lot of others agree. Strange, then, that most of the dates on this tour have sold out. The irony is delicious.

But if B.Dolan is anything to go by, US Hip hop is also pretty bad. There isn't anything special about him, which is what is needed in any genre that has been around for as long as this one has, although he puts on somewhat of a show by stripping down to a white jump suit and cape before performing a death-defying jump over an audience member. This seems to please the crowd, but not much else does.

There is an energy in the room tonight. There are a mix people in this sell-out crowd: old, young, white, black, Asian, bearded, male, female, indie kids, metal heads, hip-hop fans, the list goes on, and they're all excited to be here. Opening with "The Beat That My Heart Skips," dan and Pip treat us to some delicious beats and insightful lyrics. The set alternates between old stuff and new stuff, and it all seems to blend together well. Despite disappointment with the latest offering "The Logic Of Chance", the tracks from it take on a new level live, more atmospheric and definitely more angry. Pip apologises for the "depressing suicide songs," namely "Magician's Assistant" and "Angles", but spirits are lifted by the politically charged songs like "Get Better," and of course the angry observations of "Thou Shalt Not Kill."

Although the average age of the crowd is probably 15, and many seem to be snobby indie kids, the rest have a good grasp of what Scroobius Pip is trying to say, and in any case the former are kept happy by the musical genius of dan le sac. Either way, the whole place is pretty pumped by the time "Letter From God To Man" brings the evening to a close.

But of course, UK hip-hop is rubbish...