The intimate setting of Komedia was last night honoured by the presence of a fine old fellow, a quite audacious chap, a man of manners and style. “Of whom do you speak?” I hear you cry? Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer!
After bursting onto the “chap-hop” scene in 2008 with his debut album ‘Flattery Not Included’, Mr. B has taken the cabaret scene by storm, both with his parodies of hip-hop classics from the likes of Run DMC and N.W.A to his own original chap-tastic compositions.
I was first introduced to the work of Mr. B when I rather drunkenly stumbled upon his set at last year’s Latitude Festival, and immediately warmed to his dynamite banjolele playing, exquisite pronunciation and glorious moustache. I was hugely interested to see how he had progressed over the last year and needless to say I was not disappointed.
Out stepped The Gentleman Rhymer, clad in his traditional evening wear of tweed suit and waistcoat, loafers so shiny that they made the front row squint, topped off with flat cap, oversized glasses and delicately shaped ‘tache. After politely introducing himself and his aim, “to bring a bit of decorum to hiphop”, he burst straight into his opening number “All Hail the Chap” in which he outlines the Ten Chap commandments by which all must live, my personal favourite being: “always be courteous to the ladies, give an air of Zeus with a dash of Hades”.
His rapport with the audience was instant and everyone was more than happy to join in. Armed with only a banjolele and backing track, Mr. B effortlessly created an atmosphere of whimsy and wonder. He has the perfect mixture of being hilarious lyrically as well as intriguing musically. He then paid tribute to the late MCA of The Beastie Boys with a heartfelt “grand piano” (a smallish keyboard) rendition of “Fight For Your Right”. George Formby’s “When I’m Cleaning Windows” was also sentimentally covered.
He then returned with some of his naughtier numbers, “More Kissing in Porn Please, We’re British” and “You Just Can’t” (“can’t rape a goat these days, it’ll end up on your facebook page”), both of which he implores are social satires and nothing crude should be made of them. The Gentleman Rhymer brings true variety to the stage. On more than one occasion he would smash out a banjolele solo or spontaneously intertwine a reggae riff, complete with a rather convincing Caribbean accent.
Since I saw him last year he has come on leaps and bounds. He is still fiendishly witty and has greatly developed the storytelling aspect of his act, which is more concrete. He really is a unique performer. Who else, as was heard in “Chap-hop History”, could condense 30 years of hip-hop music into a 5 minute ditty? Mr. B is a real gent and truly a genius and anyone who disagrees is a cad and a scoundrel!
