Killa Kela Amplified! Album Launch – 30th September, Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen
It started as an itch and ended like an open sore.
Killa Kela, once a shining light of British hip-hop and along with Rahzel and Kenny Muhammed one of the world’s premier beat-boxers, is a shadow of his former self.
The moment Kela walked on stage I couldn’t help but think of Chris Morris’s portrayal of Shoreditch’s finest plonker, Nathan Barley. He has the same smug nature, the same desperately ‘cool’ persona and the same reeking unlikeability.
Now, don’t get me wrong, he’s a very talented man. I can’t beatbox for sh*t and have respect for anyone who can. And he most certainly can. However, there’s a big difference between being able to beatbox and being able to entertain a crowd with it. It’s a solitary game, so much of the onus is on one person; being a likeable chap is paramount. It’s on this count that he fails so miserably.
This, of course, could be overlooked if the standard of his music had remained high. Sadly it hasn’t. It was easy to forget (for me at least, not for him, like I said, we’re talking smugness personified) this is the same man who’s performed with Prince, Pharrell Williams and De La Soul. The tunes from the album were at best mediocre and at worst, cringe-worthy. The ‘covers’ of others were only marginally better. I’ve heard ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detriot’ one too many times already, I could live without hearing the quasi-beatbox remix.
I can only speculate as to why he’s fallen so far. Is it a case of ‘too much, too young’? Possibly. Did he believe the hype? Probably. Did ‘The Lifestyle’ get the better of him? On this evidence, almost definitely. Still, his bird is buff ting!
I left disappointed and slightly irritated. I was determined to look at the positives of the show but when the lights came on and the night was over, I found very few.
Shame.
