Gig review: B. Doland and Dan Le Sac

The Arches, Glasgow ****

B. DOLAN AND DAN LE SAC

THE ARCHES, GLASGOW

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WHERE once the kind of angry, politically-charged “grown up hip-hop” purveyed by B. Dolan – a signee of Paul “Sage” Francis’s gadfly independent label Strange Famous Records – was what fired the genre, today it has become increasingly rarified and marginalised. Which makes it all the more important.

The burly Rhode Islander, who wore a noose around his neck like a tie and described himself as “a fat old man who says what the f*** he wants” rhymed not about his surfeit of cash and hunnies but instead delivered polemical attacks on everything from corporate genocide to social inequality, with whipsmart flow.

Teamed up with English producer Dan Le Sac – best known for collaborating with spoken-word artist Scroobius Pip – Dolan took no prisoners in telling it like it is. Set to apocalyptic-sounding beats, Leaving New York addressed how witnessing the horrific events of 9/11 threw into perspective his own battle with personal demons. Meanwhile, Joan of Arcadia poured scorn on religious symbolism via a lurid metaphor about Joan of Arc and a sex toy named Jesus.

Who Killed Russell Jones? – a new poem which Dolan refused to perform until a drunk heckler shut his mouth – was a show-stopper, expressing his belief that everyone from the record industry to fans ought to share culpability for the Wu Tang Clan member ODB’s premature death from a drug overdose. Finally, Border Crossing saw Dolan joined by Scotland’s Horn Dog Brass Band, for a bouncing closer which provided proof not only that it’s possible to dance while playing a tuba, but also that just because a rapper’s got something to say it doesn’t mean he can’t also be good fun.

MALCOLM JACK