Baltimore based hip hop band Soul Cannon made their Philadelphia debut at Pub Webb on Friday, May 15th. First impressions don't get much better, as the group rocked the crowd into the early hours of the morning.
Opening for the group was Santalina, a Philadelphia based R&B/pop singer who started the evening off on a good note. Backed by a mean three piece band, the young singer got the crowd moving with a mix of her own material along with covers of a few great 80s hits from the likes of Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan. Even matched up against these classics, her original songs were definitely catchy enough to hold the audience’s attention. In fact, her best performance came in the form of her single, "Kick In The Door", in which she describes her desire for a man who will, well, kick a door in for her. When it comes down to it, isn’t that what we all want in a mate?
Soul Cannon's energetic emcee Eze Jackson looked like he could have kicked down a couple of doors and maybe even a wall or two once the group got into things. Rocking out to the backing of his four piece band, the voice of Soul Cannon was in top form, commanding the audience's attention as if it was second nature. While being compared to The Roots is inevitable for any hip hop band, Soul Cannon doesn’t shy away from it and even describes their sound as a combination of The Roots and Deerhoof. Still, to call Soul Cannon simply derivative wouldn’t be accurate; their unique mix of acid jazz and rock elements separates them a bit from their peers and creates a sound that is familiar and at the same time completely different from anything else.
Dope beats and dope rhymes are the cornerstones of good hip hop, but there are a ton of other intangibles that take something from being just “o.k.” to something that you go out of your way to tell everyone you can to check out. Soul Cannon falls into the later group, thanks to their incredibly energetic live show.
If you missed out on seeing them, the group’s 2008 release, Kaboom, is available on iTunes and captures the essence of their live act wonderfully. Hopefully this is just the first of many future performances in Philly, as the group offers a great alternative for those looking for a fresh take on hip hop.
