Plan B Live Review

iTunes Festival - London Roundhouse 26/07/10

Its been a whirlwind year for Ben Drew, or Plan B as he is better known. After scoring a top 5 single and hitting the number 1 spot with album The Defamation of Strickland Banks, it was time for the rapper-come-crooner to take to the stage at this year's iTunes Festival.

After an electrifying set from support act Tinie Tempah, where the MC stormed through hits such as Frisky, a Lady GaGa Bad Romance cover and his number 1 anthem Pass Out (which many female fans nearly did when the rapper removed his t-shirt), the crowd waited anxiously for Ben Drew...

After the audience counted down from 10, a figure emerged on stage suited & booted much like Plan B's trademark ensemble. As the crowd went wild, it was in fact beat boxer Faith SFX that took to the stage first, putting on an impressive display but it was wasted on a crowd who were waiting for the main attraction.

Plan B then exploded on stage, dressed in a purple silk waistcoat and suit to begin his stint at Camden’s Roundhouse with Writings On The Wall before launching into LP track Recluse.

Despite not being the most vocal performer in between songs, Plan B was no recluse as he had charm about him and bags of charisma as he thanked the audience for buying hit single, She Said before singing an almost karaoke version of the song as the his adoring audience joined him word for word.

Aside from She Said, which was an obvious crowd pleaser, highlights of the set included new single Prayin' and Welcome To Hell - a track describing Plan B's alter ego Strickland Banks' first day in prison.

As well as blasting through songs from his latest album, Drew played some of his old material, much to the crowd’s excitement as he revisited his hardcore rap roots again with the track Charmaine before previewing new song Make Me Your Religion.

After disappearing from the stage, Plan B returned for his encore along with Faith SFX where he shouted “Who wants to hear some live dubstep?” to which his audience happily obliged.

Remixing Chase & Status’ Eastern Jam with Seal’s Kiss From A Rose, the crowd went wild as Drew rapped over the classic hit along with Mista Jam providing the beats.

Plan B cleverly tossed in the Dr. Dre and Eminem's hit Forgot About Dre to end the remix, proving that despite reverting to singing on his latest album, he still enjoys spitting the odd line every now and then.

As the crowd recovered from the alternative dub-step encore, Plan B ended his set with track Stay Too Long, much the audiences enjoyment.

One thing was for sure; we all wished Mr. Ben Drew could have stayed just a little bit longer after he provided a thoroughly entertaining set…

The iTunes Festival continues at Camden’s Roundhouse until July 31st.

By Joanne Dorken

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