The two raw Brooklyn hip-hop groups The Underachievers and The Flatbush Zombies combined forces for a tour hyped by the release of a new collaborative five-song EP in late 2014. During their final tour stop in Philadelphia, we reaped the benefits of the pairing as both groups joined together to perform as a Clockwork Indigo.
The Pros: We witnessed a ton of killer delivery, seamless flowing verses with the occasional socially aware lyrics tossed into what these guys spit out. The Flatbush Zombies producer Erick “the Architect” Elliot was a wizard during the orchestration of beats and samples and knew when to pull back or when to push out the sounds in some killer mixes. Flatbush Zombie’s Meechy Darko was masterful throughout the show. He really hit hard during “LUAM” letting all hang loose with a consistent and addictive flow of his portions. He tossed out an aggressive pre-hook during “Benefit Concert,” really growling the lyrics:
It ain’t sinnin’ if you winnin’ / I want anarchy at shows / I want b****es showin’ t***** / I want blood and broken bones / Trippin’ off that chemical LSD you better know / This is just a steppin’ stone / Mosh pits and heavy smoke
Darko’s delivery and nuance brought a wild energy to the stage making the audience feel on edge in that way where you never knew what was flying at you next. Plus, it was easy to see how these two groups complemented each other in raucous behavior, drug references and rock solid verse exchanges from each member.
The Cons: If you removed the phrase “hands up” from their repertoire of lyrics the show would have been a half hour shorter. With the heavy referencing to Kubrick’s famous movie a Clockwork Orange it didn’t come as a surprise that The Flatbush Zombies projected the movie on the stage, but why they started it during their set and did not save it for the Clockwork Indigo set is a mystery to me. Plus, with only a five song EP it would have been nice to hear all of the songs live, not just some of them.
I’m not sure about the longevity of this project; it really felt like this EP was delivered as a vehicle to promote the tour. However, if they manage to scratch out another EP I’d look for some exciting live performances from this collaboration coming this summer in the festival circuit.
Here’s my gallery from the show:
