Some Like It Hip Hop was a story about a mayor who ‘blocked out the sun’ after his wife died, taking away literature and turning the town into a suppressive society towards women. Confused? Well so was I; the storyline had many plot holes and was quite painful to watch. Some Like It Hip Hop uses street dance to create a full-length narrative dance, aimed at younger audiences, the concept for the performance is impressive. However, it was poorly executed with the dance routines seeming to be similar throughout. The music for the performance also sounded like a track made on garage band and lacked any creativity. Considering it was hip hop it lacked basic and lacked the production value of hip-hop music. Then came the beat-boxing which sounded like when Justin Timberlake would start beat-boxing in N’SYNC.
The focus of the dance/play is on two female characters Jo-Jo and Kerri who get kicked out of the city for reading a book, however, suddenly they decide to go back to the oppressive city dressed as men (for reasons clearly unknown). Especially considering that the men who live in the city are portrayed as robots who are controlled by the ‘big boss’. So, it’s quite confusing why they would want to reintegrate into this oppressive society even as men. Writer and choreographer, Katie Prince took inspiration from Billy Wilder’s 1959 classic film Some Like It Hot, starring Jack Lemon and Toni Curtis (and Marilyn Monroe).
After hearing the amazing reviews for the show, I thought it would be much better than it was and was slightly disappointed. However, the concept of performance theatre using street dance as a narrative is impressive.
Some Like it Hip Hop performed at Mayflower Theatre Southampton on 15th-16th October. Check out a trailer for the show below:
