The Rentolava crowd got a real treat on a Saturday evening, as Kemmuru, one of the top hip hop crews in Finland, took to the stage with their supporting MCs. Energy, intensity and charisma were amply displayed as Kemmuru worked their audience till everyone was either smiling or sweating.

Thanks to their busy schedule Kemmuru have a enchanting stage presence. Aksim, Jodarok, and DJ J-Lain have such a sympathetic attitude that even the most hard core rock fan has to admit their charm.

The gig was build around their 2006 album Kehumatta paras. The opening track was Silti ayo, the lyrics of which tell about the hectic life of a rap star. Before long the boys were joined onstage by MC Särre from Loost Koos, whose sleepy yet sharp stage presence had proved a winning combination at the Finnish rap championships. (NB: CunninLynguist, who’d performed a moment earlier at Kolmoslava stage, was apparently pleased with what he saw and heard.)

Superjanne, this year’s host of Rentolava stage, joined them onstage just as the need for more singing power arose. Even though he’d been working from nine to five, Superjanne did the deed and got the sunkissed audience singing along to the chorus of Pätäkkää. One could describe the situation as a symbiosis between the people on the stage and off it, and it grew ever stronger with Koputtaa puuta. It seemed like everyone in the crowd knew the lyrics, were they young or old, male or female, single or not.

And just as heartrates were normalizing, they draw out their secret weapons from the North. Hannibal, the MC with the mostest, and Stepa, a man whose stocks are growing, came on stage to lay down the law on the track Landespede. For five minutes it seemed like everybody on the beach could identify with the redneck hick displayed so lovingly in the track’s lyrics.

Words: Mikko Kuivalainen
Translation: Olli Sulopuisto
Kuva: Minna Pahkin

Tämä artikkeli on julkaistu sunnuntaina 15. heinäkuuta 2007 kello 18.33 ja sen aiheena onIn English.