Profile: Big Idea

BIG IDEA is the band on everybody’s lips and minds this year, leading the resurgence of live music in Durban, BIG IDEA has rapidly become the quintessential hip-hop/jazz fusion band. Fronted by charismatic vocalist Q (Quincy Fynn), the band comprises Gareth “2 Gees” Gale on drums, David Smith on keys, Johannes on bass, vocalist/emcee King Babar, emcee JET and Dj. LV on decks. Electric performances at TransAfrica Express, Krakatoa and Splashy Fen 2005 were followed by a more chilled performance at the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (UKZN), allowing BIG IDEA to demonstrate their ability to appeal to a diverse audience.

Their performances are characterized by the awesome energy exuded by the entire group. 2 Gees is a powerful and stylish drummer who utilises his experience as a jazz and rock drummer with devastating effect. His presence and leadership drives the music forward constantly while Johannes “The Giant” (a Swedish “Bass Oddity”) pounces upon the groove and rides it with ease and perfection. Keyboardist, David Smith, is nothing short of a virtuoso on his high-tech Korg Triton Extreme and weighted jazz keyboard. His constant tinkering adds the spice that sets BIG IDEA apart from others who attempt to marry the intellect of jazz to the simplicity of hip-hop.

Emcees King Babar and Quincy are the waistcoat and jacket of the outfit whose rhyming and lyricism is uncompromising, honest and crystal clear. Nathan is also one-third of pioneering hip-hop outfit Illuminating Shadows where his abilities shine as both beat producer and through rhyme. With BIG IDEA his skills as a lyricist, beat boxer and freestyle emcee extraordinaire fascinate and thrill audiences every time he touches the microphone.

Front man, Quincy is probably better known as the actor who thrilled and excited audiences in his portrayal of Macbeth at the Playhouse (Opera) Company’s production in 2005. Collaborations with contemporary dance company, Flatfoot Dance Co. and with international poets at Poetry Africa have allowed him to add a new, unique voice to the South African performance poetry landscape. He describes his work as “Wentworth inspired poetry that both reflects and dispels the stereotype of the urban coloured youth.” He is inspired by the contradictions, which he says characterize the new South African democratic age: Growing up in a community, which is tight knit and yet deeply divided through violence; Living on one of the most beautiful strips of coastline in the country yet breathing the most polluted air anywhere in the world.

True to hip-hop form (which requires nothing less than a posse of “hip-hop heads” onstage) Dj. LV. (a gifted scratch master) and young emcee and crowd conductor Lee “JET” Wynne complete the outfit.

The group started as a collaboration of artists from backgrounds representing the mixed masala of cultures that make up KwaZulu Natal. They have in the space of a few months, managed to infiltrate the vanguard of Durban’s music scene to become one of its boldest champions. Through their music this group of young men cross cultural bridges and build new ones where no – one had thought they could exist!

***The group have just finished recording their debut album “Hot Box” with producer Dave Birch at Tropical Sweat Studios and will be releasing later this year under independent label Ruffinery Records.