Shunda K and Jwl B, aka YO MAJESTY, have had a life and a half. But that’s not what this is about. They are out and out lesbian Christian hip hop artists. But that’s just trivia. What Yo Majesty is about is the beat, the energy, the attitude. The lyrics are nothing if not in-your-face and unrelenting: ‘we will never be afraid’, ‘rub your monkey’, and the duo’s recently released single Club Action’s anthemic buzzword ‘fuck dat shit’.
Electro-house, hard grime and funk are the main composites of the tunes, put together by their multi-talented producer/manager David Alexander, a most unlikely but unflappable and always enthused backup and accompaniment to the ladies. He sets the tone of the evening before Shunda and Jwl come on stage with humour, silliness and undeterred good spirits. He precedes the main events at the Barfly by whipping the crowd into a bewildered frenzy, although it’s not quite clear whether he’s a wizard, or just the fool. This conundrum is quickly clarified when the real show begins.
David’s mad beats signal the start of the very belated show, but whatever gripe there was about that, it will not only be forgotten but be made entirely worth it when Shunda and Jwl come on, and launch into ‘Never Be Afraid’ off their new album ‘Futuristically Speaking... Never Be Afraid’, released in September of this year with Domino Records. Forget Salt N’ Pepa, forget M.I.A., they’ve got nothing on them – here we have spunk. Hairy, balls n’ all spunk. If any female musician ever felt the frustration of being a woman in a man’s world, these two take that feeling, stare it down and make it their pet gimp.
They are the perfect duo – despite a split with third member Shon B – with Shunda’s incredible rapping skills and Jwl’s powerful contralto gospel-trained vocals, and an energy that shines and grabs the crowd, and won’t let up. Their next number is ‘Blame it on the Change’, a track that starts you dancing even against your will, followed by what is already a favourite amongst the fans – ‘Leather Jacket’. Things now get seriously jolly with ‘Party Hardy’, then the disturbingly hot ‘Kryptonite Pussy’, off their previous EP. Shunda now has a change to show off and her awesome oral aerobics on ‘Booty Klap’, by performing the filthiest scat ever, and the masses of women assembled at the foot of the stage go wild, and that is not to say the rest of the room remains anywhere near indifferent!
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The pace doesn’t slow, with ‘Yo Majesty’, and the contagious ‘Club Action’. By now the ladies are inviting the whole crowd to a party at Bar Rumba. A short break to discuss the exact location of Bar Rumba, and it’s settled – what would otherwise have been a perfectly tame Monday night may well become a voyage into the unknown.
The Monkey, off their Yo EP, brings the peak with a jungle hymn to masturbation. And the show ends with a triumphant ‘Don’t Let Go’ off their new album. It’s difficult to explain why Yo Majesty are so great without going into great deluges on heroic personal victories over adversity, bigotry and intolerance. Not to mention the discussing incessant rumours about near-splits and huge fall-outs, mental health issues and a total meltdown virtually imminent. But fuck dat shit, this is really only about how good they are.
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