Benny Jamz in a tuxedo with a penguin tail. Not for acting, but because he meant it. And because DR's Concert Hall is the kind of space that requires you to either duck or lift. He chose the latter.
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Disclaimer: Apropos Magazine received access or a review copy. As always, we share our own impressions — unfiltered.
Six stars
When hip-hop dares to take itself seriously
It could easily have become a PR stunt. A rapper with an orchestra. Red Bull in the background. A camera crew. But it didn't turn out to be. It became a work.
Benny Jamz stood onstage with authority and precision. In the back: The Danish Entertainment Orchestra. In front of him: an audience that was at first curious and later surrendered. Jamz delivered the lines with his characteristic calmness -- every phrase carried weight, every pause had purpose.
The conductor Nicki Pooyandeh managed it all with a certainty that made it clear: this was about a musical whole, not embellishing beats with strings. The compositions were reimagined, not merely arranged. “Tomorrow it's over” got an almost sacral vibe. “In with the new” hit like a symphonic declaration of war. And “Stupid money” became a manifesto, advanced with whoops and deep strings like back thrusts.
The special thing about the evening wasn't just the music -- it was the seriousness. Jamz had no need to change on his own to fit into DR's concert hall. He made room for the music, letting his lyrics stand sharp without the need for irony, attitude or distance.
“There was no joke. There was no dancing on ironic boundaries. It was art, and it was worth it.”
Reflection
There's something liberating in watching hip-hop get the acoustics it deserves -- and watching an artist take the stage, without changing himself for it. Benny Jamz did it.
4 out of 5 stars (... and a promise that Danish music must sound like something we should listen to — and not just vibe with.)
