Northern State presents Atlanta with complex rhymes for complex times

May 21, 2008, at the Earl

By Beverly Bryan
Published: May 23rd, 2008 | 7:40pm

New York-based, all-girl, all-white hip-hop trio Northern State rolled into Atlanta for a Wednesday night show at the Earl with a couple of rock bands in tow. It made good sense because much of the group’s material from its 2007's record Can I Keep This Pen? (Ipecac) leans toward rock mixed with a little Bangles-style pop. The ladies performed with a live drummer and accompanied themselves on guitars (electric and acoustic) and mini-Korg, in addition to the indispensable sampler. In keeping with a hip-hop show, the emcees kept it fluid, trading instruments and spending plenty of quality time with the fans at the very edge of the stage.

Opening act Can Can came from the Andy Kaufman School of Hard Rock and the band’s set was the only time this reviewer has seen anyone fellate a mic stand. Next on the bill, indie rock band American Princes made its own music rather than hiding behind all the right influences, sometimes in silvery, four-part harmony. The group brought sincerity to the kind of galloping guitar ballads that are too rare these days. Plus, the line,“I don’t care about real love. I just want a wall that will bear its own weight,” is as likely to inspire shout-along sessions as it is to inspire bitter tattoos.

The laid-back weeknight crowd, however, didn’t knot up in front until it was time for the ladies from Long Island. Even on the last week of a tour that started back in in September 2007, the audience got the party they came for. It was hard to keep track or take eyes off of emcees Spero, Hesta Prynn, and Sprout, who struck poses and switched spots like queens in a dizzy game of three-card monte. Gesturing like a Balinese dancer, Hesta Prynn’s languid grace, in particular, made for an unexpected persona in hip-hop.

Pop diva drama on “Away Away” and rocknroll choruses on songs like “Good Distance” provided more surprising flava combinations. There was even comedy-hour stage banter largely themed on finishing movie quotes, from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal to The Three Amigos.

If you want to get away from Beastie Boys comparisons, try comparing Northern State’s style to Salt-N-Pepa’s brassy give-and-take. Another Northern State/Salt-N-Pepa link is straightforward feminism. On “Girl For All Seasons” they took body image issues head-on and proved Cosmo right. Self-confidence really is the sexiest accessory.

Sprout rewarded her favorite dancer's self-confident moves by calling her to add a dedication for the night to the Northern State “bat mitzvah sign-in board.” The chosen one added her signature to the white pad set up on an easel on the stage.

The evening’s other highlight was the requisite beef with another New York hip-hop star Fabolous, whom Spero met on a flight. He was sitting in her seat rifling through his designer bag. Well-meaners explained whom the rifler was, giving rise to Spero’s thoroughly Northern State response: “I don’t care that he’s Fabolous. He’s in my seat.”