Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

You’ve got to give it MC Hammersmith, real name Will Naameh; he doesn’t miss a beat in this hour of improvised rap. He can connect and speak words in perfect, rhythmic, internally rhymed lines more quickly than most people can think or recite their name and address, probably quicker than AI.  It’s a smart and impressive skill and if that’s your thing, you will love this show. 
 
The only (ostensibly) prepared bit is the opening rap to introduce him to people like me who have never seen him, even online. Thereafter, it’s suggestions from the audience, gathered via QR code and then randomly selected. Today’s crowd generated an awful lot of cheese associations, plus – of course – something penis-related.  It’s like they can’t help themselves.
 
Hammersmith’s voice is percussive, driving, it makes you nod your head in admiration. But it’s somehow even more a show-off’s skill than stand-up, because it just hits you over the head for several minutes at a time like a hyperactively articulate toddler.  There’s a mechanical relentlessness here. 

There are brief changes of pace that demonstrate range and use of autotune that lends a robotic edge but not so much variation in pitch. If he was a radio, you’d want to turn him down. 

His memory skills are enviable, and he makes all the right self-deprecating ‘I look like’ comparisons that pre-empt any shout-outs from the audience.  He successfully delivers the show as described - he couldn’t be more middle-class if he stepped out of a Waitrose bag.  

But you do have to love noisy wordplay to get the most out of this. The audience remained  fully up for it and appreciative, but I felt I had been entertained enough quite early on.

Review date: 5 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Julia Chamberlain
Reviewed at: Monkey Barrel Comedy Club