'Never seen before': Leeds rappers team up with 30-piece orchestra for ground-breaking concert

‘Rapsody’ will see two Leeds rappers perform original songs alongside a 30-piece live orchestra at the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall next month.

The event, on March 7, aims to be a fusion between the two styles to unite audiences with both contemporary and classical tastes.

The idea began when Ashley Alderson, co-founder of independent record label Wavio Records, met Dr Sally Yafei, a recent University of Leeds PhD graduate, in the crowd of a small concert.

Sally told Ashley about an idea to merge hip hop and orchestral styles to see how they sound together. Ashley, excited by the prospect of the unknown, was immediately on board.

Ashley said: “She said that she wanted a combined hip hop orchestra. When she said it to me, I thought this is crazy and that’s exactly why I wanted to be involved.”

At Rapsody, Ashley will perform under his stage persona Zulu Abantu alongside fellow Leeds rapper Humble Lu.

While Ashley is originally from Wolverhampton and Humble Lu originally from Taiwan, both became interested in the hip hop world in a similar way: by rapping outside with friends as teenagers and using their phones to provide a beat.

This is the first time the pair have worked with each other on a project and they are looking forward to see where it leads.

Humble Lu said: “It's a lot of fun making music with (Zulu Abantu). He’s very dedicated - he might be one of the most dedicated musicians I have met since I came to Leeds.”

Ashley added: “Humble Lu is incredibly talented. He’s hungry and an incredible musician so I’m excited for it.”

With music composed by Leeds Conservatoire graduate DV, Zulu Abantu and Humble Lu will perform a 50-minute set alongside an onstage orchestra.

For Humble Lu, this will be an interesting challenge which shakes up his traditional performance style.

He said: “It’s not just rapping on a beat, it’s not that simple anymore.

“You have to dig in and listen to references on how to deliver a song that you’re familiar with in a different way. When you’re considering a whole orchestra, you have to work in harmony.”

An event like this has never taken place in Leeds before and the Rapsody creative team want the concert to push boundaries.

Ashley said: “We’re working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that this is a spectacle.

“It’s going to be an experience that’s never been seen before.”

Not only will Rapsody be a collaboration between hip hop and orchestra, it will also be a fusion of Western and Asian culture.

Humble Lu himself moved to Leeds from Taiwan in 2023, and he raps primarily in Mandarin. He sees an interesting difference between rap in the UK and Taiwan and thinks it will be fun to put both styles on one stage.

He said: “British people focus a lot on the syllables and the pronunciation as a way to showcase rhythm whereas Taiwanese people tend to go softer.

“For Taiwanese people we tend to go with the beat more whereas British people tend to go for the beat.”

Proud of his home nation, Humble hopes the concert will create a positive representation of Taiwanese identity.

Ultimately, Rapsody is born from a collective of creatives’ ambitions to be daring with their music.

Fitting with Wavio Records' slogan ‘become undeniable’, the event hopes to spotlight emerging talent in a showstopping one-of-a-kind performance.

Ashley said: “No one in Leeds has ever done this before. It's making history and it's so exciting.

“Come see something you will never see again.”

Rapsody will take place at the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall on March 7 at 7pm.

Tickets cost between £10 and £15 and are available to buy online now.