Children of Zeus @ Portland House, Cardiff

“I only know slow rapping over soul samples”

SIX months on from their last visit Manchester’s hip hop soul duo Children of Zeus returned to Cardiff for the penultimate date of their headline UK tour.

Soul in motion: Blackstreet, Keith Sweat and Omar

THIS autumn saw two of the most influential figures of modern soul and rnb performing in South Wales.

Omar at the Globe in Cardiff

Teddy Riley and his reformed vocal group Blackstreet toured Europe with Keith Sweat, stopping in Newport in October, while British soul singer Omar’s latest UK tour included a Cardiff gig at the end of September.

Omar: An interview with The Man

It is nearly 25 years since Omar’s classic ‘There’s Nothing Like This’ hit the UK top 20 and arguably the song has become better known than the singer.

But if Omar had achieved celebrity status to match the esteem he is held in by other musicians perhaps he wouldn’t be playing a gig in a small Cardiff venue. This Friday, September 25 Omar, whose last album was 2013’s ‘The Man’, plays The Globe in Roath’s Albany Road where no more than 350 people will get to see one of contemporary soul’s greatest artists up close.