| CBC
Edmonton, Alberta August 22, 2003
As I settled in before this show started, I wasn't entirely sure I would like it, despite the consistently excellent reviews it receives. The original and intriguing premise, telling an updated version of the Biblical story of Job through rap and hip-hop, seemed like it could miss as easily as hit. But I was sold, completely, in the first few minutes, as MC Cain and MC Abel (Montreal's Jerome Saibil and Eli Batalion) hit the stage in matching track suits and introduced the players in their tale of loyalty and betrayal and the evil that lurks at the highest levels of multi-national record companies. The audience is quickly caught up in this fast-paced, brilliantly written, toe-tapping hour of entertainment. MC Cain and MC Abel (who have a few amusing disagreements in the show worthy of their namesakes) play a number of characters: Job Lowe (which sounds like Joe Blow when rapped quickly, as it always is), his wife, his two bosses and assorted co-workers. Both actors take turns playing the different characters, but with body language and distinct voices, it's never confusing about who is who. Essentially, Job's bosses devise a plan to test his loyalty, but the plot is not as interesting as how it's told. Batalion and Saibil have devised an hour of clever, intelligent rhyming that often catches you off guard with references to J.D. Salinger, economists and Adobe Photoshop. They also place the more "traditional" rap language - word to your mother, yo, and on the down low - in the mouths of the most uptight, establishment characters. And you can't dismiss the dancing, moves that both mock and pay homage. Batalion and Saibil take a few shots at the music business and the corporate world in general, but the show is too much fun to be preachy. Most impressive is that the duo can still actually speak after rattling off dialogue at a fevered pace for 60 minutes while dancing.
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