Hailed as the UK's ground-breaking urban act, the slickly marketed So Solid Crew are determined not to be perceived as the country's biggest joke with their neatly packaged DVD release.

Literally in their own words, this DVD bites back at the rumours and critics, and affirms the real story behind the urban ghetto collective.  If you're wondering how many members there really are in So Solid Crew, well even the members themselves don't know (hardly surprisingly really).

Featuring the un-cut documentary first screened on network television, plus promo videos to four singles and a live concert recorded in a secret location, this supposedly tells you all about the band.  If this is a frank and open insight into the South Londoners rise to fame, there isn't anything new or surprising to learn from this.  

The gist of it is, they were a bunch of bored kids on a South London estate who got into a bit of a ruck with the cops before envisaging a miracle to get off the streets, come together and make music.  A large corporate record company spied a market to exploit this with, dropped in a few gun-related stories and get-out-of-jail tales in and hey presto, So Solid Crew were strangely crowned the most exciting yet controversial British band since the Sex Pistols.  Quite why an hour is needed to explain this is beyond me.

Allowing each member to stick in their two pence worth results in a muddle and it's not especially easy when most of them can't string a sentence together. Those who manage to make some use of their limited vocabulary, come out with the daftest things:   

"It's not about the violence and guns.  Guys focus on girls, girls focus on guys, man and just make some babies."  What an enlightening view from pop chart superstar Romeo Dunn, known to his mother as Marvin Dawkins.  Somewhere he also manages to slip in a new word: "spreaded".

"Our fanbase is huge, man.  They're a lot of kids out there what love us, man." So says female vocalist Lisa Mafia.

"Don't come to our raves if you're not down for music, drinking, having a good time and dancing with a girl", says Face with gritted teeth.  What charming role models (!)

The ultimate factor at the bottom of this is the negative publicity and bad reputation So Solid Crew have earned themselves.  A shooting at a London show last year forced organisers to pull the plug on their entire UK tour and member Asher D was sentenced for possessing a firearm. 

Alarmingly, in this documentary, the band are quick to distance themselves from that night club incident, blaming it on a few party poopers and adamantly saying they do not condone the use of guns and violence, but at the same time, they defend Asher D's right to use a weapon to defend himself.  Lisa, whose surname is actually 'Maffia', drops one 'F' to come up with 'Lisa Mafia'.  They really have no idea!

In just two years, the group have gone from rough kids on the streets to cocky bastards, contradicting themselves and posing in front of their flashy Lexus's in chunky jewellery.  "That's what makes it So Solid Crew, innit!"  Quite.  And this is precisely what this DVD shows them up to be.  Hardly ground-breaking, not amazingly innovative and honestly a load of So Solid Poo.  
(2/5)

Release Date: 28 October 2002