Hip-hop possesses an immediacy, a thumping, addictive throb other genres can lack. Wu-Tang Clan’s sound rides this powerful energy more than most. And yet, without turntables, samples or synthesizers manufacturing booming bass lines, the Soul Rebels brass band can replicate the Wu’s energy.
On Thursday, the New Orleans brass band will back Wu elder GZA at the Sinclair. The idea seems equally absurd and awesome — GZA supported by only six horns, a snare and a bass drum. But the Soul Rebels have become legendary for backing hip-hop acts (and metal bands and punk acts and more).
“Our work with GZA has been an experiment that’s come out very well,” group founder and snare drum player Lumar LeBlanc said. “Lyrically, he matches up with our revolutionary sound, our ability to go in different directions. Those raw words he lays down just work with what we can do.”
GZA didn’t randomly tap the New Orleans act. The Soul Rebels have always balanced a traditional second-line repertoire with original material and surprising pop covers. (Start with their take on “Sweet Dreams are Made of These.”) At the same time, the eight-piece band founded two decades ago has steadily become a favorite collaborator of hip-hop icons and upstarts. They have already worked with Nas, Talib Kweli, Joey Bada$$, Big Freedia, Slick Rick and Rahzel.
“We love hip-hop and we grew up with it,” said trumpeter Julian Gosin, a younger member of the Rebels. “So we get that energy. We also have never thought of ourselves as a traditional brass band. We have always gone at it like we can do any style.”
That approach, along with their talent, has positioned them to become the most desirable brass band of the new millennium for artists looking to add something to their sound. Just as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band became the go-to horn section of the ’90s, working with the Neville Brothers, Elvis Costello, the Black Crowes and more, the Rebels field constant calls for collaborations.
It makes it hard to get their own work done — they often try to write and record on the road during their downtime. But it also keeps things fun. They have toured Europe, Asia and Australia and worked with Green Day, Marilyn Manson and Metallica.
“We’ve never had anything like the Metallica show,” LeBlanc said. “They are world-renowned, one of the biggest acts out there, and we performed at their 30th anniversary show in San Francisco in front of about 4,000 fans. These fans didn’t know a thing about us.”
“But we got a standing ovation,” Gosin said, picking up the story. “With two trumpets, we were able to pull off those complicated guitar riffs. We had to learn all their time changes and everything. It was something.”
When you hear the band doing the epic, intricate Metallica warhorse “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” you realize their ability to nail tunes from GZA’s “Liquid Swords” makes sense. They can nail anything.
GZA and the Soul Rebels, at the Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge, Thursday. Tickets: $25-$30; sinclaircambridge.com
