The UK underground scene is on the rise, with Kanye recently inviting a snapshot of the scene on stage alongside him during his BRITs performance, Skepta smashing Fader sets out at SXSW in Austin, and emerging artist Stormzy steady storming the scene. We headed down to the first of his sold out London gigs to join the hype and here’s what we discovered.
1. Stormzy sings.
Yes, the self-proclaimed #wickedskengman can hold a tune. Seriously he debuted a new track last night called Only One where he sang throughout with exactly the same conviction as if he was spitting the greasiest bars in the world.
2. He knows what the girls want (and he’s not afraid to give it to them)
“This one’s for the pretty ladies in the front row, I got you” he said. The shrieks from the ladies ringing out as he started his Justin Bieber cover All That Matters even bringing on a little sway from the guys inside the Islington Academy 2.
3. He shows love to the scene.
Considering this gig sold out in just four minutes, you’d think his own personal stage time would be at a premium, but what was a performance of the Section Boyz collaboration, Section Anthem, turned into a near-15 minute set as Stormzy disappeared and let them do their thing.
4. The stage got pushed to the limits
Following the Section Boyz invasion, Sneakbo and Yungen followed for their features alongside Stormzy before Krept and Konan absolutely shut things down performing their brand new Rick Ross collaboration Certified and the modern classic Don’t Waste My Time.
5. It’s actually impossible to get bored of his current single Know Me From
After three performances (one of which he did in the middle of the crowd) the crazy fans were hysterically chanting for the faultless MC to go again “one more time”, which he did with ease.
Tickets for Stormzy’s October tour go on sale this Friday 3 April
Credits
Text Nardene Scott
Photography Blaow Photography