07 May 2013 (gig)
07 May 2013
Musicalize returned to the Indig02 with some highly anticipated names from the grime/rap genre. It was phenomenal to have so much raw talent and energy under one roof and a great opportunity for rap lovers to hear a combination of old favourites and new musical offerings from the artists performing on the night. This was a night for our highly-prized UK rap artists to reinvent themselves and show us that they are back and they are ready.It was also a night to toast to up and coming artists who are steadily shooting upwards in the music scene.
First up was unsigned Reece Robertson who graced the stage with his fresh sounds. His performance was then followed by North London MC Scorcher and East London's Ghetts who had an all-too brief performance full of energy. He performed his popular tune ‘Sing For Me’ which he didn't fail to impress with by stripping off his t-shirt, making the ladies in the audience swoon by revealing his ripped abs and plump biceps!
Sway gave us a full execution of some of his old token tracks including a candid and ferocious ‘F Ur Ex’ , ‘Little Derek’ as well as the amped up hit ‘Still Speedin'. He later introduced us to two of his newly signed artists, Raptor and Tigger Da Author who are both signed to his very own label Dychpha. Tigger contrasted with some of his contemporaries as he had a unique eclectic sound which was infused with jazz, blues and soul.
Spirit's continued to heighten at Musicalize, hosted by SBTV’s Aaron Roach Bridgeman, as there were endless talented acts taking to the stage. Last year's runner-up of TV's blind audition programme, The Voice, Tyler James came with an entirely different sound to what we'd heard all evening and was also the only one sporting a fitted suit on the night! He gave us a gorgeous tweaked version of his Radio 1 cover of Disclosure's ‘Latch’. He delivered some impeccable falsettos and grabbed everyone’s attention with his soulful voice. He also performed his hit ‘Worry About You’ which featured the nights headline act Kano.
Roc Nation's K.Koke then gave us an upbeat, headbanging set telling the crowd, 'I’m gonna take you back to Koke Volume 1', followed by a full-blown performance of ‘My Deepest Thoughts’, a relatively hard-hitting and thought-provoking track, reflective of his street lifestyle. He set out some instructions for his fans, ‘when I say f***, you say spider...when I say stop…you say snitching’. He also played his latest single that has racked up over 3 million YouTube views, ‘Lay Down Your Weapons’ featuring label mate Rita Ora. One excitable female in the audience then flung her bra onto the stage, however it didn't seem to divert Koke's attention away from his performance!
After an interval of hot DJ tracks, we were eventually hit with a powerful performance by musical prodigy Kano. He gave us a plate full of old-school grime by dishing out his 2004 debut single 'P’s and Q’s' and the track 'Hustler'. He was later joined on stage by Sway and Tigger Da Author to perform ‘Still Sway & Kane’ which is Sway's latest hot release. Kano’s efficacious delivery was awesome; clad in a leather jacket and black denim he showed he'd certainly left his print on London’s hottest music showcase.
