Kano, Ghetts, Lil Simz and the fam shutting it down
Brighton saw great The Great Escape run a stream of life through the city this weekend, showcasing some of the UKs finest talent. I went down to check out the vibes and represent the family.
I started at a small venue thats relatively new in Brighton, i’d never been there myself. It played host to Youtube’s – Kano + Friends. First out was Kojo Funds, who I would have liked to see later on to allow the crowd to build. None the less he came out and gave an energetic performance that had a everyone in the room going crazy. Starting with his statement bangers “Fear No One” and “Warning”, he continued to demonstrate his infectious sound is here to stay. Whines started flooding in by the time he dropped “Fine Wine” and “My 9ine”, Kojo really cemented his position as one of the UKs finest with such a reaction away from his hometown.
Next up was the multi-talented Little Simz. I say that because i have never seen anyone come out, shut it down and then pull out a guitar and sing whilst playing chords. Her DJ/Hypeman complimented her perfectly and had the crowd jumping. She came through in a fire outfit that cant go without mentioning. Sporting a vintage Arsenal jacket with some Nike bottoms and matching premium TNs. She really had the whole crowd buzzing, vibes from beginning to end.
After Simz was the Notorious Ghetts or Ghetto if you want to talk about the original grime days. Known for straight shellers at any live performance or track he touches,I expected nothing less from the grime scene veteran. He came out literally came out spitting bullets when he jumped on stage beginning with “Artillery”. His artillery clearly didn’t seem to run out as he continued to drop “Esco’s Spirit” paying homage to his lost friend of the same name. He ran through his collaboration with Shakka “You Know My Ting” with ease whilst skanking out on stage on his own confidently. Before waltzing off stage Ghetto dropped his definitive Grime track “One Take” which sent everyone in the crowd wild.
The arena was blessed with a set from well renowned Boy Better Know’s DJ Maximum who didn’t fail to supply all the tunes you could of wanted to hear for an over an hour. With the medley featuring the hottest tracks from the UK and the US, there was no room for disappointment.
After a solid line-up before hand, the man himself, Kano finally took to the stage. The crowd had built larger and energy was flowing through the room in full effect. Coming out his timeless “Flow of The Year”,K then moved onto bangers from his latest album including: “T-Shirt Weather In The Manor” and “This Is England”. Really crowd controlling with excellent stagemanship at this point,Kano then showed gratitude to his older fans by dropping his unarguable Grime classic “Ps and Qs”. Moving then on to shell it down with pivotal anthem “Boys Love Girls” that was produced by Dizzee Rascal in the early days. Completing his triumphant performance with “Garage Skank” and “3 Wheel Ups” his whole set was due to cause havoc from start to end.
After all was said and done at Upper Market St, I headed down to the New Gen After Party at Patterns. Nice settings in there, good DJ sets and it was the place to be for most in Brighton Friday night. On decks first was Tiffany Calver whilst Bonkaz, Renz and Jevon of New Gen performed. All performing tracks off the album and new, unreleased tracks too. The mood in the club was much more intimate than the previous venue.
Later on Kenny Allstar touched decks before bringing out Belly Squad as Special Guests. The crowd reaction spoke volumes about the supremacy Belly Squad hold so early on after entry into the UK afro scene. Very valiantly come out with “Moves” Then moved onto “Banana” for the ladies. Last on their set was “Gangland” I can say personally hey are lined up to have a very big summer ’17.
