Images by: @courtneyfphoto
May 10th 2016. A monumental Monday night for British culture.
This is set to be the second time in 12 months that Skepta and his collective, Boy Better Know, will be making history at Camden’s infamous KOKO venue; the first being his spontaneous midnight show with rap royalty- Kanye West.
Skepta and the rest of the Gang will reign supreme on the historic venue’s stage, choosing only who they deem fit to join them for this sold out, headline, homecoming show. Celebrating the release of his brand new album ‘Konnichiwa’, Skeppy is about to add another page to the history books.
After live-streaming the first official Boiler Room set listening party from Tokyo on the eve of his fourth, and more-than-long-awaited studio album ‘Konnichiwa’, Skepta managed to instantly kick Queen Beyonce off the number 1 UK album hotspot, shifting 15,000 copies in the first 24 hours alone. Following Tokyo, the unquestionable King of Grime skipped across to the 6, joined by the Gang (including Maximum, Shorty, Novelist and Chip) for a sold out first post-‘Konnichiwa’ show to his Canadian fans.
But tonight is for London. BBK. The fans. The gang. The culture. Tonight is for ‘Konnichiwa’.
The flash of red and white postage stamp logo prints are everywhere. That iconic spin on the royal British postal stamp featuring Grime’s royalty. The new uniform. Genius.
It’s about to go down. Kicking off the show is ‘System Killer’ Frisco, performing tracks from his very solid latest LP, which may have gone under the radar to those so eager for Skep’s offering.
The sounds of Metro Boomin x Kanye followed by Drake’s debut UK number 1, “One Dance” from selecta supreme DJ Maximum, resonate around the old theatre and the crowd lose their mind knowing the madness that’s about to ensue.
Then the soft tones marking the start of the title track, “Konnichiwa”. Enter, Skepta.
“WHERE’S THE ENERGY GANG?! IS THE ENERGY GANG IN THE BUILDING?”
Of course they are. In full force and bouncing off every second of it. THIS IS MAD. There aren’t many people here who don’t know every bar already.
“ENERGY GANG!”
“That’s Not Me” is half performed by Skeppy as the KOKO crowd chant the rest. The audience are no longer the audience. They’re merely the orchestra to Skepta and co.’s musical maestro. Will Jme appear? Of course. Miss KOKO? That’s not him. Brit Awards with Kanye, maybe.
What followed was a whirl of moshpits, ‘Blacklisted’ joints, ‘Konnichiwa’ joints, including appearances from every member of BBK plus a few honorary members…
“We did this. Together. You get me. Big up everyone in the building right now. This is a special moment. Man’s album is at number one.”
He sounds shocked. And it’s no surprise. There’s been a seismic shift in power; being real wins from those artists who are gleaming with integrity. Publicly denouncing designer brands and donning tracksuits in the front row of Fashion Week is calm, and can even get you in the GQ Top 10. Selling out shows and tours from London to Australia, America, Canada and even Japan is no biggy. Grime is alive. And this man has helped spearhead the movement. Could we have predicted this ten years ago? Could ANYONE?
“Surrounded by stars, come chill with the constellation…I don’t care about VIP, I got very important places to be…”
SHIT THE GODFATHER IS HERE. Of course he is. But this is Wiley, he could have not. Gas levels just upped again. This is turning into a refined Eskimo Dance.
Thug hugs. Skep’s embracing Wiley. “Legendary business. The Godfather… Nuts.” Legendary for real. Not many people can get Will out on time/in the right city/country. Family tings.
“Crime Riddim” is aptly followed by “It Ain’t Safe”.
Speaking of which, there’s been none of the international BBK Gang out tonight. No-one’s even noticed. Further proof of the powers. Powersssss.
The Gang’s out for “Detox”. Now “Corn On The Curb”… is Chip gonna come out with a power speech? Wait for it…
Novelist appears. Lyrics for lyrics, calm.
“I won a MOBO last year, they never sent me an Award to put on my mantel piece.”
The Ladies Hit Squad’s out in full force. It’s whooo whoooooo!
Solo appears from the darkness. Someone may possibly die in here. Jammer’s just jumped into the crowd. Will he lose a dread? Shit then.
Jme is back on the mic. What about…? Man don’t care about all that. But the Landlord is here. Yep we care. We definitely do. That refined Eskimo Dance comment still stands, 200%.
A “Shutdown” plaque appears on the stage.
“Official. Independent. Adenuga. Bad man ting, Boy Better Know.” Jme bigs up his big bro before the Tracksuit Mafia Man himself takes mic.
“OI, yo. Thank you very much to everyone who’s fucking bought this fucking CD. You dun know. This tune changed man’s life. Trust me.” Are we gonna see Skeppy shedding thug tears? This is emotional man.
Spoke too soon. IT’S SHUTDOWN.
“I’m in a different class, when I get through I’ma bring my dargs.” They’re all here. The whole Gang. This is beautiful.
There’s probably less gas on Jupiter than in KOKO right now. Section Boyz are in the midst of the Gang… is that Lethal Bizzle too? It’s all mad.
Is this the end? Not yet- only after the crew have stopped everything and assembled for a group picture (obviously).
Moments this iconic and historic just go to prove once again that an independent UK Grime MC can pretty much take over the World (and bring everyone else with him).
This will be in our kid’s kid’s history e-books/iPads one day.
Happy Independence Day. Long live Skepta, BBK and the rest of our Grime royalty. Spiritual.