Many have graced 02 Academy’s famous halls in Islington. From Potter Payper to Not3s, there’s been many monumental nights in North London and this was another for the books, as A1 and J1 entered the lights for a night they wouldn’t forget. This was the up-and-coming duo’s first headline bill and they didn’t disappoint, bringing endless energy and guests to make their debut show a blueprint for continued success.
This was a far-fetched dream if you rewind back to the early months of 2020 and place yourself back in lockdown. A1 and J1 were strangers and didn’t have the connection you see in front of you now. The famous Houseparty app then came along and the rest became history. The pair came together to create a breakthrough sound and gave their audience a single which would take them to the dizzy heights of a sold-out show.
“Latest Trends” got A1 and J1 trending and connections were built. Aitch jumped on the well-known remix which was then followed across the waters, as New York’s finest A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie saw sense of the single which paid homage to his “D.T.B” motto.
This was the highlight of last night’s debut offering and A1 and J1 knew this. Anticipation grew for the single which hit a peak of #2 in the U.K charts, with the crowd encoring for the anthem to be played. Whilst this was the main showpiece of the night, 02 Academy was treated to an emergence of raw talent ready to take hold of the game for the foreseeable future.
Nemzzz grasped his opportunity to perform strongly with his 2021 hit “Elevate” – a single which amassed over 2 million views on GRM and is now holding its own in the TikTok world. Social media plays a big part in pushing new music, but you need to match your buzz and the young lyricists did that exactly. Jbee and Adzmilli followed suit and showed the new generation don’t hold back, even when in front of a crowd which hit its 800 capacity.
With opening acts aplenty, the crowd were ready and geared up for what was A1 and J1’s moment to shine. Lights lit up Islington as the duo came out to “Made It”, fitting for the occasion as fans recited bars lyric for lyric. They felt the crowd’s energy and maintained it with a UK rendition of “This Is How We Do It” which had the standing crowd as well as the balcony section on their feet.
This was a Wednesday not to forget and more iconic moments followed, as an emergence of already established artists came through to give the new-school talent a taste of how to keep your name relevant in the game. S1mba had the 02 going wild for “Rover” which was followed by SL who brought 2017 back with his impressive anthem “Tropical”. Wes Nelson also showed talent has no bar, coming through with a wheel-up to his “Nice To Meet Ya” anthem.
The night was stacked with performances to remember and when the headlining act returned to perform “Baby”, a track fitting for Valentine’s week, fans went wild and even more so when the featured guest Deno was called up on stage. There was no time for the audience to gain composure as A1 and J1 called for two fans to join them onstage with a set of flowers to go home with.
This was a set which had everything and sparked light into thoughts of doing this on a regular basis, with an even higher capacity level. The roof was raised one final time as SwitchOTR – another name for the future joined the duo to perform their trending hit “Coming For You”.
Encores then reached and the pair couldn’t say farewell without “Latest Trends” being performed no less than 3 times. Honourable wheel-ups were accompanied by confetti, sparklers and non-stop steam for the crowd, in a night where the younger generation came together with a show for the ages.