Photo Credit: Timmsy
It was a legendary night for all the Pusha T fans and real rap lovers at the Eventim Apollo as King Push himself brought over the Virginia born-and-bred swag and energy for all of his “cocaine soldiers”.
The show, marked the start of his highly anticipated European tour IT’S ALMOST DRY. The long-awaited moment has been on hold since last year after being postponed twice due to “production issues” as Pusha T himself explained in a post on social media when he broke the news earlier this year.
Fortunately, the wait is finally over and the tour has officially began last night in London and will continue in Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol till the 8th of August.
IT’S ALMOST DRY or GOD SAVE THE KING as Pusha also refers to it, is a celebration of his latest album with the same name which came out in April last year. The project was primarily produced by Ye and Pharrell and it received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.
Unsurprisingly, the first leg of the tour was sold out and brought together a mix of both new fans and day-one-fans who have been rocking with Pusha since the early Clipse days. The ground floor level was packed with new fans ready to mosh pit and rap to his more recent releases whilst the stalls upstairs were full of day-one-fans who knew all the lyrics to the old school golden records.
The show began with Jordy, who was Pusha T’s supporting act for the night. The Tottenham rapper on the rise gave a 45-minute rendition of his most popular songs such as “I Called TJ Twice”, “A13” and “Medellin”, and also showcased a handful of songs off his fresh new album called The Love Ting.
Louis Rei WSTRN and Tiggs Da Author made guest appearances on stage during Jordy’s set to perform “Too Much”, which is part of Jordy’s album, and the notorious “Gangsteritus Part 2” on which Tiggs delivers a remarkable hook.
King Push, who has been busy lately making huge moves in the game such as walking the runway for Louis Vuitton at the Paris Fashion Week together with his brother No Malice, was fashionably late to the show as he “was working on music and couldn’t stop”. If that means there’s new music on the way then you’re most definitely forgiven, Push.
The show kicked off in style with “Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes”, “Brambleton” and “Just So You Remember”. Concomitantly, black and white videos showing the heavy drug-induced reality unfolding on a daily basis in the trenches kept rolling on three screens behind Pusha, reinforcing the everlasting cocaine motif present in most of his music and his persona.
Naturally, the words “crack” and “cocaine” were the key words last night as the whole production was built around the neverending drug stories that originate in countless places around the US. Based almost entirely on black and white videos, bright lights and shadows, the production successfully set the tone and immersed the public into the world that the hip hop mogul portrays in his music.
In a similar fashion “Diet Coke” was unquestionably the most visually captivating and provoking part of the show as a full 10-step tutorial on how to make crack was shown on screen, stirring an intense reaction amongst the fans who were visibly thrilled.
Needless to say, Pusha T continues to live up to his name as one of the most influential rappers in the history of hip hop. His outstanding, simple yet elaborate style translates into a stirring vision that allowed the creation of an immersive Pusha T universe last night, powered by an effective production and supported by his complex, unmatchable pen game.
During his one hour set hip hop legend managed to create over five massive mosh pits with hits such as “If You Know You Know”, “Neck & Wrist” and “Call My Bluff” whilst songs such as “Infrared”, “Santeria” and “What Would Meek Do?” brought the new fans and the day-one-fans together.
The first leg of the tour marked the hip hop icon’s return after five years since his last UK tour Daytona and needless to say it was another staple of his undisputed calibre after 30 years in the game, which he still holds in his palm just as steadily and effortlessly as ever. Over 5000 people across two generations came together for King Push at the Eventim Apollo last night, and many more are to welcome him in Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol in the days to come.