WSTRN ended a successful run of their sold-out Dou3le 3AK (Double Back) tour in London this week and proved to fans that their live performance is up to par with their musical releases.
Performing at the Islington Academy Hall, Haile and Louis Rei took the crowd on an emotional and turbulent journey on a stage a few miles from their West and North West London humble beginnings.
The set list mostly stuck to tracks from their recent mixtape Dou3le 3AK which mixed classic soul samples with Haile’s melodic sound, Louis Rei’s raw rap verses and carefully selected guest appearances from some of the biggest names in UK music including Stefflon Don.
Louis Rei and Haile evidenced their synergy onstage whilst simultaneously displaying their individuality. When together, the two complimented their varying styles and supported each other. They also appeared onstage separately to deliver their solo efforts outside of WSTRN including Haile’s track “So Fine” with Avelino and Dolapo’s “Down” which features Louis Rei; the video is a GRM exclusive which you can check out here.
“Special”, “Aaliyah”, “Love Struck” and “#1” were among the project cuts performed. “Bare With Me” was described as close to the heart of Louis Rei as he performed the emotional track and Haile kept the crowd engaged with his performance of the wavey trap influenced song “Grindin”.
The duo was joined by Skrapz to offer the crowd a rendition of their ends hailing anthem “Round Here” and One Acen delighted the crowd to a performance of “Vice Versa”; a clear fan favourite in the WSTRN catalogue based off of the crowd reaction. One Acen was also joined by Croydon artist Hardy Carpio to perform their collaboration “Best Life”.
Other special guests include Ramz, Zion B, Damn Shaq, Unknown T, Ambush, Avelino, ZieZie and Big Zeeks. Unknown T proved the status of “Homerton B” as one of the defining tracks of 2018 with his fiery performance of the track. You can check out the video to the drill meets twerk anthem here.
WSTRN made sure to include older hits such as their remix to Young Thug’s “Best Friend”, the “Fine Wine” remix and their career-changing single “In2” which peaked at number four on the UK charts.
As well as delivering sonically, WSTRN put clear effort into their visual production to ensure the show was as aesthetically pleasing as it was audibly. Colourful visuals, clips from music videos, scenic establishing long shots and animated messages from Akelle were all used to tell a narrative which was soundtracked by their musical performance.
Haile and Louis Rei continuously thanked fans for their continued support and admiration. Based on the effort put into their performance, the number of special guests and the lengthy nature of the show itself, it is clear that WSTRN aims to show their appreciation through action as well as their words.