aNe x BigLove continue to kill it in Camden
Another Air N Electricity x BigLoveLtd event kicked off on Wednesday night, showcasing yet more musical talents from around the South East. This time around The Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden saw a masterclass of lyricism and flow. The lineup was geared more towards the art of emceeing than previous aNe lineups have been; acts such as Mystik MC and JMPR each showing their own flares of finesse in poetry and diction on the night.
Lucius was the first act to take the stage, his high-paced tracks and exciting energy setting the mood in the room right for Giv3n to take over. The 6’10” Giv3n has performed at every Air n Electricity event since the collective’s inception bar one, and didn’t fail to perform at this gig either. In a green balaclava, cargo pants and a pair of black Nike Air Monarchs, Giv3n involved the crowd with his hit Dash It!, performed unreleased tracks, and invited any shufflers spectating to get their shuffle on in the breakdown of his track Gypsy Woman / Bass, which really got the crowd in the mood to move. Giv3n is the perfect hype up guy - he gets the crowd turned up every time without fail.
Also notable at this aNe event were the background graphics. Behind each artist was their own visuals on a screen, much of it produced by London-based artists Snowphia (@ssnowphiaart) and Hella Ella Art (@hellaellart). Behind Giv3n was a Pokemon card containing his signature green bally, as well as monogram “Panther” text behind a “GIV3N” foreground that rotated in colour. This touch gave the event a ‘major’ production feel - another nuance continuing to give Air n Electricity shows the competitive edge over similar event organisers in the UK rap scene.
Mystik MC was next up, bringing jazz, funk and boom bap to the sound system with his self-produced instrumentals that sample classics such as Brick’s Dazz (Disco-Jazz). Mystik MC stood in front of a moving cosmic backdrop as he joked around with the crowd over his Amen break-sampled instrumentals. One thing particularly admirable of Mystik MC was his preference to spit over a raw instrumental - that is, with no vocal backing track as most emcees do. Mystik MC finished his set with what he described as “some next Daft Punk shit”, before handing over the mic to Herman Bloom.
RayStylie had the crowd chanting “we want more”
Herman Bloom exhibited some good flows in a black beanie hat, rocking the crowd with some hip hop until RayStylie’s time to perform came. RayStylie supplied some bops you could play with ya lady, a couple unreleased tunes, and one particular track titled Firefly which had the crowd chanting “we want more”. On cue, RayStylie spat a verse acapella before fixing his Jean Michael Basquiat tee and walking off stage to an ovation from the audience.
JMPR had a tough act to follow, but took things up one notch further. With his homies on stage as supporting vocals, JMPR - sporting a yellow TNF tee, shades and bleached hair - brought some early 2000’s fight music vibes to the stage along with a whole lot of swagger. When JMPR’s hype man who wore a sideways snapback gave us a “make some motherfuckin noiiise!” after the first track, it was clear these guys knew what was up. JMPR did well to keep the crowd engaged throughout the set, which can be watched in full in the video below, until the interval which was well needed after such a high-energy JMPR performance.
Following the break came Princess Trium, a London-based artist who brought catchy lyrics and swinging beats to the event. By the end of each track, the audience was already singing the words. Picking up from where Princess Trium left off was Sugar2ursoul, or Sug⛧r, an r&b singer from Essex who wore a full Cowboy costume that flaunted her knee-length dreads. Sug⛧r interacted with the crowd well and provided the perfect prelude to the headline act.
$akawah Boys, composed of Mystik MC, Lucius, Herman Bloom and Kuba - of whom the first three had performed previously that night - took the stage wearing matching frog hats. The four emcees took turns to spit over boom bap instrumentals, continuously wowing the crowd with ill bars about just about whatever. They got the hip hop vibes in full flow, the perfect round up of the night’s acts in another elite creative event at The Fiddler’s Elbow in Camden.
aNe and BigLove did it again with a night of good vibes, good people and good music. The next one will commence at the same place on the 13th of October, and will no doubt be another must-attend event.