The Old Blue Last has forged a reputation over the years as one of East London’s most notorious intimate venues, playing host to artists such as Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys and even Kylie Minogue. Having once appeared here for a far smaller performance a number of years ago, the next person to officially add his name to the illustrious list of performers at the venue was South East London afro-grime pioneer Afrikan Boy.
Following the release of his debut album The ABCD this month, which we gave a 4* review, AB brought his spirited live show, accompanied by a live guitarist, to a packed out crowd and he had the spectators in the palm of his hand from the offset as he opened with upbeat partystarter ‘Y.A.M.’ The grimey album opener set the night off at a sizzling pace and AB, dressed in a bright white jacket, looked visibly delighted at the response of the crowd as they bounced along in synchronisation with him.
After a quick removal of his jacket to reveal a hugely revealing brown vest, three other album tracks, ‘Who Stole Your Visa’, ‘Mr Kunta Kinte’ and ‘M.I.A’ followed and gave the onlooking listeners a well rounded taste of The ABCD whilst also providing the opportunity for some crowd participation with chants of “Made in Africa, born in the UK” during ‘M.I.A’ and some energetic dancing during ‘Mr Kunta Kinte’, which was matched and surpassed by AB’s sprightly moves on stage, despite the searing heat in the packed out venue.
AB was then joined by talented singer/songwriter Vicky Sola for a collaborative track ‘Clean Your Own’, which saw both Sola and AB performing a set of nimble sweeping dancemoves accompanied by homemade brooms. It was great to see AB using his time in the spotlight to bring through other up & coming artists and it was clear to see that Sola was hugely grateful to be handed the chance to perform alongside the main man.
The set then changed direction once again as ‘Hit Em Up’ and ‘Take You There’, two of the more dance friendly tracks on the album, ensured that everyone in attendance was shaking a leg, before ‘Grab Your Bottles’ sparked a crowd frenzy with it’s jerky, cowbell-heavy beat that saw AB passionately chanting the phrase “grab some bottles and we’ll splash them like we’re surfing in here”.
‘Show Me Your Leader’ and ‘Carry n Go’ ensured the proceedings flowed smoothly into the second half of the set, before AB left everyone in no doubt as to how he can be found online with ‘Spell It with a K’. Speaking during the set about his first appearance at the venue several years ago, AB said,
“I came and played here years ago. I only had one song and I got paid £50. I thought I was ballin’ and I was! I’m a fully independent artist and I’ve worked really hard to be here.”
The track he was referring to, which he played all those years ago, was the now legendary 2006 underground anthem ‘One Day I Went To Lidl’ and he proceeded to play a rousing performance of the track, during which AB invited the crowd up on stage to party with him as he paid homage to his breakthrough moment.
As an artist on the rise, Afrikan Boy has been the talk of music critics and fans alike since he first came to public attention at the end of the last decade and following this headline show, his reputation will have been enhanced even further as the passion that he has for his music and for his craft were on show from start to finish, whilst anyone who was in attendance at the show that hadn’t yet purchased The ABCD will have gone straight home and downloaded it, such was the quality of the performance. If further live dates are announced, snap up a ticket straight away as there won’t be many more chances to catch this man at such an intimate venue and having been lucky enough to have been at this show, I can testify that it is well worth it!
Matt Tarr
@MattTarrJourno
Matt Tarr
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