Live Report: Kanye West at KOKO, London

What he's doing right now is revolutionary...

The opening notes of Kanye West’s ‘All Day’ are the first sounds to emanate from the speakers at Camden’s KoKo. The low registering auto-tuned hum, blasts across the room as nine men, dressed in black, present themselves on stage. This doesn’t feel like a rehash of the iconic BRIT Awards show that first saw these men stood together, but like the next level in the demonstration. More fine-tuned, but still rebellious.

Steve Jobs became known for the theatrical way in which he would announce a new product, famously labouring well into the night working on stage-lighting and scripts the night before he unveiled the Macintosh to a packed 2,600 seater auditorium, and it’s only right that a keen follower of Jobs like Kanye West would do the same presenting his latest single in an even more intimate setting. But after letting off those first five seconds, we’re thrown back into silence as five of the men step back off stage, and the cold opening notes of ‘That’s Not Me’ punch through the speakers as Skepta, JME, Novelist and Meridian Dan rip into the tune that marked the beginning of grime’s new romance with the States.

From the outset, the night feels historic. If you’d told us two weeks ago that we’d be seeing Kanye West, Skepta, Big Sean, JME, Vic Mensa, Novelist, CyHi The Prynce, Allan Kingdom and Meridian Dan walking to the stage as equals, we wouldn’t have believed you. This time around it’s not about just mobbing behind West at an award show as an aesthetic statement, but a combining of the two worlds and a demonstration that, as Skepta put it in an interview with The Fader last year: “Britain is just another place that raps.” The BRIT’s feels like it was all just a warm up for tonight’s performance.

When the track finishes, one of West’s grimier productions ‘Mercy’ begins playing, and Big Sean takes to the stage alongside his mentor to expertly deliver his ass-quaking bars. It’s interesting to note that ten years ago, this kind of b2b performance between leaders of grime and mainstream US rap would have been jarring. As the two sounds have grown a synergy has developed, yet neither camp has watered down or intentionally altered their sound. Seeing JME dropping ’96 Fuckries’ to the same reception as Kanye West performing ‘Way Too Cold’, on the same platform, is inspiring, uplifting and a hell of a lot of fun.

The room pulsates with energy, at times it feels as though the crowd is one, rippling in reaction to a stage dive from Vic Mensa, or breaking out into a moshpit. The stripped punk energy of Yeezus lends itself particularly well to play off against grime tunes and moments like ‘SHUTDOWN’ to ‘New Slaves’ transition beautifully.

West’s character goes through multiple incarnations across the 90 minute set, we see him as a conductor, activist, student and fan. His renewed love of music is at it’s most obvious when he stands by watching Skepta, leaning forward in cypher mode with a grin on his face and Novelist’s arms around his neck. Of course, we see that obnoxious side of him too, when the lights aren’t right for ‘Black Skinhead’ or the correct graphic isn’t displayed for ‘Jesus Walks’. But to his credit this whole production was assembled in a matter of hours.

Not only does the show break down geographical boundaries, but it spans generations. Before unleashing ‘All Day’ for the grand finale, Raekwon takes to the stage to perform ‘C.R.E.A.M’ a track that was around before Novelist was even born! This living, breathing example of hip-hop’s unity, demonstrated the strength of a culture in an unspoken way. We’re so used to seeing our homegrown artists booked to warm up for the perceived “bigger” US artists, and the level playing field of this integrated performance communicates to the world that none of these boundaries matter, we are indeed just another place that raps. Despite what doubters and sceptics have written over the past week, what Kanye West is doing right now is revolutionary.

Words: Grant Brydon

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