Live Report: Slow J – Altice Stadium, Lisbon
High up on a monolithic podium, two spotlit instrumentalists appear under a glimmer of light, heralding in the show by teasing out butterfly notes. They are answered by a beaming Slow J with the opening lyrics to ‘Tata’, before the song then crescendos into a trap beat – the unofficial soundtrack to Lisbon’s cobbled streets. Arriving on stage like a boxer to the ring but with the humility of a kid coming down the stairs in his prom suit for the first time, he opens his arms out acknowledging the crowd’s surge in excitement.
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J sails into the opening lines of ‘FAM’, from his 2019 sophomore, ‘You Are Forgiven’, moving the entire hall into a collective bop. The acoustics change in that environment. The subtle guitar licks in the background hit sharper. The submerged percussion expands and splays out and the collective awe of the immense crowd is palpable. When J’s vocals stretch and soar straight into ‘Fogo’, it felt like enlightenment, and only 15 minutes into the show.
Slow J has many things going for him: with his latest album ‘Afro Fado’ taking top spots in the charts and selling out the country’s largest concert hall at the Altice Stadium two nights in a row. Not only are his recent musical feats good on paper however––his instinctive understanding of how genre barriers are made to be dismantled on the other, is one of the strengths that serves this international star particularly well.
His music throws its arms around fado, semba, hip-hop, rock, and trap; custom-built for Afro-Portuguese ties. Slow J is an architect of cohesion. The use of traditional folk fado––along with elements from Afro-Portuguese music, specifically nodding to his father’s Angolan heritage––merges with the shapeshifting tempo octave of hip hop. Contributing to the fluidity of fado as a genre and reflecting on its origins beyond Portugal’s local neighbourhoods, his most recent body of work encapsulates this.
As the show unfolds, you can start to appreciate the cultural impact of this album. It’s music that speaks to generations of Portuguese, capturing the essence of a reality shaped by the blending of traditions, the commonality of childhoods spent in multilingual households, and the profound wisdom found in the stories passed down family lines.
On par with the show’s tone of upholding tradition, the music of Amalía Rodrigues, one the most well known Portuguese fado singers, is foundational to Slow J’s offering. Depicted on the cover of his new project, is Rodrigues in a seminal moment, greeting Portuguese soccer player Eusébio in 1974. Appearing in the flowing latter half of this exultant show was Terrasa Salguerio (another singer who is integral to Portugal’s music scene) to sing ‘Nascidos & Criados’ as the drummer and guitarist spurred each other on to greater intensity. This dedicated section of the show felt particularly emotive, an unspoken upholding and celebration of the women who have lit the path for other artists to follow.
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On ‘Sem Ti’ the bassist appears to have an extra knuckle on each finger, displayed by the dexterity of his hands. Throughout the night, melodies are handed around this all-for-one band and gathering of Portugal’s greats from Papillon, GOIAS, Ivandro, Teresa Salgueiro and Richie Campbell; all of whom sharpened the stage with their contributions, shifting atmospheres on a sixpence. The trajectory throughout the performance is relentlessly up, and these seasoned band members and artists remain tirelessly elegant, breaking a track down to its bare bones.
Although the atmosphere alone was astounding – I can’t help but acknowledge that, being an all-ages event, it seemed as though every single audience member, on both ends of the age range, would’ve been caught in an unshakable state of joy that evening. In a crowd of tens of thousands, where everyone is familiar with every song, lyric and melody, Slow J remains relaxed.
As the show came to a close, the most adrenaline-fuelled jam of the night arrived with a crackle on ‘Vida Boa’ from his 2017 album ‘TAOSD’. At that moment, a mass of outstretched arms rose in unison, as if to tell me that my elation wasn’t mine alone. As the song soared, the crowd roared along while the lights shone white upon J, whose arm thrust outward like he was using the Force… Or something along those lines. It felt like an important moment. It was a show of togetherness.
Near the end, J got playful. The crowd hollered lines back without a second thought – especially when it’s J and Gson’s popular single from 2021 ‘3,14’, bringing another warm moment to the fray. Stepping out for a full-pelt performance on his verse, Gson sharpened the stage with his flows. It’s tough to pick just one highlight from the show which tugged hardest on the heart strings, but this moment between the two creative powerhouses certainly stood out. I’m pretty sure I saw one adoring crowd-member start bowing down to them at some point.
10 years ago, he arrived back on home soil in Portugal after studying sound engineering in London to an industry with countless possibilities, yet to be tapped into. He started his own independent label alongside some like-minded friends and being autodidactic in nature, started holing up in the studio to hone in his skills. Dialling it forward to the present moment, it’s clear to me that Slow J has earned his place as one of the most widely recognised and original talents in his sector of the music world.
Throughout the night, he embodied the power of his own music in carving out his own traditions. After the music wound down and he expressed his gratitude to the audience, he fled the stage with an endearing wave. Without the weight of his sound backing him up, you realise quickly how young J is, and how much time he has left to grow. Slow J is at the forefront of a new generation of tradition-makers, one that knows no bounds or limitation, but instead celebrates curiosity and imagination. Nurturing the next generation seems a natural climax for an artist so big on community. These teenagers will undoubtedly be back in a decade, and the next.
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Words: Sophia Hill
