Live

WILEY: LIVE @ CARGO: LONDON, 21.06.07

It’s rare to see a night dedicated just to grime music, even though it is arguably the fiercest sound ever to beat out of the grubby streets of which it was named after.

Who better for the night to be in aid of then, than the Godfather of grime, one of the original creators of the sound, Wiley, who's celebrating the release of his newest album 'Playtime Is Over'. Warming up the stage for Eskiboy were fellow Boy Better Know associates Jme and Skepta, who confidently took a grip of the packed out crowd with opening tracks ‘Boy Better Know’ and ‘Deadout’. As DJ Maximum mixed in the intro piano beat to the garage hit ‘21 Seconds’, it literally took that amount of time for Skepta to get the whole crowd bouncing off Cargo’s walls with every supporter simultaneously shouting ‘You, you dun know’. Roll Deep’s Riko and Flow Dan also supplied the routine with a raving striker’s kick over ‘Match Of The Day ’ and ‘Stageshow Riddim’, leaving the crowds hands flying in a fanatical Mexican wave of gun fingers.

Temperatures had risen to gas mark 5 and so had anticipation as the night had yet to reach the headliner. Wiley soon appeared and jumped straight into his first single devoted to his album deal, ‘50/50’. Although his lack of interaction with the crowd seemed puzzling in comparison with his opening act, which many put this down to nerves, the heat did begin to chill. Maniac’s productions on ‘Bow E3’ edged fans out of their criticism and chucked them back on the rollercoaster of its bassline. ‘My Mistakes’ followed along with ‘Flyboy’, until the crowds favourite ‘No Qualms’ fluttered from Cargo’s speakers. But it was cut short, as was ‘Gangsters’ and ‘Eski boy’ by his irritating hype men, Levels and Manga, who seemed to think they were star attractions. Soon the stage was fluttering with some of grime’s brightest talents as Wiley passed the microphone around so everyone had their turn running rings around the crowd, from Jammer’s ‘Murkle man’ to Cookie’s ‘Boy Boy’. It was a powerful concoction of the underground scene’s finest young emcees, but Boy Better Know’s JME, Skepta and companion Frisco saved he night from being just an over-weight man treddin’ on thin ice.
Words Laura Brosnan