This past week saw the second annual Buma Rotterdam Beats Festival, an event organised to celebrate and emphasise the importance of Hip Hop, R&B, Soul, Reggae & Electronic music. Through various workshops, seminars and live performances, the festival brought together a wealth of international delegates, including top European and American managers, bookers, industry pioneers, bloggers and several widely respected innovators.

PinBoard was invited to take part in one of the panel discussions, alongside respected co-commentators like Okayplayer (U.S), Juice Magazine (DE), Puma (NL) and Splash Magazine (DE). The discussion was about the emergence and subsequent dominance of the blogopshere and dissected what it is, as online moderators, we do to ensure our outlets represent the best of spheres. These seminars were a vital ingredient for what made the Beats Festival such a vibrant success. Bringing together creative minds from across the continent and the U.S not only allowed for stimulating debate, but also a chance to exchange insights.

Of course it was ultimately the music that brought everything together and with some incredible shows on offer, we were literally spoilt for choice. James Brown incarnate Charles Bradley was undoubtedly the most electrifying, awe-inspiring act on the bill – his performance at Rotown, supported by London homegirl and Plug Research signing Szjerdene, had the entire city doing the electric slide. An artist and performer birthed from an entirely different world – they really don’t make them like that any more. Most impressively however was Buma’s foresight to invite the UK’s cult rising Hip-Hop collective Piff Gang- a genuine salute to Buma for having ears to the ground and recognising the movement. Very proud to see the boys representing the LDN.

Having taken a significantly large step forward this year with festival programming and increasing their profile in doing so, we give a shout-out to Buma Rotterdam Beats for putting on such an incredibly positive and forward thinking event. The beauty of bringing together an international community and sharing ideas on this scale is how the music communities represented, will thrive in future.

Looking forward to next year…

When a label like Ninja Tune sign up an artist, you pretty much know you are going to get a certain level of quality. And so it is with Jono McCleery, a musician who is hard to pigeonhole into one musical genre. When you first read this, you may be forgiven for thinking that an artist that doesn’t fit into predefined categories is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. You’d be wrong. Dead wrong! For me, the joy of listening to McCleery is taking the time out to hear the myriad of influences coming through both his vocals and instrumentation.

Many when writing about McCleery have said his sound is similar to that of Jamie Woon and James Blake, two artists I rate very much indeed. My concession to such statements is that if we are talking about the use of electronics in music making, then yes, to a degree McCleery is like these guys. However, the truth is that to group such a diverse set of artists together is sloppy and a convenient way to write about musicians who cannot easily be categorised.

This sort of ‘sloppy’ critiquing is closely linked to another of the things I find tragic at the moment, the current trend in musical ‘short hand’. We all know that there are ’nuff artists out there who don’t really seem to be saying anything, who don’t even try to bring something new to the table, or indeed, allow themselves to be themselves! What I am talking about is the fact that much of what we hear produced today is too accessible. Even what we would call ‘good’ music is very predictable, following all too familiar rhythms, patterns and structures. Yet, without making his music inaccessible, McCleery defies this fashion. To get the true joy of this adept musician, you must take time with his music. Listen with patience and let the sounds and their accompanying associations take you where they will. The complexity within each song reveal new things each time you return to them. This, for some, might be the primary ‘weakness’ of the album, many might easily dismiss it because they have not paid it the full attention it deserves. More fool them…

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All pictures courtesy of  Danny Wood.

This time last week, I was soaking in every minute detail of the deer park that Big Chill Festival hijacked for 4 music filled, bass stricken, dance fuelled days. With an unbelievable  madness erupting in London that the world hadn’t seen in 20 years. On the other side of the country in Eastnor Castle situated somewhere in between Wales and the Midlands, since the Thursday that I arrived, myself, @def_danny and some good friends had happily had a constant flow of good music to take our attention and our minds for at least 12 hours every day. Bliss.

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The word ‘epic’ is frequently used for many a event that is neither epic, sensational or extraordinary. However, on a Friday night a couple of weeks ago at the prestigous and established Barbican venue, I headed down to watch Basement Jaxx loan their back catalogue  to the Dutch Metropole Orkest to deliver an entertaining evening of complete music merging and fulfill all the criteria that epic-ness involves.

Seated front row centre awaiting the first note, I had a quick glimpse around and assessed the crowd. It was clear that classical music lovers were in the house, alongside dedicated Jaxx fans seated with those who were just intrigued by the unique concept. As the lights revealed the 70 strong orchestra, 40 person Crouch End Choir and ‘Battlement Jaxx’ began, without a strobe light or whistle in tow, who would of thought dance music would of evolved and matured into such (classier) things. A cutting edge approach and a distinctive goal to interpret the music in the most orchestral way possible, I was apprehensive that within the uniqueness of the collaboration, that the essence of Basement Jaxx would be lost.

Luckily fifth song in, Jaxx’s regular singing features blessed the stage. Brendan Reilly, Sharlene Hector and PinBoard homie Vula Malinga all adorned in flamboyant costume injected the famalirity necessary for old school fans like myself. Joined also by a breakdancer, a ballet dancer and the funniest guy of the night, Le Gatueu Chocolate (think Barry White dressed in drag and heels with a little bit of an opera twang to his voice – lol) made for a great mish mash of visuals to keep everyone watching and listening.

Highlights definitely include the constant congo-ing among the front rows and the contagious and seemingly overpowering urge to spontanesouly get up and dance that spread across the auditorium’s audience like a wildfire when tracks like ‘Do Your Thing’, ‘Romeo’ and ‘Samba Magic’ were performed. Brillant vocal performances by Sharlene during ‘Lights Go Down’ provided a rare moment of calm in the show and was definitely a favourite of mine.

At times some tracks seemed almost unrecognizable (‘Red Alert’). Whilst other classics in ‘Good Luck’ and ‘Do Your Thing’ were exactly what you would expect and got the crowd on their feet pronto and all hands clapping.

Hearing 10 years of the Brixton duo’s greatest hits with an elegant string section, perked up and amplified with sharp horns and sexy brass. Then sprinkled with detailed percussion, all orchestrated and executed with conductor Jules Buckley’s guidance was the most skewed interpretation of dance music I have ever experienced. Although the whole concept was entirely out of the box and quite ambitious, by the sounds of the final roar of applause, I would say they pulled it off.

Epic.

The album Basement Jaxx vs Metropole Orkest is out now.

Today marks the release of Beyoncé’s fourth solo album appropriately titled 4. Amidst reports last year that the 16 time Grammy Award winner was recording new music after a year-long hiatus and in the process creating “a new genre” – anticipation for her return was high.

It was a surprise to most then when the first few snippets of the albums lead single ‘Run the World (Girls)’ surfaced. Featuring an uninspired sample of Major Lazer’s ‘Pon De Floor’, nothing about it sounded new or ground-breaking. Reviews didn’t improve after the song’s video premiered either, with most finding the general essence of the track contrived and uninspired – a forced anthem at best.

‘Best I Never Had’ and a stunning performance of ’1+1′ soon followed suit; The former like the first single failed to ignite excitement. The middle of the road mid-tempo penned by Babyface isn’t all-bad, just not strong enough to launch an album into the stratosphere. ’1+1′ however was a beautifully 80′s/Prince inspired ballad written by The Dream, produced by Tricky Stuart and sang to perfection by Beyoncé – signs of hope.

But three singles in and the 4-era seemed a bit shaky. Unlike her previous releases there was no clear definitive ‘hit’ – something the world was not accustomed with Queen Bey. Of course die-hard fans (stans) blinded by their adoration were resilient and defiant against any negative (but founded) criticism.

… But did we all judge Beyoncé too quickly?

On first listen 4 is unremarkable, it seemingly lacks any clear direction and quickly feels dismissable. This is because 4, unlike any other Beyoncé album before it – is different. Heavily reliant on ballads and mid-tempos, with only 3 real ‘bangers’ throughout (‘Girls’ being one of them), 4 is uncharacteristic for a singer who has over the years been criticised for being too predictable.

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Yesterday evening, whilst some of the team went down to ol’ PinBoard favourites, Eletric Wire Hustle on one side of town, I headed down to East London’s coolest venue of the day, XOYO to witness how How To Dress Well would portray his unique ethereal pop/R&B live.

I was somewhat apprehensive since in the last few weeks that I have found out about HTDW, I have been intrigued by his sound, even those times when it was an awkward listen. But as I walked into the venue, I still  knew very little about the man. To ease me into the unknown, I was happy to see Holy Other was the opening act. I posted up his EP at the backend of last month, which after a few solitaire listens, I started to enjoy the emo’ness that was taking over my body courtesy of his intense mystique.

When the cloaked unknown producer came on, although I liked the tracks I was aware of and some of the fresher ones too, the new experience made up of a large group of people, all caught up in one hypnotic sway was definitely erring on the best side of depressing. Nonetheless a perfectly awkward opening act, for a even more curious headliner. Tom Krell, better known as HTDW came on stage initially thanking all in the packed room. Told us how he just got from Barcelona and he felt sick. Gotta love the honesty.

Not knowing much about HTDW, other than his distinctive  voice, I enjoyed the set and it seemed the crowd did too, performing new songs and mixing them with previous releases like ‘Sucicide Dreams 2′ and his Transparent release ‘Take It On’ where there were definitely moments of Justin Timberlake’ness sprinkled in for good measure.  As he scattered between high pitched vocal and Mika-like sounds, whilst pulling his jumper with childlike tendencies, there was a freedom in all that HTDW was doing – it was all  imperfect to the mainstream eye, yet for me, it was uncomfortably acceptable. That is what kept me watching. From the folkey acapella which suddenly had a fighting falsetto harmony section, to the three minutes which HTDW intensely stared at a projection playing a haunting (to say the least) montage, then rapidly leaving the stage. All out of the norm yet enjoyable to get drawn into.

He performed new songs, such as  ’How Many’ which had a easy on the ear dancey loop, with soothful harmonies kicking in midway. I also enjoyed what he described as his ‘Eurovision entry – possibly?’ ‘Happy’. The track possessed a massive thumping bass, rave sirens and a complete fall to floor that could only make you dance. All this alongside his nu-R&B flavour is all the more reason why HTDW will be closely watched by us PinBard lot for a while.

After hearing Tanya Auclair’s reworking of Roy Davis/Paveen Everett’s ‘Gabriel’ right here on PinBoard, I was on a feverish hunt to track her down at a live gig. My mission came to an end last Thursday at the launch party for her new EP Origami held at Servant Jazz Quaters in Dalston. What can I say? I am in love with Tanya Auclair! Not even two songs into a set of 10, Auclair had already played five instruments. This is a woman who loves to play with music to see what she discovers.

It’s worth mentioning that I was stood in the midst of some hard-core Hip Hop fans who had been talking about seeing Mos Def and Talib Kweli live and who were sad to hear about the death of the legend, Gil Scott Heron. It was, by anyone’s standards, a tough crowd. By the middle of her set, standing pretty much under her nose- not a psycho fan, I promise- I turned around to see a packed room of people swaying to the good vibes coming from Auclair’s beautiful and at times, haunting music.

It’s easy to dismiss an artist like Auclair as merely being about the gimmick of using the loops. I’m sure many of y’all have been to gigs and open mic nights where the loop is used as a sure fire way of proving musical worth and breadth of talent. But, the fact is, not many, really only very, very few, can match the rich musicality of Auclair. I felt like a kid seeing ET for the first time watching her create music from seemingly nowhere.

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An impromptu visit to Manchester over the bank holiday ended with me leaving a gig by one of the best male vocalist to come out of the UK this year.
Jamie Woon (or Wooney as he is known by the locals) was as beautifully dark, subtly intimate as a show can come.

Void of a extravagant light show or alternatively a  gang of dancers, the night started with the welcomed surprise in supporting act Jono McCleery.  Unaware of the young crooner, I was taken by his mixture of acoustic guitar, layered bass line and jazzy fractured drum patterns that just about kept in enough time for McCleery to sweep through the gaps with his haunting tone. McCleery’s soft melodic structures are far from the frequently cliched folk tunes often churned out, ‘Tomorrow’  (single out on Ninja Tunes) being the standout track. A passionate dreamy prelude that provided a great transition into Woon’s set.

The same authenticity embedded in Woon’s debut LP oozed out in the live show without any comprise. He built each song with a enthralling amount of human beatboxing, looping and finger clicking in front of the audience, as if he was doing it for the first time in the studio. ‘ Shoulda’ and swinging gospel soaked ‘Spirits’  were layered meticulously using his trusty loop machine, plethora of guitars and the threeman band. A crowd familiar with Woon’s transferability allowed him to ease through a rockier version of ‘TMRW’ to fluently perform ‘Middle’ that is laden with Michael Jackson echoes and then flip to an electronic commercial gem such as ‘Lady Luck’. All with the same dose of substance carved in each track.  In a time where every artist has at least 10 dancers on each side of them or a hypeman, it was a pleasure to witness an artist possess equal measures of soul, complexity and originality in their live show, as their debut album boasts.

DELS. Definitly on the scene and one to watch. The hype machine is slowly, too slowly if you ask me, getting into gear over the young man from Ipswich. Some have called him a cross between Dizzee and Bjork, personally, I didn’t hear that on his debut album GOB. To me he seems a, very worthy, pretender to Roots Manuva’s throne as the UK’s number one MC. Unsurprising as they share the same label, Big Dada, home too of Mercury Prize winner, Speech Dabelle. Read the review after the jump…

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Wiz Khalifa, one of the new class of hip hop hopefuls for 2011 was in London town this week for his first headline set of shows. Like fellow graduate, J Cole, the sold out shows were with much anticipation and fans bought tickets based off the success and love for the mixtapes.

Unlike J Cole, by the time the concert came around, a lukewarm album dropped, a mainstream anthem has become of ‘Black and Yellow’ and off the back of this, new fans have assembled themselves onto the Wiz wagon. All these ingredients led to a show of mixed emotions, not to mention the mixed smells in the air. Heading to the Kentish town Forum on Wednesday night, the queue was a blend of loyal hip hop alumni, seperated distinctively by exciteable young girls chanting the infamous colourways and matching their garments accordingly too.

Semtex warmed up the crowd with some grizzly bangers from Jay-Z to Rick Ross and definitely got the audience hyped. Wretch 32 came on as the support act and seemed to have a hard time convincing the crowd of his talents. I like Wretch and have seen him kill it with a live band before, but this time, most seemed uninterested. It’s a shame.

By the time, Wiz came on stage, expectations were hovering high, build up had been delivered, yet the result was mediocre. Considering I was among die hard followers, often times, they appeared well…bored. Yes there was a noticable wave of elation when he performed ‘Taylor Gang’, ‘Phone Numbers’ and ‘Roll Up’. Those moments had hands in the air and singalong crew in full effect. Wiz played along and the showman inside pranced, gyrated and worked the stage as much as possible. Even removed his top for added brownie points for those (pre-legal) girls who ignored their curfew, but a glistening torso made it all the more worthwhile.

Then there were a few lulls. Silences almost. Mostly when Wiz performed the three minute, something radio friendly album tracks such as ‘No Sleeping’ and ‘Fly Solo’. The reality of such average fillers in a venue that a moment before were charged with chants of ‘Money and Hoes’ courtesy of ‘Gangbang’, along with sporadic mysterious..ahem…clouds forming in the atmosphere only made for the most disjointed concert and ergo rapper I have seen in a while.

The short set was redeemed with the obvious ending of ‘Black and Yellow‘, where the crowd reconciled and found common ground, but the dichotomy of Wiz Khalifa and his fans remains present for now.

Click cover to download

Producer Freshnerd of 100 Akres put together some more ear candy I want to bring to you even though this one was supposed to be just for the fans, not so much the blogs. Don’t be fooled by the photo or the title Freshnerd means loosies, not your favourite redheaded comedienne. This is a collection of very different loose tracks- unreleased beats, songs and parts of projects.

Freshnerd’s presentation is always well done. This time he’s got comments and backstory to go along with every track at loosies.100akres.com so you can read along as you listen, then comment when you’re done. I thought that alone was clever, innovative and impressive.

My only critique is that though this beat tape is innovatively presented, the songs should’ve been labelled, ordered and tighter-matching with their corresponding posts on the website. Yes, that is a small thing and no, it’s not music related, so here’s what stood out for me on I Love Loosies.

‘Fools’ has a sample of one of my favourite parts of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love”. Comments/Backstory

For ‘RubyJewel BeatMix’ read the backstory while you listen so you can understand why this headnodder will be jumped on by somebody soon. Comments/Backstory

‘slumBOP’, with its retro, jazzy soup groove and drums, made me put it on repeat. Comments/Backstory

There were other dope tracks on I Love Loosies too, like ‘I’m So Hi…Hello’ where the backstory makes the song more impressive (shouts to Jillz). You’ll be glad Freshnerd made that info available for all of them…you know, if you’re a music nerd like me.

Producer Shade Cobain’s latest release, Them Fighting Words Presents: Cobainish Theory is an instrumental project that’s all about him.  In the past he’s given us two other “theories”, Cassette Theory: Beat EP and Anti-Love Theory, but now we get to peek into the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania native’s brain through some cool Hip Hop, snythy, jazzy, soulful beats.

It opens with Charlie Sheen talking about how his brain works followed by an instrumental with a sample saying “Step Up”.  Indeed the rest of the album challenges the listener to get into producer Shade Cobain’s brain.  Don’t worry, the album doesn’t decent into what some are calling “Sheenery” these days, nor is it an exercise in self indulgence.  Instead Cobain cherry picked samples to illustrate his thoughts and feelings on Hip hop marketing, his motivations and a major theme for him- love.  He’s a smart guy so listen close. 

There’s lots to dig through here and none of it is as dark as the cover might portray.

Standouts for me include: ‘The Chase (Drum Snobs)’ with it’s warbled horns, ‘Black Friday (The Price)’ a clever take on the popular game show ‘The Price Is Right’ theme song, the head-nod track ‘S.O.U.L. (Reference)’ and throwback feel of the bonus track Get Down.

Check out all of Shade Cobain’s ‘theories’, download them all. Listen to this one in full via the bandcamp player below…

Dark and obscure, ‘Night Air’ serves as a brilliant encapsulation of the type of artist Jamie Woon is. That somber post meridiem ode is systematic of what can be found on mirrorwriting, Woon’s debut set. Painted over the course of three years mirrorwriting is stocked with enigmatic lyrics, reverberating vocals and exceptional productions.

Crafting what can only be described as futurist Rhythm & Blues, Woon delves deep into his influences spanning Folk, Gospel, Prog and 2-step. These sophisticated compositions are bound together by mournfully beautiful lyricism carried by a quivering, introverted voice that steers clear of ad-lib excess. Woon’s ability to write poetics – often drawing on symbolic, nocturnal imagery and the elements – enable him to create emotive worlds of fear, anxiety and longing that can be as consuming on the listener, as they evidently are on the singing sufferer.

Darkened 808′s, off-beat kicks, ghostly percussives/handclaps, heartbreaking guitars, soul stirring synth chords and vintage bass riptides create the unique atmosphere that Woon has delicately carved around himself. Yet unlike his contemporaries (and/or any trendy journo perpetuated contingents), Woon is proud to inject the one thing that will set him apart from the other 3am inspired poe-faced breed: his channelling the power of Funk. Yet clearly inspired by ‘Night Air’ co-producer Burial, he has somehow merged Funk with the gothicism of Untrue-era 2-step and developed a new breed of R&B. So, all low frequency oscillation aside guys, real basslines are back. And even then, if William Bevan was a singer, this is probably the album he could have produced. But that’s not to insinuate Woon has carbon copied, far from it – in fact, he has (maybe inadvertently) created something distinctly original, something that couldn’t have existed without that which had come before it – but something that until now, hadn’t been propagated.

Song for song Jamie shines, from the lonely call of ‘Street’, to the regretful musings of ‘Shoulda’ – illuminating a path through his visceral, psychological fog. His sense of melody on tracks like ‘Lady Luck’ and ‘Middle’ further proves the strength of his songwriting. The aphotic spirit of ‘Echoes’, with it’s crashing drums and haunting effects, sees Woon singing his most soulful falsetto. The near-Detroit swing of ‘TMRW’, the agony of ‘Gravity’ (my personal favourite) and the simplicity of ‘Waterfront’ help bring what can only be described as a completely original body of work to the light at the end of it’s tunnel.

All of us here at PinBoard strongly believe Jamie Woon has produced an album which not only innovates, but also holds important significance as to where we have been and where we have arrived. mirrorwriting is intelligent, truthful and at times even devastating; it’s a yardstick for how R&B (stagnant and regressive as it’s been these past 5 years) can evolve to a higher cerebral plain. Representing a generation who’s musical minds were forced open by the obscure sounds of Timbaland, The Neptunes, Burial, MJ Cole, Radiohead, etc. – Woon has delivered an LP which I for one have been waiting a very, very long time to hear. Here’s to hoping the world is open enough to understand what this really is and that they (you, we) give it the attention and respect it deserves.

mirrorwriting is out April 11th 18th 2011.

Queen Fatima and Floating Points will be releasing a collaborative EP entitled Follow You this May.

The 4 track extended player ditches the ‘glitchy’ Soul that we’ve come to know from Fatima, and instead focuses on a more softer, soulful-jazz-infused instrumentation. We have Floating Points to thank for that. His productions here are impeccable – warm, exciting, crisp and just simply stunning. Points was definitely channeling his inna-Dilla on a couple of these compositions.

The EP’s opening track ‘Cinnamon’ has such a spirited bump to it, when I first heard it I may have jumped out of my seat a little. Not just because the track is great and Fatima sounds great on it – but because this is exactly the type of material I have been (not-so-secretly) hoping Fatima releases. Don’t get me wrong, our homegirl has done her damn thing over the past few years – working with the likes of Shafiq Husayn, Funkineven and Dam-Funk is not be overlooked. But, as a huge fan of her vocal chops, I’ve always felt that the very best of her would be exposed while singing the more melodic side of Soul. When I heard her on he Floating Points Ensemble track ‘Post Suite’ – ask anyone around me – I was buggin’ out. In fact, I still am – that track gets played weekly on my end.

The EP continues with ‘Mind’, which some of you may have already heard as a radio-rip on YouTube when she performed it on Benji B’s show (listen below). This track has a funny history with my co-pilot and I – bottom line – I own him an apology. The swing, combined with Floating Points sensational use of atmospheric synths – yea, consider my ‘mind’ well and truly blown. And of course, Fatima’s soaring vocals sounds like buttah (yes, buttah).

‘Innervisions’ is up next. Minimalistic, acapella introductions, interjections of synth heavy basslines – here all distractions from Fatima’s multi-layed vocals are gone. This is all about the chanteuse and rightfully so, her vabrato is more soothing then a Strepsil.

An abraded sounding 808 kicks in on the extended players final number ‘Red Light’. This is definitely the funkiest track out of the 4 and a perfect way to end the dynamically enthralling experience that Follow You offers.

The blogger in me is itching to post a track, but alas, I have been sworn to an embargo but the folks over at Eglo have informed me that they’ll soon be releasing some streams – so hold tight.

I’m excited to hear Fatima doing what (I feel) she does best. I have a really great feeling about this project; We’ve all seen this lady hustle and grow over the years but I believe now is her time. And I feel Follow You will expand her reach and open more doors, especially on an international tip. It’s easy to forget that we have our own steeze here in LDN (something I love and am extremely proud of) but sometimes it can get lost in translation. That’s not to say we should stop doing what we do – but with this new direction, I think Fatima’s fan base will grow with greater ease.

Follow You is released on May 9th via Eglo Records.

Update: Listen to ‘Red Light’ here.

If Drake had his own gig in The Comeback Season/So Far Gone days, J Cole at Koko last night would of been everything it could of been. As far as debut concerts go, J Cole had it all. An electrifying crowd, a packed out-filled to the roof venue and a shockingly good back catalogue based off nothing more than the internet and some mixtapes.

I felt like I was apart of history as I excitedly entered the ram packed London venue. Roc Nation’s first signing, J Cole’s first ever solo gig in the UK and London was playing the proud host. No affiliation to Jay-Z. No attachment to Drake. Everyone in the place was there to see him.

As I made my way through the mob of twenty somethings, there was a palpable buzz in the air, everyone was waiting to enter Cole’s World. Discussions of favourite tracks and first discoveries of Cole filled the room, whilst Semtex braced the crowd for what was to come, dutifully dropping the bangers.

The crowd became slightly hesitant whilst grime act, Maxsta opened the show. There were mixed reactions, some were duly bopping their head, others were becoming even more impatient from the waiting. Personally, I don’t think it was the best decision to bring on such an act for this type of crowd, but Maxsta and his boys held it down.

Before anyone got any more weary, Cole came out and ignited the stage. The three balconies up top plus the standing area downstairs came alive as he went through the best of his (mixtape) discography.

Songs which I guess we can now call ‘classic’ like ‘Lights Please’ (watch his piano introduction – dude is talented!), ‘Dead Presidents II’, ‘I Get Up’ and ‘Dollar and a Dream’ from his second mixtape The Warm Up were easy hype vehicles, each one sending the crowed into even more frenzy.

When he mixed up the set with tracks from the recently released Friday Night Lights and debut mixtape The Come Up, it was clear to see that a lot of people, especially during this time in our generation, understood and related to what he has been saying. Highlights for me included ‘Enchanted’, ‘Blow Up’, and ‘Higher’. There is something about Cole that is constantly positive and intriguing to watch. Each lyric came through with heavy passion and a real sense of modesty. He stood appreciative and was grinning throughout. No hype man required, he just brought himself entirely.

A small part of me wished that Drake or Wale came out to join Cole on their respective tracks (‘In The Morning’ and ‘You Got It’), I realised the very request at such a strong night was out of pure greed.

Grateful for the opportunity and amazed at the sold out show, on numerous occasions Cole thanked London for coming out to see him. Astounded at the epic nature of the show, Cole complimented us all for jumping on him (pause) early, whilst he assured that others will catch up soon. Showing his gratitude even more, he jumped into the crowd during his last song ‘Villematic’, making sure he high five’d as many people as possible.

Overall it was nothing less than an impressive inauguration into the game. Full on, non stop and totally kept 100 throughout. This is hip hop 2011.

Cole World.

*Peep some footage here, courtesy of The Hip Hop Chronicle*