After a bite to eat and some shopping I make my way to the centrally located arena for an evening of UK style 'Hip Pop'.
First to take to the stage to warm up the sell out crowd is Tinie's resident spinner DJ Charlsey, playing a very safe and predictable set of r&b and hip hop, he gets the night off on the right foot. Redlight enter the stage, bragging themselves up saying they are the next big thing, explaining they "are not grime, hip-hop or dubstep. They are Redlight." Well I'm glad I now have their genre defined, as it means I can write off a whole new genre before it starts, utter Pish! (The majority of the crowd seemed to enjoy them).
J. Cole was next to take the stage, I Had never heard of him before, it turns out he is actually very well known in Cardiff as most of the girls call out, "Love you J." And to be fair he put on a very good show, and he's signed by Jay-Z in the States, with his debut album going straight to number one over there. He shows the swagger and confidence you would expect from a top artist, and after he departs DJ Charlsey comes back to whip the crowd into a pre Tinie frenzy.
The lights dipped and Tinie Tempah appeared on stage to a thunderous reception from the welsh crowd, matched only by the fireworks on stage, bursting straight into the intro from his huge album 'Discovery'. He relentlessly ploughed through hit after hit, sending the crowd into a bouncing frenzy, with a booming version of 'Frisky' playing, and a huge smile on his face it is very clear Tinie is loving every second, and is a man living his dream.
After a couple more up tempo tracks, including 'Wonderman' and 'Written In The Stars', he slows things down giving the crowd a well deserved breather, he draws his band in close, centre stage for a trio of acoustic tracks. The crowd lap up 'Invincible', 'Let Go' and the rare outing for 'Love Suicide'.
Tonight I am witnessing I believe the next big star in uk music, having already won countless awards, and owned big festival gigs this summer, it's clear to see why Tinie is now cracking the States. He has charisma and talent in abundance, thrown in together with a hard work ethic and a drive to get his performance perfect, he hits all the right notes with tonight's crowd.
The show then bounces back into full party mode, when Tinie receives a 'live' skype call on stage from Swedish House Mafia, apologising for not being there, which turns into the monster summer hit 'Miami To Ibiza', and it is an epic rendition. Tinie pulls out all the stops getting the crowd to all crouch during the breakdown, and all leap up when the huge bass returns. He leaves the stage, returning for an encore of the collaboration with Chase & Status 'Hitz', which for me was a personal favourite moment, closely followed by 'Mosh PitPass Out'. Just what the crowd needed, a glorious sing-along to finish the night.
Tonight Tinie Tempah took the stage and made it his own, showing exactly why he is big news at the moment, he worked the crowd well, and deserves his reputation for a fine performer. If Grimey Hip-Pop is your guilty pleasure, treat yourself you wont be disappointed.
article by: Jamie Licence
photos by: Jamie Licence
published: 10/11/2011 16:33
FUTURE GIGS
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