Thursday 7 July saw Urban Development put on a show like no other with some of the hottest names in urban music descending onto Hackney Empire for Re:Definition. Not a concert or a theatre show but a live performance that strives to “refix, remix and refresh” urban music, and boy, did that happen! Courtney Buck was on hand to witness what went down on this epic night...

Opening the show was ShezAr and the Urban Development Vocal Collective (UDVC). ShezAr’s distinctive powerhouse vocals filled the Empire to welcome the audience backed by the equally talented UDVC who sang a medley of songs. 

Acting as host and narrator for the evening, Mikill Pane presented his own unique songs, starting the first chapter of the show with True Stories setting the tone for the first act of the evening, Jay Norton. Jay performed My Ex and if you’ve had the pleasure of listening to his YouTube videos, you’ll know that this song already sounds incredible, and with the additional backing vocals from the UDVC it elevated the song to another level.

The next chapter, the Female Perspective presented one of the evenings most memorable moments. Starting with the uber-talented RoxXxan right through to Lovelle and Lady Chann, the ladies made their mark on the stage. A special mention must be made to MPHO who made her first live performance in some time -it was almost like she never went away! Chapter 3 titled You Don’t Know Me introduced by Mikill Pane’s song of the same title housed the highlight of the first act - Selah performed her Donae’o assisted single Out My House as well as special rendition of Woman’s World featuring RoxXxan and ShezAr. On paper, the idea sounded great and in reality it was breathtaking, proving that it is indeed a woman’s world.

Closing the first act was Donae’o who performed an acoustic version of Devil in a Blue Dress and a live version of Party Hard which got the audience out of their seats and on to their feet. After a brief interval, ShezAr and the UDVC opened the second act dressed in their fineries with ShezAr rocking some major skyscraper heels. MPHO returned to the stage to perform her own version of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill which was the highlight of the entire night. A spine-tingling rendition that almost brought a tear to my eye, MPHO put her all into this performance and it truly showed.

For the remainder of the show, the men took control of the stage with Abel Miller accompanied by the UDVC performing Daniel Merriweather’s Red and Jay Norton performing his popular reworking of Wiz Khalifa smash, Black & Yellow. Scrufizzer joined Abel Miller to perform their track Deep Thoughts which has been a huge hit on SB.TV. The sheer speed at which Scrufizzer raps is unbelievable and is something that needs to be witnessed firsthand. The final chapter saw Talay Riley take to the stage to deliver a confident performance of Make You Mine and Good As Gold. Also, Ghetts teamed up with the UDVC for an incredible rendition of Artillery and received a great reaction from the audience after performing his new dubstep-infused single On A Level.

Closing the show was Kano who also headlined Industry Takeover back in April; performing London Town, Hunting We Will Go with Ghetts and Ps & Qs, Kano’s set rounded off a perfect evening of urban entertainment. Bring on Re:Definition 2012!

WORDS: Courtney Buck