Event Reviews

January 14th marked the official return of the legendary grime event Eskimo Dance at Proud2, gathering thousands of 140bpm lovers under the same roof. With veterans and the new generation of MCs sharing the same stage, the night was filled with energy, reloads and memorable moments. Bea Alessio gathered few quotes from those who made it one to go down grime history and those who simply witnessed the hype.

Grime events seem to have had a rather bad reputation in the last few weeks (hell, when have they ever had a good reputation?).

But those that do make the effort to put them on and venture to them know that 99.9% of the time, it’s nothing but good music and good vibes. I would imagine this is what East London MC Rival had in mind when preparing for the launch party for his recently released CD 'Lord Rivz'. He even declared on Twitter that this night “isn’t a Boxing match” and that everyone should “behave themselves”.

As 2011 comes to an end, the team at Flavour Magazine gathered TWELVE acts under the roof of Hoxton Square Bar And Kitchen for Flavour live: End Of Year Bumper Special. With StooShe, Lioness and AKS on the bill, on Tuesday 22nd November Bea Alessio faced the cold and joined the crowd at the east London venue to see who could bring the “flava” to the stage.

On Thursday 20th October 2011, Skepta's 'Wedding Bells' tour came to an end in London O2 Academy, Islington. Nyasha Edwards headed down to the show to see Skepta in all his wedding bell glory!

The night started off with rappers Krept and Konan tooking the energy levels to an instant high by performing 'Paranormal Activity' their web-famous remix of Jay-Z and Kanye's 'Otis'.

Press list sorted, plus one missing.  Oh well that’s how life goes sometimes right? Monday 10th October was a red carpet affair marking the premiere of  ‘Demons Never Die’. With Idris Elba co producing the Arjun Rose film, Bea Alessio stuck her heels on and headed up that red carpet to find out what all of the fuss is about. 

Nearly two decades ago in a flat in East London, Rinse FM was born. After being fired from pirate radio Pressure FM, DJ Geeneus began his own station. Seventeen years later, the pioneering station celebrated its (now legitimate) success at the O2 Academy, Brixton. The birthday bash was no secret matter with Mz Bratt tweeting, ‘Looking forward to performing at the @RinseFM bday bash tonight @ Brixton Academy...gonna #TearItAllDown!!!!!’

Another Thursday night, another epic evening lined up at the Notting Hill Arts Club.  Courtney Buck went down to YoYo to see the performances from Birmingham’s own Lady Leshurr and West London native Cleo Sol.

On Sunday 31st July, Dorsa Nam and Courtney Buck found themselves at One Love Peace Festival, born from Bob Marley's song (yep you guessed it), One Love. A major player when it comes to reggae concerts, could Busta Rhymes, Sean Paul and Levi Roots deliver love and peace to Wembley Arena?

After a brief stint supporting Alex Clare on his UK tour, 20 year old newcomer Josh Osho makes his return and Courtney Buck went down to the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen to witness his debut performance.