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Rap duo treat fans to a star-studded night filled of surprise guests, pyrotechnics and a much-needed dose of rap reality
SOUTH LONDON rap duo Krept and Konan owned the Brixton Academy O2 on Friday night (April 1) as the pair performed to a sold out crowd at the iconic venue.
With a replica of the London Underground tube as the backdrop, the intermittent ‘station stops’ served as introductions to supporting acts and their areas of birth.
Case in point: UK trio WSTRN disembarked from the makeshift Tube at London’s Shepherd’s Bush onto the stage.
“They want the throne but it’s ours Cos,” rapped Konan kicking off the show in an explosive manner with the help of pyrotechnics and clever wordplay and punch lines.
He then delivered a flawless performance of his solo freestyle Last Night in LA.
The tour, titled A Night to Remember, was true to its word.
The rap kings ran through of some of their biggest tracks to date, mainly from their seminal album The Long Way Home.
There was no shortage of surprises as a slew of famous friends joined the pair on stage including WSTRN, Lethal Bizzle, Solo 45, Stormzy and garage veteran Craig David, who picked up on the chorus vocals on female fan favourite Falling, before serving up some old school garage classic of his own.
Vocalist Emeli Sandé was on hand to perform the sentimental Roses, a track Krept dedicated to a friend who lost his battle with leukaemia.
The shift in tone signalled some much-needed rap reality for the pair’s more recent fans.
The concept of Krept & Konan’s My Story seems like the type of scene reserved for a Spike Lee film and a world away for the closeted middle-class rap fan whose closest interaction with violence is a game of Call Of Duty.
Appearing on stage hand in hand with his mother, Konan begins recanting the murder of his stepfather who was shot dead at the family home while trying to protect the pair from gang members whose intended target was the rapper himself.
“She said he's shot, I hope she's lying, I hear her shouting out for help, I think he's dying. I'm thinking why him? Was it wrong place, wrong timing,” Konan raps in the emotionally-charged rap.
A MOTHER'S LOVE: Konan was joined by his mother on stage for a rendition of My Story [PIC CREDIT: Instagram @Konanplaydirty]
Krept also delivered a solo performance of Last Night in Lagos, a nod to how far the pair has come and some of the losses along the way.
It seemed mandatory to perform DWMT (Don’t Waste My Time) a track the pair will find hard to escape.
The duo welcomed fellow Play Dirty brother Yungen to share the stage alongside Brixton’s own Sneakbo, the curator of the Jetski-Wave.
While the two have been critiqued from grassroots fans for their album’s less “roadman” appeal, the diversity of the audience was testament to the pair’s journey.
The fan base is arguably at its broadest and has been achieved on the back of an album that is palatable to the masses.
The night ended on a high with an epic mosh pit while performing F.W.T.S (If you don’t know what this acronym means, definitely look it up.)
The duo, along with many of the acts who made a guest appearance, are set to return to the festival circuit this summer at the 11th Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park, north London, between July 8 - 10.