Stormzy, Auckland NZ, 2017

Stormzy performing live in Auckland, New Zealand, 2017. Image by Doug Peters.

Stormzy
1st August 2017
Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.

Fans are checking the time and getting restless; Stormzy is due on stage any minute now, but they just can’t wait any longer. STORM-ZY, STORM-ZY, STORM-ZY, three thousand voices in perfect unison, the chant rings out loud and clear. So how is it that a 24yr old from Thornton Heath in London has ended up in New Zealand, selling out shows in both Wellington and Auckland?

That’s because in just over four years Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr aka Stiff Chocolate aka Wicked Skengman aka The Problem or as he is properly known by, Stormzy; ‘The Child of Grime’ has stomped in and taken the world of Hip-Hop/Grime by…well storm really. Today Stormzy is almost a household name, first coming to attention in the UK underground scene with his Wicked Skengman freestyle series and then with his EP Dreamers Disease which he dropped in 2014. Cue February 2017 and his album Gang Signs & Prayer takes out the coveted Number One position on the UK Album Charts – the first ever Grime album to do so. And so here we are – last night of this leg of the Gang Signs & Prayer tour and three thousand kids are baying for Stormzy to arrive.

The stage is bare, except for a simple DJ desk set up smack bang in the middle. A figure walks out and takes up position in silence. Placing his headphones on, the bespectacled gentleman starts to spin some sounds before holding his hand up in the air, one finger pointing out over the crowd. Instantaneously a ripple runs through their bodies as they surge forward, those of us on the barrier bracing for the impact, the lights drop and the bass hits. Ladies and Gentlemen; Stormzy.

Nearly 6’5 and dressed in a black ‘Stormzy’ tracksuit, the grimester of Ghanaian descent cuts an impressive sight on stage. He does not speak, instead jumping straight into ‘First things First’, the fans glued matching him word for word. Auckland has been transformed into South London, New Zealand audiences always partial to the pommy accent and able to imitate it with reasonable ease; “Took a little break from the game, started praying. Man, I had to get my mind right. All black clothes till I shine bright” This is a message to the crowd, an apology almost; ‘First things First’ addressing the hiatus Stormzy took in 2016 which saw him cancel his original planned tour of Australia and NZ due to depression and issues with family.

But if Stormzy was worried that fans would be salty, he had no reason to be as there was nothing but love and respect pouring forth from the crowd tonight, the mosh pit jumping in time to the classically simplistic beats; the fans in the seated section up on their feet, fists punching the air.

“Auckland make some fucking noise … shiiiit” Stormzy has a grin that could charm even the most disdainful member of authority. “This is Dj Tiiny – he gestures towards the desk behind him – And all I want to know is, have I come to the best place for the last show of the tour?” I am sure you can imagine the response from the crowd. Always up for a bit of fun, Stormzy goes on to tease about playing in Australia, each city name getting booed, he then mentions Wellington which gets a mixed bag result, Stormzy himself looking slightly surprised before laughing it off.

‘Cold’ is closely followed by ‘WickedSkengMan 4’, Stormzy asking where his “energy crew” are at, the crowd at this point incapable of slowing down as the momentum has now infected their bodies, driving them onwards. Even when Stormzy drops a track for the ladies, “all the girls in the audience bruv” there is still electricity hanging in the air, crackling away just waiting for that bass to kick back in. It is easy to see how an artist such as Stormzy has come so far in such little time. With such minimalistic beats on many of the tracks, he has to rely on his vocal skills to impress and this is where he truly shines, spitting out rhymes with surprising clarity, his deep voice simultaneously making your hair stand up on the back of your neck while filling your heart with good vibes as you feel at one with this huge man leaning out over the top of you.

Stormzy banters here and there throughout the night, never feeling like he is killing time but rather bringing us even closer into the fold; regaling us with how his Mum just can’t believe his music has taken him all the way to a place like NZ, not once but soon to be twice this year (Stormzy already confirmed for Northern Bass). “We recording this song, so get into it yeh? For my Mum”; ‘100 Bags’ a beautiful dedication to the woman who means so much in his life. A cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ goes down a treat with many of the ladies in the crowd, before Stormzy really turns it on for the last big hitters of the night, ‘Big for your Boots’ and ‘Know me From’ raising the crowd to fever pitch.

“Alright New Zealand, you want one more song?”. We all know it’s coming, and we all want it. ‘Shut Up’ the track that catapulted Stormzy into infamy sees the floor of Logan Campbell Centre groan as it bows in time to the crowd’s bouncing; Stormzy now shirtless and dripping bouncing along with us on stage – giving it his absolute all. And if there was any doubt that he isn’t who he says he is “I’m just like you, I’m a cool guy”, Stormzy blew it out of the water as a few minutes after the show he reappeared in the pit, taking the time to greet each and every fan that had been strapped to the barrier for the entire night.

Can’t get much better than that bruv.

Stormzy:
JessB:

Were you there at the Logan Campbell Centre for this South London styled Grime masterpiece? Or have you seen Stormzy live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below! 

Setlist:
  1. First Things First
  2. Cold
  3. WickedSkengMan 4
  4. Velvet
  5. Mr. Skeng
  6. Cigarettes and Cush
  7. Dude
  8. Feed Em To The Lions (Solo 45 – cover)
  9. 100 Bags
  10. One Take Freestyle
  11. Bad Boys
  12. Scary
  13. Shape Of You (Ed Sheeran – cover)
  14. Big For Your Boots
  15. Know Me From
  16. Shut Up


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