Blxst - Gig Review
No one can deny that Blxst has been a busy boy this year. Far from Covid holding him back, 2021 has seen him drop his ‘Sixtape 2’ album, followed by a litany of singles and complete a sellout US/UK tour. Not bad when most of us have spent it in our pants glued to TikTok - a platform his hit ‘Chosen’ has taken by storm this year too, by the way.
The fact that this man is indefatigable is evident not only when you read his bio describing how he writes, produces, is creative director for his video and artwork and runs his own record label but also shines through in his live shows. And, even with it being the last night of his tour, London was no exception.
Hype man extraordinaire Nathan Hector and Niro Tha DJ made a formidable team as the opening act dropping banger after banger, Hector filling the stage like the experienced pro he is.
Blxst’s DJ took the wheel from there, teasing the crowd for a further 10 minutes before finally welcoming Blxst to the stage. He bounded on smiling, dripping with diamonds in true US hip hop style, and proceeded to perform all the biggest hits from both ‘No Love Lost’ and ‘Sixtape 2’. If he was suffering from the publicised previous night’s after party he didn’t show it. His voice in perfect form, skillfully backed up by singer Cheyenne Wright.
In his song ‘Overrated’ he begs ‘just give me loyalty, love is overrated’ well he’s blessed to have fans with an abundance of both. Every person in there knew every track word for word, start to finish. Even the ones he claimed were more obscure. His interaction with the crowd was on point. He even spotted a fan holding a present for him. He asked his friend to retrieve it and he opened it backstage on video for Instagram. It was a ‘Thank You’ card and a souvenir plate of London. Awwww!
His LA show saw him bring out Snoop Dogg and Concorde saw Ty Dollar $ign so big things were expected in London. Right on cue after reanimating the crowd from the mid-show slow jams he welcomed WSTRN to the stage to perform their hits ‘IN2’ and ‘Txtin’’, the group provided a nice dynamic switch up from the solo performer and the crowd were into it.
Alone once again, he rounded off - as we all knew he would - with ‘Chosen’. But, far from rinsing it, we got exactly zero rewinds of his runaway hit. 2 minutes and done. I don’t know if I was the only one expecting multiple rounds of it, or an encore, but we didn’t get it.
You can tell Blxst is a man who is basking in the fruits of his labour. A really nice balance of talent and humility. He’s come a long way since he started just 6 years ago and, as he tells in his interviews, has made some painful sacrifices to get here. If all his fans are as die-hard as the ones in Camden last night, none of his hard work will ever go to waste.
Picture & Words: Kate Vice - @katevicephotography