I actually hadn’t heard of EERF EVIL before last week at some point when he was introduced to me by producer/beat maker and studio engineer Oli AKA soursoulmusic. His songs are very lyrical and full of meaning which isn’t something I would usually listen to on a daily basis as I love a song I can wiggle to. Having listened to a few of his songs I agreed to go to his EP Launch on Thursday at Rolling Stock, Hoxton.
Arriving to the venue, I haven’t been or heard of it before, it felt like an underground cave of some sort and definitely lived up to that as the lighting wasn’t great and I had no signal either. Having time to access my surroundings while Oli and Alex (the guys I went with) went back to the car, I was a bit shocked by the people there. It is Hoxton so I’m not sure why I expected there not to be so many ‘hipster’ people; although it was nice to see them integrating with the more urban people. I do have a complaint to make though, those drink prices were shocking…but yes I continued to put money in their tills.
I briefly met EERF EVIL not long after I’d got there and he hugged me and thanked me for coming. I pick up on people’s auras and energy and his was so pleasantly light it was lovely. He did inform us that they were running late as the sound wasn’t working as it should be, typical. While waiting for the live acts to start DJ Man Like P. was spinning the tunes. I also caught from the corner of my eye that Loyle Carner had come down to show his support.
The first act on was Manik MC. I haven’t heard of him or listened to any of his music prior to this event but I am definitely a fan. He engaged with the crowd well and got everyone involved. There aren’t many artists these days that actually rap bars that aren’t vacuous. Manik MC was performing songs from his album ‘Midnight Express‘ and he invited Natty Wylah on stage to perform their song together ‘Blue Afternoons.’
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/midnight-express/1282192959
There was about a ten minute interval where Man Like P. was providing background music while people went and got extra drinks and for a quick toilet trip. Next up we had Kwakzino who performed hits from his album ‘2 Legit 2 Quit.’ I’m quite small so I ended up having to stand on stalls to even be able to see fs but it meant I could see the crowds reactions and you know what…I literally just smiled. Everyone was dancing, bopping their heads, singing/rapping along and sending out so much love. In between songs he would engage with the crowd and give little anecdotes and speeches of motivation to do better and be the best version of yourself. Little did he know I needed to hear that and I’m sure many others in the crowd did too. My favourite songs he performed were: Journey, Positive Vibez Only and 2 Legit 2 Quit.
https://soundcloud.com/kwakzino/sets/2-legit-2-quit
Following another small interval we had the headliners of the night, EERF EVIL and Srigala. This was a pairing that’s a match made in heaven; two amazing lyricists on one collaborative EP. They also invited singer songwriter Elisa Imperilee up on stage for a song she features on; this girls voice is like an angel, it’s insane. I love the fact they are rapping about things that actually matter in life, unlike most rappers at the moment. The crowds reaction said it all, these boys are talented and deserve all the recognition in the world. I can’t begin to imagine how they felt looking out seeing a packed venue, bopping along singing their songs back at them. Their music radiates positivity and it’s really refreshing. The set was ended with EERF EVIL revealing his name means LIVE FREE backwards, and that says it all.
Overall, I throughly enjoyed this event. Every single artist put their all into this and was enjoyed by everyone there. Check out all the artists music in the links throughout the piece.
https://soundcloud.com/srigala/eerf-evil-x-srigala-calculated-outcomes