Giggs at MIA's Meltdown, review: Seven years in the making, but now he’s a star

Giggs didn’t rest on his laurels and played the relentless hypeman to a fervent crowd of hip-hop fans when he sauntered on the stage after 10pm, writes Matilda Egere-Cooper
Veteran: Giggs
Steve Gillett/Livepix
Matilda Egere-Cooper17 November 2017

A lot can change in seven years. Just ask Giggs, the seasoned Peckham-born rapper who’s gone from the Met police regularly shutting down his shows at the 11th hour, to filling every inch of the Royal Festival Hall.

Some could say that’s the power of having a number two album and friends in high places, such as Drake and former XL label mate M.I.A, who added the MC to her line-up for this year’s Meltdown festival.

Still, that would deny him of his own graft. In UK rap years, Giggs is borderline old school — and his proclivity for regaling admirers with street tales over stormy, trap-like beats has earned him the privilege of being a genre unto himself — so last night’s gig was only ever going to be light work for him.

Yet he didn’t rest on his laurels and played the relentless hypeman to a fervent crowd of hip-hop fans when he sauntered on the stage after 10pm. Met with a rapturous ovation, he launched into The Blow Back with a broad smile and his trademark baritone and as he reeled off the lyrics, “Back to the OG rap, scrap that acoustic… back to the OG trap, yeah that kind of music”, confirming exactly where the evening was headed.

Pressa, an impressive young Canadian rapper, joined him on the chant-heavy Sexy, and this was followed by a boisterous performance of his guest verse on Let’s Lurk by “road rap” crew 67.

What remained was a heady whirlwind of new and old rap-alongs and reloads, not least for the classic Look What The Cat Dragged In. The night was only tarnished by the fact that Giggs was given just 30 minutes to do it all, but given the location, a nice notch on the CV nonetheless.

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