J-Hus, O2 Institute, Birmingham - review
With a sold-out tour underway and an accompanying debut album on the horizon, J-Hus is poised to take the next step on his meteoric rise to global grime stardom.
The young and hungry twenty-year-old has demonstrated the extent of his talents over the past two years, and his performance at Birmingham’s O2 Institute, last night, only added to the hype that’s building around him.
Having already begun filling clubs from Newcastle to Nottingham, shelling crowds with instant classics like - Friendly, and Lean and Bop - fresh, individualistic tracks that have ventured outside of the traditional confines of grime. Hus demonstrated exactly why he has amassed a loyal following in such a short time frame; setting the audience off track after track with his unique dancehall flow, and humorous grimey lyrics.
Entertaining the sold-out Birmingham crowd with classics from his come-up, like Dem Boy Paigon and Friendly, Hus had smiles on people’s faces from the mosh pit, all the way to the rafters. Yet it was his new tracks, recently released of his debut album, that received some of the loudest applause.
His latest track and namesake of the album - Common Sense - earnt more than it’s worth in wheel-ups, and deservedly so. Having already amassed over half a million views on YouTube, in less than four days, it is understandable why the Brummie crowd went berserk as soon as the beat dropped. Neatly compacted into 3 minutes and 45 seconds of absolute fire - Common Sense - heads up the album as a flagship track, and serves as a warning to any who dare try and step on J-Hus’s toes.
As well as his fresh new releases, and early back catalogue, J-Hus also treated the Birmingham crowd to some of his best collaborations too. Bringing out none other than South London’s very own Dave Santana, performing their instant classic, Samantha. A real treat for the West Midlands crowd, and a revisit to a previous haunting spot for Dave, who packed out the 02 Institute earlier in the year himself with a standout performance.
Working with some of the country’s best young Grime artists, releasing tracks left, right, and centre, J-Hus has been making noise on the scene for a while now, and with the last legs of his debut tour on the horizon and his official album drop on May 12. Let’s just say it’ll certainly be a busy summer for the young music mogul.
By James Stride
