GENRE: RAP
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On the 9th of October 2019, Boiler Room’s first-ever festival offered an immersive synergy of music and multimedia art spread across four days and four core genres: Jazz, Rap, Bass, and Club. Hosted in Copeland Park, SE London, their rap installment saw a variety of London natives hit the decks, as well as international starlet Rema, who debuted his first performance on UK shores. Opening up the floor to home-grown talent was at the heart of the festivals’ attraction, as well as an unmistakable passion for the musical and visual arts that drew in thousands of dirty stop-outs.
For the first time, Boiler Room hosted an event spread across various venues that fostered the rising significance of art within the context of the rap genre, featuring no headline act and welcoming a wave of next-generation artists. While some acts took place in Bussey Building welcoming the likes of BBK’s DJ Maximum and a cameo from Jammer, others were staged in more unconventional spaces that captured the essence of Boiler Room’s underground genesis, with up-and-coming artists DIPS and LO-WU dominating Peckham Liberal Club.
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Down in Peckham Levels, you could find the likes of Masterpeace and NIGZ TG getting lairy, raising the roof, and swinging from the vent pipes in what was nothing short of a rockstar performance. A quick two two’s down the road at Peckham Springs, Lava La Rue and the whole North London posse showed up to the limited capacity venue, turning the crowd out, spanking the bass and leaving everyone hungry for hard beats.
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The whole night felt totally authentic, nothing was quite perfect but everything had its place. Shooting from venue to venue trying to pawn my single drinks tokens for triples, every space had its own vibe, energy, and pace. Projections of contemporary art and fashion plastered the walls of Bussey, making a spectacle not only of the music, but also the art that inspires and surrounds every musician’s craft.
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Boiler Room definitely triumphed in creating a network of accessible art, as well as attracting a diverse audience and capturing Peckham’s entrepreneurial spirit. It’s safe to say that by the end of the night I was more twisted than a Rowntrees Fruit Roll-Up – definitely one to remember.
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