Academy Events presents
Yasiin Bey
A unique performance of the classic Mos Def album The Ecstatic.
SUPPORT ACTS ANNOUNCED FOR MANCHESTER AND BRISTOL SHOWS
Manchester, O2 Ritz – Tuesday 31 January £25.00 adv
Bristol, O2 Academy – Sunday 3 February £29.50 adv
One of rap’s true greats is coming to the UK for what will be one of the most talked about hip-hop events this year. Yasiin Bey will play O2 Ritz Manchester and O2 Academy Bristol on 31 January and 3 February respectively, and as well as the main man himself, you can expect great things from the hip hop talent that he’s bringing along for the ride.
Manchester, you’ve got some true homegrown talent hitting the stage at O2 Ritz! Seven Spherez are a hip hop duo from the city, consisting of producer ‘Dr.G’ and Emcee ‘Ghost One’. Over the last five years they have established themselves as key players in the community, recognised via major blogs, stations and websites all over the world, while closer to home gaining airplay on stations including BBC 1Xtra. With four independent album releases under their belt endorsed by and featuring international rap stars such as Merkules, Chris Rivers (Big Pun’s son), Hell Razah (Wu Tang/Sunz of Man), Big Noyd (Mobb Deep) to name but a few, they continue to go from strength to strength, as seen by their latest album, Light Through Water (2018), released to critical acclaim.
No strangers to the stage, they have toured and supported the likes of Killah Priest, Snak The Ripper, Shotty Horroh, Mobb Deep, Onyx, Skinnyman, Klashnekoff … The list goes on but Seven Spherez are most definitely at the heart of UK hip hop.
Also supporting are the DJs from Didjit (More Bounce), renowned local hip hop heads kicking the night off with generation spanning gems and obscure tracks. Cruising from hip hop to soul to funk and beyond, the Didjit DJs know how to get the crowd jumping with a string of successful nights all over Manchester.
Listen up Bristol and get ready for the south west to shake with some of the names that are joining Yassin Bey. First up Jehst — the stage name of William ‘Billy’ Shields, a rapper and record producer who has been active since 1998. Making his vinyl debut in 1999 with the highly acclaimed ‘Premonitions’ EP. As well as rapping with the seven-piece outfit, Champions of Nature, in 2002, he put out his debut album, The Return of the Drifter, which was received warmly by the hip hop press in the UK and has gone on to achieve a cult status among fans of UK hip hop.
Joining him is local MC Gardna and local producer Kreed. The two first teamed up in 2016 for the hugely acclaimed ‘Gardna x Kreed’ EP — a very Bristol sound with heavy bass and tight beats that are layered with intricate details, tastemakers including Toddla T, Huw Stephens and Seani B all jumped on board this release.
Rogue & Relly are names that have been synonymous with the Bristol landscape now for over a decade, and rightly so their presence is required on this important night in the city. Relly has featured on most of the biggest projects to emerge out of the city while Rogue has production credits on tens of scores of Bristol heavyweight’s albums. Their latest project Let Them Know (2018), was one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year and managed to live up to the hype. After cementing their musical partnership with this critically acclaimed album, Rogue & Relly are ready to bring the same level of hype to this live show.
Mista Bibs is a passionate and prolific DJ, Radio Host, Producer and MC, with a specialty in genres RnB, hip hop, dancehall and grime. He has appeared at numerous venues and festivals all over the world at large, including London’s O2 Arena, Ministry of Sound, Pacha, BBC’s Big Weekend, The Great Escape Festival and more. DJ Mista Bibs has seen multiple waves of success, from receiving over a million listens on Mixcloud, Soundcloud and being featured on top iTunes podcasts, to winning the Official Mixtape Awards (OMA) and winning Choice FM’s Decks Factor Competition.
Sip The Juice have been bringing some of the biggest hip hop shows to Bristol for the last few years and now the DJs are bringing their eclectic hip-hop mixes to O2 Academy Bristol to support Yasiin Bey.
Mos Def really doesn’t need any introduction. Exploding into public consciousness as part of Blackstar (with Talib Kweli) in 1998, it was Mos’ debutBlack On Both Sides a year later that rocketed the New York rapper to astronomical heights, propelled by universal acclaim for the LP that continues to be held up as one of the genre’s greatest ever albums.
The near two decades since then have seen an unprecedented output of critically acclaimed work, both as a solo artist and fierce collaborator. Working closely with big hitters from across hip hop including the likes of The Roots, De La Soul, Madlib, Common, DJ Shadow, Kanye West (signing to G.O.O.D Records for a spell), as well as musicians from outside of the rap sphere including Gil Scott-Heron, Bobby Womack, The Gorillaz and Robert Glasper (as part of the Mos Def Big Band) amongst countless others, Mos Def has never been shy in sharing his genius with other artists to create something special.

Rishma

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