As usual the vibes down at Queen of Hoxton were all good although the weather won the battle with the planned acoustic roof terrace set being postponed to later in the evening joining the live sets in the basement. To be honest it was hardly noticeable as the crowd was treated to soulful house vibes on the ground floor from the DJ, warming them up nicely for the main event and a stream of artists some old school some brand new, some reggae sounds whilst some kept it soulful and a little unplanned surprise from one of grime’s best, whoever graced the stage brought vibes basically.

By the time proceedings moved downstairs the venue was already packed which meant the basement was rammed as Ras Kwame introduced first act a little unusual for I LUV LIVE but new age reggae artist Soloman, (son of drummer Zeb from 90’s reggae outfit Aswad) lit up the stage with a seriously energetic performance ahead of his show at Benicassim later this week. Refusing to be labelled he said his music was not purely reggae or pop he just wants to come with something fresh and unique whilst staying true to his roots. From uplifting tracks like Stop Right There to the more conscious songs like Dreadlocks all about striving onwards despite whatever problems you may have going on in your life. If you haven’t heard of him then make sure you check him out, as he put it “support him, make sure you support him!” www.myspace.com/solsplace

The little break after Soloman meant there was a quick chance to have a little walk around and venturing towards the stairs the sound coming from the three girls in front of me was crazy, minutes later they graced the stage as trio RD aka Ruff Diamondz. Made up of Chronz, Martika and Troy these girls with an average age of 19 even came with matching outfits and dance routines alongside the live band (and if you have seen the size of the stage down at Queen of Hoxton then you’ll know that alone is an achievement). Opening up their set with a freestyle of J. Cole’s Who Dat to get the crowd hype they quickly moved onto heartfelt track about broken relationships, Stuck, clearly showing off their strong vocals with a near acapella performance before getting into a more serious song Life Changes about the downward spiral of drugs. The final track, their new single Do It Like Me which got the crowd going almost automatically when the Dead Prez Hip Hop sample kicked in, the girls showcased exactly what they’re worth. Check them out for yourself here www.rdofficial.com

Without hesitation the night moved swiftly on to sultry songstress Laura White, you may remember her from 2008’s X Factor, the northerner with the serious lungs is back. Laura sang herself something silly, from having her heart torn apart and missing her man like crazy all the way full circle to letting the man know that she was in no way shape or from willing to take him back with her up-tempo penultimate song. Finishing off her set with a classic cover of her biggest inspiration ever, Stevie Wonder.www.laurawhiteofficial.com

During the short break a quick look around saw the likes of Chipmunk, Wretch 32 and Tinchy Stryder were in the place supporting live music and most likely came down to see the next act, London born, Irish rapper Maverick Sabre who Ras Kwame couldn’t wait to bring on stage following his time with him over at SXSW earlier this year. Modest as ever he took to the stage forgetting an accessory for his guitar which meant there were 60 seconds spare causing a spoken word poet to grace the stage clicks all round, thanks Maverick!

Anyway, when he did make it to the stage he blew the whole crowd away including special surprise guest Kano who snook in through the back door during his set (and since then they’ve been speaking on twitter so watch this space for a collaboration). The crowd looked on as Maverick spat pure soul with his own unique style alongside his trusty guitar tracks like They Found Him A Gun telling the tales of people getting dragged down to living a life on the wrong side of the law. Maverick also performed Sometimes narrating his life so far and the importance of not forgetting where you come from which was most definitely a crowd pleaser by the second chorus people were singing along, a truly simple and heartfelt but seriously memorable performance proved by the fact that he himself tweeted shortly after the event “Just got back from ILuvLive..and have to say I can’t remember when I enjoyed a gig that much was a serious one”. Definitely one to watch out for he’s going to be on the Mobo’s tour and also touring with Chase & Staus, look out for his EP due for release in October and if you can’t wait he’s also on Professor Green’s album on a song called Jungle. Let’s not forget we let you into his game way back in March this year check the video interview here. www.myspace.com/mavericksabre

Next up Kano took the stage surprising everyone, not wasting any time he hyped up the crowd with his early summer hit, Get Wild, although Wiley and Aidonia weren’t there, Kano had no problem hyping up the crowd on his own before his DJ dropped the intro to P’s and Q’s making the I LUV LIVE crowd go mad, throughout the whole track I’m pretty sure Kano who was almost in the crowd anyway could have easily got away with angling the mic in order to just leave the crowd performing the whole track. Look out for our chat with him in the September issue of RWD magazine.

Finally his new single Upside (OUT NOW!!!) saw his set come to a close but the hype was by no means over as Mighty Mo leaped onto the stage firstly proving there’s no way Heartless are late as he recited classic bars over the house bands rendition of S-X’s Woo Riddim with everyone singing along lyric for lyric. Ladies received the attention on his second number Getaway before launching into the whole reason he was there the release of his single Old School Daze causing everyone to reminisce yesteryear. By time the house band began a few mere notes from the Heartless Theme, Bushkin had jumped on stage alongside Mighty for the reload, how the band managed to get the basslines that big is beyond me but it definitely brought back some memories and the performance itself demonstrates they’re still very much in the game, keep up with Mighty Mo and check out his new single via www.twitter.com/metricmoses

Even though the whole I LUV LIVE revelers were all hype whoever that guy was positioned at the front of the stage the entire night dressed in all black everything was on a whole different hype; I’m pretty sure I clocked him bow down to Maverick Sabre and there may have been a tear produced from his eye for Mighty Mo’s set. Anyway, if you were there you know who I’m talking about and if you weren’t make sure you reach next time – you’ve been told!

Pictures by Adeyinka Adepitan

Next ILUVLIVE Mon 6^th Sept – LIAM BAILEY //TALEY RILEY //MYSTRO plus very special surprise headliner!

SEPTEMBER 27^TH -DAVINCHE & CLEO SOL // MELEKA // STYLAH // KLAYE // RANDOM IMPULSE

www.iluvlive.co.uk

www.myspace.com/iluvliveuk

www.youtube.com/iluvliveuk

www.twitter.com/iluvlive

Tags: Hip Hop, ILUVLIVE, Kano, Laura White, Maverick Sabre, Mighty Mo, Online Review, Ras Kwame, Reggae, Ruff Diamondz, Soloman, Soul