Detonate Sheffield presents Skepta review

Image: O2 Academy Sheffield

Halloween dawned on Sheffield as Skepta “turned man into a ghost like Patrick Swayze” (killed it in other words – a lyric from his track 'Sticks and Stones') at the O2 Academy for Detonate's event which could only be described as a SHUTDOWN.

Dancehall royalty David Rodigan had set the vibe for the evening prior to the grime artist’s much anticipated entrance. The energy amongst the packed out crowd was electric as Rodigan paid homage to Boy Better Know by dropping Solo 45’s 'Feed Em To The Lions' (below).

At 1:30am, the baton was then passed on to Skepta who kept everyone in suspense while DJ Maximum took his position on the decks. Imminently, Skepta ran on stage alongside BBK member Shorty. The excitement within the venue had reached fever pitch as grime cohort performed 2014 hit ‘That’s Not Me’.

The track generated a sea of frenzy amongst the crowd as they hurled from side to side, repeating the lyrics back to the leader on stage. It was the embodiment of the rise of grime culture in recent years. ‘Top Boy’ followed soon after - those in attendance had very little time to catch breath.

Skepta uttered "somebody has gotta die tonight” as he dropped ‘Nasty’ and the crowd went mental as they absorbed the hostile nature behind the lyrics. The majority of the set was comprised of recent releases as well as tracks from the album Blacklisted and timeless classics such as ‘Too Many Man’ and ‘I Spy’.

Shorty unleashed ‘What’s Going On’ (above) before the duo played tribute tracks to Solo 45, Jammer and brother JME, who of which he performed with in Nottingham earlier in the night. With one track left, everyone was braced for what was to come.

For one last time, Skepta took to the mic and said, “man’s never been in Sheffield when it’s shutdown eh?” It was the perfect track to bow out to as it had people in their thousands shouting the title lyrics during the hook as Skepta and Shorty allowed the crowd to flex their vocal cords.

A telling factor in the intensity of the performance was the eruption of people who vacated their positions in their crowd to get air and drinks following the conclusion of the set after being deprived of both throughout the rip-roaring display.

The main attraction without doubt delivered at an unbelievably raucous Halloween event, and even treated those who missed out to a killer Halloween mix (listen above). We didn't need further clarification that Skepta is the best in the game, but Detonate illustrated his skills yet again in a night filled with grime-led pandemonium. 

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