The Fresh Prince of Belgrave?

The month of March kicked off with a smooth and soulful rap gig at Belgrave. It was instantly apparent that East London’s Jay Prince had captured the hipster crowd, though his melodic mix of hip-hop, electronica and even a dash of reggae makes his discography stand out as something that actually has a really wide appeal.

His discography is furnished with upbeat tracks and honest, humble lyrics, and all his best (minus an old favourite, ‘Never Been Around’) bangers were wheeled out. Prince pushed a lot of tracks from his latest record, ‘WONDER’, including the grimy ‘BLESSED NOW’ and steady ‘BEAMLIGHT’.

But it was the sweeter hooks of ‘In The Morning’, ‘My Side’ and ‘With U’ that were the proper crowd-pleasers. These are some of Prince’s most open, no-nonsense songs, which speak of pure-and-simple companionship. And each one massively resonated with the audience. People were cheering and singing faultlessly along, and generally really getting into these three in particular.

Surrounded by chronic Snapchatters, bumbag-wearers and vodka-coke drinkers, I found myself fully immersed in a set that showed respect for fans and appreciation for success. What better way to round it all off than with ‘I Believe in You’?