Throw your K’s up!
Following a sold out “Greatest Hits Arena Tour”, taking the Kurupt FM crew all over the UK to showcase their rhythm and sounds, they touched down in the industrious London venue Printworks for their final two dates. Set to play on the 11th and 18th February, with two stellar complimentary but different lineups, we were heartbroken that only the first show was able to take place due to storm “Eunice” causing so much wind that it had to be called off just 2 hours before they stepped on stage!
People Just Do Nothing, AKA Kurupt FM, are synonymous with that UK Garage sound. The mockumentary show follows the ups and downs of Brentford’s very own pirate radio station, and is packed full of lyrical sorcery, ruffneck rhythms, and parody of that UKG era.
Made up of MC Grindah (Allen ‘Seapa’ Mustafa), DJ Beats (Hugo Chegwin), DJ Steves (Steve Stamp), Decoy (Danny Woolford), Fantasy (Marvin Alvarez), and tour manager Chabuddy G (Asim Choudhry), the show has garnered a cult following as one of the most quotable shows in the last 20 years.
Hot off the heels of their hit movie “Big In Japan” and their “Greatest Hits Pt 1” album (which reached number 8 on the UK charts) we were excited to hear their latest material performed at such an iconic location as Printworks.
Production & Sound
Moving away from the press halls and into the live room, this offered a wealth of space to move around, packing in almost 5000 ravers ready for pure kuruption. A two-tiered stage had been set up at the front, with one set of turntables and a giant LED screen providing the scenery and sound. The LED screen played clips from some of their music videos, but was also linked up to a camera so you could see the Kurupt FM guys up on the big screen.
The crowd was a blend of younger and older ravers, and littered with Kurupt FM merchandise – from your complete tech heads to your classic 108.9 logos. Shoutout to everyone who came prepped with the merch.
In typical Printworks fashion, a flurry of spotlights and strobes surrounded the LED screen, filling the room with cheers and woops most times that they went off! Speaker stacks were suspended from the ceiling too, dangling over the crowd which not only looked cool but provided full and clear sound no matter where you stood.
DJ Sets
Running from 20:00 until 02:00, the lineup was packed full of UK garage and grime flavour, with sets from NIA Archives, Halfports, Girls Don’t Sync, Oneman (Garage Set), and two 20 minute performances from Footsie (one half of the Newham Generals alongside D Double E), and Blacks before Kurupt FM took to the stage for the final 1hr 20.
Girls Don’t Sync, the female only DJ collective made up of Matty Chiabi, G33, Sophia Violet and Hannah Lynch, brought a huge energy and vibe behind the decks. With constant winding and dancing, they had the crowd hyped up and ready with their records including a wicked mashup with “Too Many Man” and Modjo “Lady” – check out the vid below.
DJ Oneman, real name Steven Bishop, the pirate radio OG and Rinse FM regular took to the stage for a blistering garage, grime and bassline set. Records like XTC’s Functions On The Low (the instrumental that Stormzy used for ‘Shut Up’) and “It’s A London Thing” had huge crowd reactions which set the scene for what was to come.
The evening flew by, and before we knew it, it was time for Kurupt FM to grace the stage.
A huge orchestral intro followed by a hilarious monologue from Chabuddy G opened to the crowd with huge roars and cheers. They blitzed through their anthems from the latest album like “Summertime”, “Your Mum Loves Garage“, and “Kuruptfminnit“, ad libbing with jokes throughout. The vibes throughout the set were second to none, with pure energy throughout the crowd from start to finish.
Much of the crowd were singing along, especially to some of their classics like “Get Out The Way” and “Heart Monitor Riddim“. Marking such a landmark show for the Kurupt FM guys, they brought a few special guests – including General Levy who performed his hit “Incredible” as well as his collab “Original Rudeboyz” which was produced by Chase & Status. This one filled the room, and was one of the biggest crowd movers of the night. MCs Shotta, Shabba, and Det joined on stage at the end too for some heavy DnB – shutting the rave down in emphatic style.
Summary
What an evening. This was the first time we’d heard proper UKG fill the hallowed Printworks, and boy did it work. By switching to the live room, it gave the crowd space to breathe and watch the DJs and MCs on stage without being funnelled into the center in the press halls. The stage/lighting was not typical Printworks (I did miss the lowering light rig) but that is best saved for the press halls.
Entrance and bar queues were short, and the crowd were on point all night. One thing I would say is the 20:00 – 02:00 opening time – I’d recommend sorting out a taxi or Uber early as there were some fairly hefty queues as the night tube is only running on Victoria and Central lines.
The new rescheduled date has now been announced as 10th April – get your tickets here!
Kurupt FM, the rest are irrelevant.
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