Words by Lesedi Ramonyane
It was a rainy Sunday night and instead of staying in to binge watch some series, we head out to an abandoned train station to for what promised to be an epic night with Jose Cuervo. The venue went from being an empty vessel to feeling like a possibly radioactive underground club in the inner city; the perfect setting to see a man who is arguably the Godfather of Grime. A pioneer of the genre that has given rise to the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Chip and Skepta, Wiley is pretty much a living legend.
It goes without saying that shots were mandatory upon arrival and the neon signs signaling that tomorrow is overrated were just a subtle reminder that the agenda for the evening was to make the most of it. Although the world’s number 1 tequila was on tap for the night, the highlight of the night was actually the lineup (and the people).
International Playboy and all round dzaddy, Kdollahz kicked off the evening with a set that would have even your granny dancing. Followed by Gqom King, DJ Lag and Skinny Macho who made it incredibly difficult to pry oneself from the dance floor. As soon as the beat for ‘Wearing My Rolex’ hit the speakers the crowd was already in a frenzy.
Wiley’s set was a good mix of old and new tracks from ‘Can You Hear Me’, ‘On A Level’ to ‘Pie’. He also threw in some of his peers’ hits like Big Shaq’s ‘Mans Not Hot’ (lol there was also a potent cocktail appropriately called this) and Skepta’s ‘That’s Not Me’ to round of his set. At this stage, it was hard to imagine that the night could get any better. UnclePartyTime hopped into the DJ booth to finish off the evening and if the lights didn’t come on, the crowd could’ve kept going for a couple more hours. S/O to Jose Cuervo for an awesome night, keep an eye out when they come through to #SEIZETHECITY near you.
